Lesson 17.1: Waking Up and Starting the Day – Reflexive Verbs in Action 🌅⏰☕ #

Morning routines can be beautiful.
Or chaotic.
Or both — especially if you’re Geoff, who thinks snooze buttons are a form of art.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to describe what you do when you wake up — in Italian — using reflexive verbs.

🧼 What Are Reflexive Verbs? #

In Italian, reflexive verbs describe actions you do to yourself.

Examples:

• svegliarsi → to wake up
• alzarsi → to get up
• lavarsi → to wash oneself
• vestirsi → to get dressed
• pettinarsi → to comb one’s hair

They’re used with reflexive pronouns:

🛏️ Sample Sentences #

• Mi sveglio alle sette. → I wake up at 7.
• Ti alzi presto? → Do you get up early?
• Si lava i denti. → He/She brushes his/her teeth.
• Ci vestiamo in fretta. → We get dressed quickly.
• Vi pettinate ogni mattina? → Do you comb your hair every morning?
• Si alzano tardi la domenica. → They get up late on Sundays.

🎭 Viktor & Geoff Wake Up (With English Translations) #

Viktor: Mi sveglio alle sei. Faccio karate alle sette.
Viktor: I wake up at six. I do karate at seven.

Geoff: Io mi sveglio… alle otto… dopo tre allarmi.
Geoff: I wake up… at eight… after three alarms.

Viktor: E poi?
Viktor: And then?

Geoff: Mi alzo, mi lavo, mi pettino… e poi guardo il muro per dieci minuti.
Geoff: I get up, I wash, I comb my hair… and then I stare at the wall for ten minutes.

Viktor: Ottima meditazione.
Viktor: Excellent meditation.

💡 Practice Tip #

Try describing your own morning routine using reflexive verbs.

Example:

Mi sveglio alle sette, mi alzo subito, mi lavo la faccia e bevo un caffè.

(Yes, coffee counts as a verb here.)

👉 Coming up next: Exercise 17.1 – Test your reflexes! Or at least your reflexive verbs.