Breakdown of Vi siete divertiti o vi siete rilassati in vacanza?
o
or
in
in / made of (material)
la vacanza
the vacation
divertirsi
to have fun
Questions & Answers about Vi siete divertiti o vi siete rilassati in vacanza?
Why do we use siete instead of "avete" for "did you have"?
What does the vi do in this sentence?
Vi is the reflexive pronoun for "you all". Reflexive verbs need these pronouns to show who is receiving the action. In English we just say "you had fun" or "you relaxed", but in Italian you literally say "you amused yourselves" (vi siete divertiti) and "you relaxed yourselves" (vi siete rilassati).
Why do divertiti and rilassati end in -i?
Because these verbs use essere as the helping verb, the past participle (the action word) has to match the subject in gender and number. The -i ending tells us that the "you all" being spoken to is a group of men or a mixed group. If you were asking a group of only women, it would be Vi siete divertite o vi siete rilassate?.
Does divertiti mean "diverted"?
No, this is a false friend! While it looks like the English word "divert", the Italian verb divertirsi means "to have fun" or "to enjoy oneself".