Learn Hardcore Italian: Dopo la doccia, mi sono pettinato bene prima di indossare la cravatta nuova. - After the shower, I combed my hair well before putting on the new tie.

In Italian, when talking about routine actions involving body parts or daily activities, you normally include the definite article. So you say dopo la doccia (after the shower) or dopo il bagno (after the bath). Omitting the article sounds ungrammatical: you need la before doccia.

Why do we say mi sono pettinato instead of mi ho pettinato?

Pettinarsi is a reflexive verb, and all reflexive verbs in compound tenses use essere as the auxiliary, not avere. The structure is:
• Reflexive pronoun (mi, ti, si…) + present of essere (sono, sei, è…) + past participle (pettinato).
Thus we get mi sono pettinato.

Why is the reflexive pronoun mi placed before the auxiliary sono?

In Italian compound tenses with reflexive verbs, the reflexive pronoun always precedes the auxiliary verb. You cannot say sono mi pettinato or attach it to the past participle. The correct order is: mi + sono + pettinato.

Why is bene placed after pettinato, and could it go somewhere else?

Bene is an adverb modifying pettinato (pettinarsi). In Italian, simple adverbs of manner typically follow the verb or the past participle:
• Mi sono pettinato bene.
You could also say l’ho pettinato molto bene (I combed it very well), but you wouldn’t put bene before pettinato in this reflexive structure.

Why do we use prima di indossare and what is the role of di?

Prima di + infinitive means “before doing something.” You always need di when linking prima (before) to another verb in the infinitive:
• prima di indossare = before putting on
Without di, the construction would be incorrect.

Why indossare la cravatta instead of mettere la cravatta?

Both verbs can mean “to put on” clothing, but indossare is more formal and specific to wearing garments or accessories (ties, coats, dresses). Mettere is more general (“to put/to place”), so Italians prefer indossare la cravatta for “put on a tie.”

Why is cravatta nuova used instead of nuova cravatta, and does it change the meaning?

In Italian, most descriptive adjectives follow the noun: cravatta nuova (new tie). Placing nuova before the noun (nuova cravatta) is possible but gives a slight poetic or emphatic nuance, focusing on the adjective. In everyday speech, you’ll almost always hear cravatta nuova.

Does the past participle pettinato have to agree in gender and number?

Yes. With essere you must agree the past participle with the subject (or the reflexive pronoun):
• A man says mi sono pettinato (m.sg.)
• A woman says mi sono pettinata (f.sg.)
• Plural: ci siamo pettinati (m.pl.) or ci siamo pettinate (f.pl.).
Make sure pettinato matches who is doing the action.