Io mi pettino i capelli ogni mattina.

I comb my hair every morning.

Breakdown of Io mi pettino i capelli ogni mattina.

• io: I
• ogni: every
• la mattina: the morning
• i capelli: the hair

Questions & Answers about Io mi pettino i capelli ogni mattina.

Why is io optional in Io mi pettino i capelli ogni mattina, and when should I include it?

Italian is a pro-drop language: the verb ending -o in pettino already tells you that the subject is I. You can safely omit io in most contexts. You include io only for:
• Emphasis (e.g. to contrast with someone else)
• Clarity in longer sentences with multiple subjects

What does mi mean, and why is it used here?

Mi is the first-person singular reflexive pronoun (“myself”). The base verb pettinare means “to comb (something)”. When you comb your own hair, you use the reflexive form pettinarsi (“to comb oneself”), so mi = “I comb myself.”

Why is the object i capelli plural, while English uses “hair” (singular)?

In Italian, capello literally means “a single hair,” so hair in general is almost always capelli (plural). English treats “hair” as an uncountable mass noun, but Italian treats it like many individual strands, hence the plural.

Why do we need the definite article i before capelli? Can’t we say mi pettino capelli?