Breakdown of Il bambino si spoglia e si lava.
e
and
il bambino
the child
lavarsi
to wash oneself
spogliarsi
to get undressed
Questions & Answers about Il bambino si spoglia e si lava.
Why is the word si used twice in this sentence?
Si is a reflexive pronoun meaning "himself" (or "herself", "itself", "themselves"). The dictionary forms of the verbs used here are spogliarsi (to get undressed) and lavarsi (to wash oneself). Because the child is performing both of these actions on himself, we must place si before each conjugated verb.
Could I just say Il bambino si spoglia e lava and drop the second si?
No, you shouldn't drop it. In English we can say "he gets undressed and washes", but in Italian, you generally must repeat the reflexive pronoun before every reflexive verb. If you just said lava without the si, it would sound like he is washing something else, rather than himself!
If si spoglia means "he gets undressed", how would I say he is undressing someone else?
You would drop the reflexive pronoun si and just use the base verb spogliare (to undress). For example, Il padre spoglia il bambino means "The father undresses the child." Adding the reflexive pronoun turns it into an action you do to yourself.