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🎧 Episode 12 - Trust Yourself… or Don’t! – Italian Negative Reflexive Commands in Action 

Le Pagine del Passato – Capitolo Due – Messaggi dall'Aldilà
Part 1b with Full Translation

The train station was cold and uninviting. 

La stazione ferroviaria era fredda e poco accogliente.

Mariella adjusted her scarf and started walking toward the theater where she could wait in the lobby where it was warm.

Mariella si è sistemata la sciarpa e ha iniziato a camminare verso il teatro, dove avrebbe potuto aspettare nell'atrio al caldo.

She could hear her footsteps echoing in the emptiness of the deserted street.

Sentiva i suoi passi echeggiare nel silenzio della strada deserta.

When she reached the main entrance, she saw an old woman under a streetlamp.

Quando ha raggiunto l’ingresso principale, ha visto una donna anziana sotto un lampione.

The woman reminded her of her Nonna. She had a book under one arm and there was a very shiny ring on her finger that sparkled in the light of the streetlamp.

La donna le ricordava sua nonna. Aveva un libro sotto un braccio e un anello molto brillante al dito che scintillava alla luce del lampione.

Mariella approached the woman and just as a wind came out of nowhere, she could have sworn that she heard the old woman say, “Trust your instincts!” “Follow your heart and everything you wish for will be yours.”

Mariella si è avvicinata alla donna, e proprio mentre un vento improvviso ha iniziato a soffiare dal nulla, avrebbe giurato di aver sentito l’anziana donna dire, “Fidati del tuo istinto! Segui il tuo cuore e tutto ciò che desideri sarà tuo.”

The old woman looked an awful lot like she remembered her Nonna Maria. 

La donna assomigliava moltissimo a sua nonna Maria per come lei la ricordava.

Mariella was about to reply to the woman. Then she said to herself, “Get a grip!” You must be imagining things. 

Mariella stava per rispondere, ma poi ha detto, “Riprenditi! Te lo stai immaginando.”

Zina pulled up in her car and yelled out to Mariella, “What are you doing here? Get in the car! We’re going to be late!” 

Zina è arrivata con la sua macchina e ha gridato a Mariella, “Che cosa fai lì? Sali in macchina! Faremo tardi!”

Introduction

Benvenuti a tutti! I’m Myra, your host and fellow language learner, guiding you step by step through the Italian language and the story of Le Pagine del Passato.

And with me, as always, is my co-host Antonio, who, if I had invented him myself, couldn’t be more perfect for the part.

Antonio:
Mi hai inventato tu? Nei tuoi sogni, Myra!

Myra:
I’m talking about your confidence, your timing. Your perfectly crafted diction.

Antonio:
Naturalmente. E completamente autentico.

Myra:
OK Enough of that. And can you remind me what we have in store for today?

Antonio:
Certo. Abbiamo appena ascoltato la seconda parte del Capitolo 2, dove Mariella incontra una misteriosa donna alla stazione. E oggi parliamo dei comandi riflessivi in forma negativa. E poi... abbiamo una sorpresa speciale!
Of course. We just listened to the second part of Chapter 2, where Mariella meets a mysterious woman at the station. And today we're talking about negative reflexive commands. And then... we have a special surprise!

Myra: A special surprise! Ok. After we cover negative reflexive commands, we'll have a Power Up session where we put ALL the command forms we've learned into practice with real-world scenarios.

Antonio: Finalmente! Azione, non solo teoria!
Finally! Action, not just theory!

Negative Reflexive Commands

Myra:
Ahah, giusto. That’s right. Some action with some negative reflexive commands.

If you were listening closely to the story so far, you will recognize several command forms that we’ve already been practicing with. Fidati, Riprenditi, Sali in macchina.

We’ve already discussed how to form negative commands, but let’s take a quick moment to remind ourselves how they work.

When a verb is not reflexive, forming a negative command is simple.
You just place “non” before the infinitive of the verb.
That’s the pattern for the informal tu form.

Myra: Speak.
Antonio: Parla.
Myra: Don’t speak.
Antonio: Non parlare.

Myra: Eat.
Antonio: Mangia.
Myra: Don’t eat.
Antonio: Non mangiare.

Myra: Wait.
Antonio: Aspetta.
Myra: Don’t wait.
Antonio: Non aspettare.

Myra:
So for tu, we say non + infinitive, across the board.
But when we’re speaking formally or addressing more than one person, we don’t switch to the infinitive.
We keep the verb in its imperative conjugation,  the regular command form.

Myra: Please don’t wait. (using Formal Lei form)
Antonio: Non aspetti, per favore.

Myra: Don’t eat yet. (using Voi form)
Antonio: Non mangiate ancora.

Myra: let’s not be late. (using Noi form)
Antonio: Non arriviamo tardi.

Myra:
So that was:
• Tu form → non + infinitive
• Lei, Noi, Voi forms → keep the verb in the imperative command form

Review Reflexive commands with pronouns

You may also recall that with reflexive verbs, where the action reflects back on the subject, such as vestirsi, riposarsi, or preoccuparsi, the reflexive pronoun attaches to the end of the verb. For example:

Myra: Rest.
Antonio: Riposati.

Myra: Get dressed.
Antonio: Vestiti.

Myra: Sit down.
Antonio: Siediti.

When the command is negative, however the reflexive pronoun moves before the verb.

Myra: Don’t rest.
Antonio: Non ti riposare.

Myra: Don’t get dressed yet.
Antonio: Non ti vestire ancora.

Myra: Don’t sit down.
Antonio: Non ti sedere.

Myra: Don’t worry.
Antonio: Non ti preoccupare.

Myra:
And, once again, when we’re speaking formally or to more than one person, we don’t use the infinitive. Instead, we use the imperative conjugation that we studied earlier.

Myra: Don’t sit down yet. (Formal Lei form)
Antonio: Non si sieda ancora.

Myra: Don’t worry. (Formal Lei form)
Antonio: Non si preoccupi.

Myra: Don’t get upset. (Voi form)
Antonio: Non vi arrabbiate.

Myra: Let’s not rush. (Noi form)
Antonio: Non ci affrettiamo. 

Myra:
So with negative reflexive verbs the pattern is:
• In informal tu → non + reflexive pronoun + infinitive
• In Lei, Noi, Voi → non + reflexive pronoun + imperative form

Story Connection

Myra:
Do you remember what the mysterious woman said to Mariella?
Fidati del tuo istinto. Trust your instinct.
 
Suppose she wanted to say the opposite.

Myra: Don’t trust your instinct.
Antonio: Non ti fidare del tuo istinto.

And when Mariella told herself Riprenditi! Get a grip.

What if she wanted to say, don’t pull yourself together:
 Antonio: Non ti riprendere. 

Practice with Negative Reflexive Commands

Here are a few more. As always, I’ll say the English first. See if you can come up with the Italian before Antonio says it. This first set is in the informal ‘tu’ form.
 
 Remember, Positive command - pronoun at the end.
Negative command - pronoun before the verb.

Myra: Relax.
Antonio: Rilassati.
Myra: Don’t relax yet.
Antonio: Non ti rilassare ancora.

Myra: Get ready.
Antonio: Preparati.
Myra: Don’t get ready yet.
Antonio: Non ti preparare ancora.

Myra: Hurry up.
Antonio: Sbrigati.
Myra: Don’t hurry.
Antonio: Non ti sbrigare.

Myra: Be quiet.
Antonio: Zittisciti.
Myra: Don’t be quiet.
Antonio: Non ti zittire.

Myra: Feel better.
Antonio: Riprenditi.
Myra: Don’t recover yet.
Antonio: Non ti riprendere ancora.

Myra: Get organized.
Antonio: Organizzati.
Myra: Don’t get organized now.
Antonio: Non ti organizzare adesso.

Myra:
Now how about a few more with formal and plural forms.

Myra: Don’t get up yet. (Formal Lei form)
Antonio: Non si alzi ancora.

Myra: Don’t be impatient. (Voi form)
Antonio: Non vi spazientite.

Myra: Let’s not worry. (Noi form)
Antonio: Non ci preoccupiamo.

Flexibility of Pronoun Positioning

Myra:
There’s one more little twist.
With reflexive verbs, in everyday Italian, you’ll most often hear the pronoun before the verb, like Non ti preoccupare.
But in some cases, Italians also attach it after the infinitive - Non preoccuparti.

Antonio:
Tutte e due vanno bene. Ma Non ti preoccupare è più comune.

Myra:
Precisamente! Both are correct, but Non ti preoccupare is what you’ll hear most often in natural conversation.

It also works the same with other reflexive or object pronouns:

Antonio:

• Non ti sedere / Non sederti
• Non mi dire / Non dirmi
• Non ci pensare / Non pensarci

Both versions are correct.

This flexibility with the positioning of the pronoun, applies only in negative commands, and only with the informal tu form.

In positive imperatives in the tu form, there is no choice. The pronoun must be attached to the end:

• Preoccupati! 
• Vestiti! 

In negative imperatives with other subjects (Lei, Noi, Voi), there is no choice. The pronoun must be before the conjugated verb:

• Non si preoccupi.
• Non ci arrabbiamo.
• Non vi sedete.

The only time you can choose where to put the pronoun is with negative informal tu commands.
In every other case, the pronoun position is fixed.

Myra: So, to recap, when making a negative command using a reflexive verb:

• Tu → non + pronoun + infinitive OR Tu → non + infinitive + pronoun
• Lei, Noi, Voi → non + pronoun + imperative form

Power Up Your Commands:

Myra: Now that we've covered negative reflexive commands, it's time for something special. We're going to put ALL the command forms we've learned into action with a little story.

Antonio: Un mistero! Finalmente un po’ di mistero!

Maira: I had a feeling you’d enjoy that, Antonio. Grammar and mystery, your two favorite things, besides chance encounters in train stations that is.

Myra: In this Power Up story, you’ll hear characters using commands naturally as they try to solve the mystery of a missing package. Listen carefully to how they use tu and Lei forms, reflexive verbs, negative commands, irregular commands, and commands with pronouns.

Antonio: E alla fine, scopriremo dove si trova il pacco!
And in the end, we'll discover where the package is!

Myra: Our story begins on a Friday afternoon. Elena is expecting an important package, a gift for her grandmother's birthday tomorrow. But when she checks her mailbox, it's not there. What happened to it? And where could it be?

Antonio: Ascoltiamo insieme questa storia!
Let's listen to this story together!

Myra: But this Power Up mystery is a special treat for our paid subscribers. If you'd like to hear the complete story and practice all your command forms in action, consider becoming a paid subscriber. You'll get access to all our bonus content, including vocabulary episodes and Power Up sessions like this one as well as the companion series with study guides, answer keys, printable transcripts, conjugation tables and more. 

In our next regular episode, we'll explore adverbs of place and learn how Italian describes WHERE things are and WHERE actions happen.

Antonio: Ci vediamo la prossima volta! See you next time!

Myra: Grazie mille for listening! Ciao a tutti!