ELONIO
Log inSign up

Ieri mi sono pettinato.

Ieri mi sono pettinato.
Yesterday I combed my hair.
From Lesson 70:Reflexive verbs in the past (mi sono svegliato)·Italian

Breakdown of Ieri mi sono pettinato.

pettinarsi
to comb one's hair
ieri
yesterday

Questions & Answers about Ieri mi sono pettinato.

Why do we use sono instead of ho here?
In Italian, all reflexive verbs (actions you do to yourself) use essere (to be) as their helper verb in the past tense. Even though you would use avere (to have) to say you combed someone else's hair, you must use sono because you are doing it to yourself.
How would a woman say this sentence?
A woman would say Ieri mi sono pettinata. Whenever a past tense verb uses essere as its helper, the ending of the action word (pettinato) has to change to match the gender and number of the person doing it. Here, the -a ending shows the speaker is female.
Where is the word for 'hair' in this sentence?
It isn't there! In English we say 'I combed my hair,' but Italian uses the reflexive verb pettinarsi which simply means 'to comb oneself.' For daily grooming routines, Italians usually use these reflexive verbs instead of naming the body part.
What if I wanted to say I didn't comb my hair? Where does the negative word go?
To make this negative, you put non right before the reflexive pronoun mi. The sentence becomes: Ieri non mi sono pettinato.

Learn Ieri mi sono pettinato and more in Italian

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Italian →