Alzarsi Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

alzarsi — to get up — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Italian. It is a reflexive, regular -are verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It is the reflexive verb for getting up in the morning, and it is completely regular apart from being reflexive: every form carries a reflexive pronoun, and the passato prossimo is formed with essere. It is the model reflexive verb for daily routine. On this page you will find alzarsi in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself. The full conjugation tables are on the alzarsi conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the alzarsi passato prossimo tense page.

Example sentences with alzarsi

In the present tense

  • “Io mi alzo presto ogni giorno.” — “I get up early”
  • “Tu ti alzi presto ogni giorno.” — “You get up early”
  • “Lui si alza presto ogni giorno.” — “He gets up early”
  • “Noi ci alziamo presto ogni giorno.” — “We get up early”
  • “Voi vi alzate presto ogni giorno.” — “You get up early”
  • “Loro si alzano presto ogni giorno.” — “They get up early”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io mi sono alzato presto questa settimana.” — “I have got up early”
  • “Tu ti sei alzato presto questa settimana.” — “You have got up early”
  • “Lui si è alzato presto questa settimana.” — “He has got up early”
  • “Noi ci siamo alzato presto questa settimana.” — “We have got up early”
  • “Voi vi siete alzato presto questa settimana.” — “You have got up early”
  • “Loro si sono alzato presto questa settimana.” — “They have got up early”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional, the present subjunctive and the imperative — the tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Io mi alzavo presto una volta.” — “I used to get up early”
  • “Tu ti alzerai presto domani.” — “You will get up early”
  • “Lui si alzerebbe presto un giorno.” — “He would get up early”
  • “È importante che noi ci alziamo presto.” — “It is important that we get up early”
  • “Alzati presto!” — “Get up early!”

How alzarsi is used

The first thing to know about alzarsi is its core meaning: to get up. It is the reflexive verb for getting up in the morning, and it is completely regular apart from being reflexive: every form carries a reflexive pronoun, and the passato prossimo is formed with essere. It is the model reflexive verb for daily routine. In everyday speech it appears most often in the present and the passato prossimo, the two tenses on this page, because most of what we say is either what we do every day or what we have just done. Learn those two tenses first and the rest of the conjugation becomes a matter of adding forms one at a time. The second thing to know is the company alzarsi keeps. The present io form is mi alzo, and it pairs naturally with the time words ogni giorno and sempre for habits, and with adesso for what is happening right now. The passato prossimo io form is mi sono alzato, and it pairs with ieri and questa settimana for finished actions. When you learn a verb form, learn its time words with it, and choosing the tense becomes automatic. The third thing to know is what alzarsi does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need mi alzo, never alzarsi. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is mi sono alzato, built with essere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle alzato is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Alzarsi in context

Io mi alzo presto ogni giorno. Tu ti alzi presto ogni giorno. Lui si alza presto ogni giorno. Noi ci alziamo presto ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of alzarsi is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — mi alzo, ti alzi, si alza, ci alziamo — while the meaning stays the same: to get up. Io mi sono alzato presto questa settimana. Tu ti sei alzato presto questa settimana. Lui si è alzato presto questa settimana. Noi ci siamo alzato presto questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of alzarsi appears constantly: a finished action, a precise moment, and the story goes on. Compare these sentences with the present ones above: the verb changes tense, but the basic meaning — to get up — does not change. That is the difference between a habit and a finished event.

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Io alzarsi presto.”

✓ Right: “Io mi alzo presto ogni giorno.”

The infinitive alzarsi never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form mi alzo.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io ti alzi presto.”

✓ Right: “Io mi alzo presto ogni giorno.”

ti alzi is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is mi alzo — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io mi alzo presto ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io mi sono alzato presto questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo mi sono alzato here, not the present mi alzo.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io ho alzato presto.”

✓ Right: “Io mi sono alzato presto questa settimana.”

alzarsi takes essere in the passato prossimo. The io form is mi sono alzato — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on alzarsi across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.

  1. What is the tu form of alzarsi in the Present indicative?

    • A) mi alzo
    • B) ti alzi
    • C) si alza
    • D) ci alziamo

  2. What is the io form of alzarsi in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) ti sei alzato
    • B) si è alzato
    • C) mi sono alzato
    • D) ci siamo alzato

  3. What is the lui/lei form of alzarsi in the Imperfect?

    • A) mi alzavo
    • B) ti alzavi
    • C) ci alzavamo
    • D) si alzava

  4. What is the noi form of alzarsi in the Future?

    • A) ci alzeremo
    • B) mi alzerò
    • C) ti alzerai
    • D) si alzerà

  5. What is the tu form of alzarsi in the Conditional?

    • A) mi alzerei
    • B) ti alzeresti
    • C) si alzerebbe
    • D) ci alzeremmo

  6. What is the io form of alzarsi in the Passato remoto?

    • A) ti alzasti
    • B) si alzò
    • C) mi alzai
    • D) ci alzammo

  7. What is the noi form of alzarsi in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) mi alzi
    • B) ti alzi
    • C) si alzi
    • D) ci alziamo

  8. What is the gerund of alzarsi?

    • A) alzandosi
    • B) alzato
    • C) alzarsi
    • D) mi alzo

  9. What is the past participle of alzarsi?

    • A) alzandosi
    • B) alzato
    • C) alzarsi
    • D) mi alzo

  10. What does alzarsi mean in English?

  • A) to be
  • B) to have
  • C) to get up
  • D) to do, to make

Answer key

  1. B) ti alzi — the correct form is ti alzi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) mi sono alzato — the correct form is mi sono alzato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) si alzava — the correct form is si alzava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) ci alzeremo — the correct form is ci alzeremo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) ti alzeresti — the correct form is ti alzeresti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) mi alzai — the correct form is mi alzai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) ci alziamo — the correct form is ci alziamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) alzandosi — the correct form is alzandosi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) alzato — the correct form is alzato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to get up — the correct form is to get up. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does alzarsi mean in English?

alzarsi means “to get up”. You use it whenever you talk about to get up in Italian, in the present, the past and the future.

Is alzarsi regular or irregular?

alzarsi is regular. alzarsi is regular: every form follows the standard -are endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem.

What are the gerund and past participle of alzarsi?

The gerund is alzandosi and the past participle is alzato. The perfect tenses use essere + alzato.

Where can I see the full conjugation of alzarsi?

On the alzarsi conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The alzarsi passato prossimo tense page goes deeper into its most practised tense.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for alzarsi, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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