Svegliarsi Conjugation in Italian

svegliarsi means “to wake up” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Italian learners meet — it sits at number 767 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for Italian verbs. It is the reflexive verb for waking up, and it is completely regular. Every form carries a reflexive pronoun, and the passato prossimo is formed with essere, as it is for all reflexive verbs. Its opposite is addormentarsi, to fall asleep. This page gives you the complete conjugation of svegliarsi — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Io mi sveglio ogni giorno.” — “I wake up.”

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: svegliarsi
  • English: to wake up
  • Verb type: Regular -are verb
  • Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
  • Gerund: svegliandosi
  • Present participle: svegliante
  • Past participle: svegliato
  • Auxiliary: essere (all perfect tenses are formed with essere + the past participle)
  • Ending: -are verbs; pattern are in the verified tables

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for svegliarsi, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read svegliarsi in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.

Three things to remember about svegliarsi

  1. It is regular: every form follows the ordinary -are pattern, so once you know the stem you can build the whole table. The only work is learning the endings, not memorising exceptions.
  2. The perfect tenses use essere: the passato prossimo is formed with essere in the present plus the past participle svegliato. The tables on this page give the participle in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table. Because svegliarsi is reflexive, every form on this page carries its reflexive pronoun — mi, ti, si, ci, vi, si — and the passato prossimo is formed with essere. The engine gives the bare verb forms, so the pronouns here are the article layer that makes the forms usable in a sentence.
  3. The participles are svegliante and svegliato: keep both in mind as you read the tables, because the present participle appears as an adjective and the past participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those two forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for svegliarsi. Learn the present tense first, then the passato prossimo and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.

Present indicative (presente)

Person Form
io mi sveglio
tu ti svegli
lui/lei si sveglia
noi ci svegliamo
voi vi svegliate
loro si svegliano

The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Io mi sveglio ogni giorno.” — “I wake up”

Passato remoto

Person Form
io mi svegliai
tu ti svegliasti
lui/lei si svegliò
noi ci svegliammo
voi vi svegliaste
loro si svegliarono

The passato remoto is used for completed actions in the distant past, mostly in written and literary Italian and in the south of Italy. For example: “Io mi svegliai ieri.” — “I woke up”

Imperfect (imperfetto)

Person Form
io mi svegliavo
tu ti svegliavi
lui/lei si svegliava
noi ci svegliavamo
voi vi svegliavate
loro si svegliavano

The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Io mi svegliavo una volta.” — “I used to wake up”

Future (futuro semplice)

Person Form
io mi sveglierò
tu ti sveglierai
lui/lei si sveglierà
noi ci sveglieremo
voi vi sveglierete
loro si sveglieranno

The future is used for what will happen, for predictions and for probability. For example: “Io mi sveglierò domani.” — “I will wake up”

Conditional (condizionale)

Person Form
io mi sveglierei
tu ti sveglieresti
lui/lei si sveglierebbe
noi ci sveglieremmo
voi vi svegliereste
loro si sveglierebbero

The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Io mi sveglierei un giorno.” — “I would wake up”

Present perfect (passato prossimo)

Person Form
io mi sono svegliato
tu ti sei svegliato
lui/lei si è svegliato
noi ci siamo svegliato
voi vi siete svegliato
loro si sono svegliato

The passato prossimo is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken Italian. For example: “Lui si è svegliato questa settimana.” — “He has woken up”

Pluperfect (trapassato prossimo)

Person Form
io mi ero svegliato
tu ti eri svegliato
lui/lei si era svegliato
noi ci eravamo svegliato
voi vi eravate svegliato
loro si erano svegliato

The pluperfect is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Io mi ero svegliato prima della festa.” — “I had woken up”

Future perfect (futuro anteriore)

Person Form
io mi sarò svegliato
tu ti sarai svegliato
lui/lei si sarà svegliato
noi ci saremo svegliato
voi vi sarete svegliato
loro si saranno svegliato

The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Io mi sarò svegliato per domani.” — “I will have woken up”

Conditional perfect (condizionale passato)

Person Form
io mi sarei svegliato
tu ti saresti svegliato
lui/lei si sarebbe svegliato
noi ci saremmo svegliato
voi vi sareste svegliato
loro si sarebbero svegliato

The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Io mi sarei svegliato ieri.” — “I would have woken up”

Present subjunctive (congiuntivo presente)

Person Form
io mi svegli
tu ti svegli
lui/lei si svegli
noi ci svegliamo
voi vi svegliate
loro si sveglino

The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after che. For example: “È importante che io mi svegli.” — “It is important that I wake up”

Imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto)

Person Form
io mi svegliassi
tu ti svegliassi
lui/lei si svegliasse
noi ci svegliassimo
voi vi svegliaste
loro si svegliassero

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past for wishes and hypotheticals after che, and in if-clauses. For example: “Era importante che io mi svegliassi.” — “It was important that I wake up”

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tu svegliati
lui/lei si svegli
noi svegliamoci
voi svegliatevi
loro si sveglino

The affirmative imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Svegliati!” — “Wake up!”

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tu non ti svegliare
lui/lei non si svegli
noi non ci svegliamo
voi non vi svegliate
loro non si sveglino

The negative imperative is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Non ti svegliare.” — “Do not wake up.”

Gerund

Form Italian
Gerund svegliandosi

The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, often with stare for the progressive. For example: “Svegliandosi, imparo molto.” — “While waking up, I learn a lot.”

Present participle

Form Italian
Present participle svegliante

The present participle is used as an adjective, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle svegliante is used to describe something that is happening at the same time as the main action, much like an English -ing adjective.

Past participle

Form Italian
Past participle svegliato

The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Io mi sono svegliato questa settimana.” — “I have woken up.”

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with svegliarsi, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Italian and try to produce it from the English.

  1. “Io mi sveglio ogni giorno.” — “I wake up”
  2. “Tu ti svegliasti ieri.” — “You woke up”
  3. “Lui si svegliava una volta.” — “He used to wake up”
  4. “Io mi sveglierò domani.” — “I will wake up”
  5. “Tu ti sveglieresti un giorno.” — “You would wake up”
  6. “Lui si è svegliato questa settimana.” — “He has woken up”
  7. “Io mi ero svegliato prima della festa.” — “I had woken up”
  8. “Tu ti sarai svegliato per domani.” — “You will have woken up”
  9. “È importante che io mi svegli.” — “It is important that I wake up”
  10. “Svegliati!” — “Wake up!”

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Io svegliarsi.”

✓ Right: “Io mi sveglio ogni giorno.”

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

2. Using the wrong person’s form

✗ Wrong: “Io ti svegli.”

✓ Right: “Io mi sveglio ogni giorno.”

ti svegli is the tu form, not the io form. Match the verb to the subject every time: io goes with mi sveglio.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io mi sveglio ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io mi sono svegliato questa settimana.”

Yesterday points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the passato prossimo mi sono svegliato for a finished action yesterday.

4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the passato prossimo

✗ Wrong: “Io ho svegliato.”

✓ Right: “Io mi sono svegliato questa settimana.”

The passato prossimo of svegliarsi is formed with essere plus the past participle svegliato: the io form is mi sono svegliato. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.

5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

✗ Wrong: “È importante che io mi sveglio.”

✓ Right: “È importante che io mi svegli.”

After è importante che Italian needs the subjunctive, so use mi svegli here, not the indicative mi sveglio.

6. Using the gerund instead of the past participle in a perfect tense

✗ Wrong: “Io sono svegliandosi.”

✓ Right: “Io mi sono svegliato questa settimana.”

The perfect tenses need the past participle svegliato, not the gerund svegliandosi. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary in a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on svegliarsi. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. What is the io form of svegliarsi in the Present indicative?

    • A) ti svegli
    • B) mi sveglio
    • C) si sveglia
    • D) ci svegliamo

  2. What is the lui/lei form of svegliarsi in the Passato remoto?

    • A) mi svegliai
    • B) ti svegliasti
    • C) si svegliò
    • D) ci svegliammo

  3. What is the noi form of svegliarsi in the Imperfect?

    • A) mi svegliavo
    • B) ti svegliavi
    • C) si svegliava
    • D) ci svegliavamo

  4. What is the tu form of svegliarsi in the Future?

    • A) ti sveglierai
    • B) mi sveglierò
    • C) si sveglierà
    • D) ci sveglieremo

  5. What is the io form of svegliarsi in the Conditional?

    • A) ti sveglieresti
    • B) mi sveglierei
    • C) si sveglierebbe
    • D) ci sveglieremmo

  6. What is the lui/lei form of svegliarsi in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

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

  7. What is the lui/lei form of svegliarsi in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) mi svegli
    • B) ti svegli
    • C) ci svegliamo
    • D) si svegli

  8. What is the io form of svegliarsi in the Imperfect subjunctive?

    • A) mi svegliassi
    • B) ti svegliassi
    • C) si svegliasse
    • D) ci svegliassimo

  9. What is the gerund of svegliarsi?

    • A) svegliato
    • B) svegliandosi
    • C) svegliarsi
    • D) mi sveglio

  10. What does svegliarsi mean in English?

  • A) to explain
  • B) to answer
  • C) to wake up
  • D) to ask

Answer key

  1. B) mi sveglio — the correct form is mi sveglio. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) si svegliò — the correct form is si svegliò. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) ci svegliavamo — the correct form is ci svegliavamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) ti sveglierai — the correct form is ti sveglierai. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) mi sveglierei — the correct form is mi sveglierei. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) si è svegliato — the correct form is si è svegliato. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) si svegli — the correct form is si svegli. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) mi svegliassi — the correct form is mi svegliassi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) svegliandosi — the correct form is svegliandosi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to wake up — the correct form is to wake up. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does svegliarsi mean in English?

svegliarsi means “to wake up”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.

Is svegliarsi regular or irregular?

svegliarsi is regular: it follows the ordinary -are pattern in every tense. The gerund is svegliandosi and the past participle is svegliato.

What are the gerund and past participle of svegliarsi?

The gerund is svegliandosi — use it with stare for the progressive. The past participle is svegliato — use it with essere for the perfect tenses, as in mi sono svegliato.

Which auxiliary does svegliarsi take in the passato prossimo?

svegliarsi takes essere in the passato prossimo: the io form is mi sono svegliato. All four perfect tenses on this page are built with essere plus the past participle svegliato.

How do I say “I wake up” in Italian?

Say “Io mi sveglio ogni giorno.” — “I wake up” The io form of the present is mi sveglio, and it is the form you will use most often.

Where does the reflexive pronoun go with svegliarsi?

Before the conjugated verb in most tenses — mi sveglio for io — and attached to the end of the verb in the affirmative imperative and the gerund. In the passato prossimo the pronoun comes before the auxiliary: mi sono svegliato.

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