Questions & Answers about Mi sono innamorato di lei.
Why is it mi sono innamorato and not ho innamorato?
Because the verb is innamorarsi, not innamorare.
- innamorarsi di qualcuno = to fall in love with someone
- It is a pronominal/reflexive-type verb, so in the passato prossimo it uses essere, not avere.
So:
- mi sono innamorato = I fell in love
- not ho innamorato, which would not mean the same thing
A useful pattern is:
- mi sono innamorato/a
- ti sei innamorato/a
- si è innamorato/a
- ci siamo innamorati/e
- vi siete innamorati/e
- si sono innamorati/e
What exactly does mi mean here?
Mi is the first-person singular pronoun that goes with innamorarsi.
In very literal terms, Italian treats this as something like I became myself in love, but that literal idea is not how you should translate it. The important point is:
- innamorarsi is the standard verb for to fall in love
- the mi is part of that verb structure
So in this sentence:
You should learn it as a chunk:
- innamorarsi di
What is the dictionary form of this verb?