Breakdown of Le ragazze si pettinano nel bagno.
la ragazza
girl
in
in / made of (material)
il bagno
bath / bathroom
pettinarsi
to comb one's hair
Questions & Answers about Le ragazze si pettinano nel bagno.
Why does the sentence say si pettinano instead of just pettinano?
In Italian, pettinarsi (to comb one's hair) is a reflexive verb. The word si is a reflexive pronoun meaning 'themselves'. When people do personal grooming actions like combing, washing, or dressing to themselves, Italian uses these pronouns before the verb.
Where is the word for 'their hair' in the Italian sentence?
The reflexive verb pettinarsi implies 'to comb oneself'. In Italian, you usually don't need to add the word for 'hair' or use a possessive word like 'their' for personal grooming. The reflexive pronoun si already makes it perfectly clear whose hair is being combed!
I thought si was for 'he' or 'she'. Why is it used here for 'the girls'?
The reflexive pronoun si does double duty! It is used for both the third-person singular (he/she/it) and the third-person plural (they). Since Le ragazze (the girls) means 'they', we use si. You can tell the subject is plural because the verb has the plural ending -ano (pettinano).