Breakdown of Mi sono alzato senza svegliarlo.
essere
to be
senza
without
alzarsi
to get up
lo
him/it (direct object)
svegliare
to wake up (someone)
Questions & Answers about Mi sono alzato senza svegliarlo.
Why do we use the infinitive svegliare here instead of conjugating it?
Because the subject of both actions is the exact same (you are the one getting up, and you are the one not waking him). When the subject is the same, Italian uses an 'implicit' clause, which means simply pairing senza with the infinitive verb. If the subjects were different, you would have to use a conjugated verb.
Why is lo attached to the end of svegliarlo, and where did the final 'e' go?
Object pronouns like lo (him) attach directly to the end of infinitive verbs. When you do this, the rule is to drop the final -e of the infinitive. So, svegliare + lo becomes svegliarlo.
Why is alzato used with a reflexive pronoun (mi) but svegliarlo is not?
Since the sentence happened in the past (mi sono alzato), shouldn't we use the past infinitive (senza averlo svegliato)?
No, because the two actions (getting up and not waking him) happened at the exact same time. You typically only use the past infinitive after senza if you need to emphasize that the 'not doing' happened entirely before the main action, which wouldn't make sense in this context.
Learn Mi sono alzato senza svegliarlo 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