How to Conjugate the Italian Verb Sentirsi

Sentirsi is the reflexive mode of the verb sentire, which, among others, means to taste, to smell, to hear, and to perceive. It is a regular  third-conjugation verb, and in its reflexive mode (requiring the auxiliary essere and a  reflexive pronoun) it means to feel. Sentirsi is used in Italian to express ones most intimate feelings, not only physical—to not feel well, say—but also deeply emotional: fear and love, comfort and discomfort, and the sense of being able or unable; also to feel up to something and to feel at home. To name a few: sentirsi sicuri di sà © (feel self-confident), sentirsi male (to feel ill or sick or badly), sentirsi offesi (to feel offended), sentirsi un nodo alla gola (to feel a lump in ones throat), sentirsi capace (to feel able), sentirsi tranquillo (to be at peace, calm), and sentirsi disposto (to feel willing). (Do not confuse this sentirsi with the reciprocal sentirsi, which means to hear from one another.) Because of its emotional range, its hard to go five minutes in Italian without using or hearing this verb. Lets take a look at the conjugation, with some short examples, to see how you can use this verb to express what youre feeling. Indicativo Presente: Present Indicative The presente sentire is what you use to describe how you are feeling today: mi sento male—I feel badly—or mi sento benissimo, or mi sento felice. It is also what you use to describe if you are feeling sick and you need a doctor: mi sento svenire (I feel faint), mi sento la nausea (I feel nauseous), mi sento la febbre (I feel feverish), or non mi sento le mani (I dont feel my hands). Io mi sento Oggi mi sento bene. Today I feel well. Tu ti senti Come ti senti? Ti senti male? How do you feel? Do you feel sick? Lui, lei, Lei si sente Si sente felice. He/she feels happy. Noi ci sentiamo Oggi ci sentiamo forti. Today we feel strong. Voi vi sentite Adesso vi sentite fiacchi. Now you feel weak. Loro, Loro si sentono Si sentono libere. They feel free. Indicativo Imperfetto: Imperfect Indicative The imperfetto is the (appropriately named) imperfect tense of the past: you were feeling badly yesterday for some time and now you feel fine—ieri non mi sentivo bene ma adesso sto meglio—or you felt clumsy or lost in the past, as a child, repeatedly or for an undefined period of time. Mi sentivo sempre persa. Or you felt serene for an undefined period of time in the past. Mi sentivo serena a Parigi. Io mi sentivo Ieri mi sentivo bene. Yesterday I was feeling well. Tu ti sentivi Ti sentivi male prima? Were you feeling sick earlier? Lui, lei, Lei si sentiva Si sentiva felice con lei. He felt happy with her. Noi ci sentivamo Quando eravamo piccoli ci sentivamo forti. When we were little we felt strong. Voi vi sentivate Prima vi sentivate fiacchi; adesso siete forti. Earlier you were feeling weak; now you are strong. Loro, Loro si sentivano Quando lavoravano con te si sentivano libere. When they worked with you they felt free. Indicativo Passato Prossimo: Present Perfect Indicative With the passato prossimo you are describing how you felt in a specific recent moment that is now passed: when you spilled wine on your friend yesterday or last week, you felt guilty—mi sono sentito in colpa; or yesterday you felt suddenly sick or sick for two specific hours and now you are fine. Mi sono sentita male al cinema: I felt sick at the movies. It was an ordeal, and now it is finished. Of course, remember, since we are using sentire in its reflexive form sentirsi here, this construction gets the auxiliary essere in the present and the past participle sentito/a/i/e. Io mi sono sentito/a Dopo il viaggio mi sono sentita bene. I felt well after the trip. Tu ti sei sentito/a Ti sei sentito male al cinema? Did you feel sick at the movies? Lui, lei, Lei si à ¨ sentito/a Si à ¨ sentito felice a casa mia. He felt happy at my house. Noi ci siamo sentiti/e Ci siamo sentiti forti dopo la gara. We felt strong after the race. Voi vi siete sentiti/e Dopo la gara vi siete sentiti fiacchi. You felt weak after the race. Loro, Loro si sono sentiti/e Le bambine si sono sentite libere con te ieri. The girls felt free with you yesterday. Indicativo Passato Remoto: Remote Past Indicative In the passato remoto you are talking of feelings of long ago—the things of reminiscences, memories, and stories. Io mi sentii Mi sentii in colpa per molti anni. I felt guilty for many years. Tu ti sentisti Ricordi, ti sentisti male quella volta a Parigi. Remember, you felt sick that time in Paris. Lui, lei, Lei si sentà ¬ Quando il nonno vinse la gara, per una volta si sentà ¬ trionfante. When Grandpa won the race, for once he felt triumphant. Noi ci sentimmo Ci sentimmo forti dopo il viaggio. We felt strong after the trip. Voi vi sentiste Quella volta, nel 1956, vi sentiste fiacchi dopo la gara. That time, in 1956, you felt weak after the race. Loro, Loro si sentirono In tutti quegli anni da sole le bambine si sentirono libere. In all those years by themselves, the girls felt free. Indicativo Trapassato Prossimo: Past Perfect Indicative With sentirsi, the trapassato prossimo or past perfect is the tense of how you felt in the past in relation to another event also in the past, all within a story or a memory. You had felt great after eating at your favorite restaurant in Rome. Remember? And then something else happened. And now its all gone. In this compound tense, it uses the auxiliary essere in the imperfetto and your past participle sentito/a/i/e. Io mi ero sentito/a Dopo essere venuta a Roma mi ero sentita benissimo. After coming to Rome, I had felt very well. Tu ti eri sentito/a Ti eri sentito male dopo aver mangiato gli asparagi. Ricordi? You had felt sick after eating the asparagus. Remember? Lui, lei, Lei si era sentito/a Si era sentito felice anche prima di incontrarti. He had already felt happy even before meeting you. Noi ci eravamo sentiti/e Ci eravamo sentiti forti dopo la gara, ricordi? We had felt strong after the race, remember? Voi vi eravate sentiti/e Vi eravate sentite fiacche dopo aver dato l'esame. You had felt weak after taking your exam. Loro, Loro si erano sentiti/e Si erano sentite libere dopo aver lavorato con te. They had felt free after working with you. Indicativo Trapassato Remoto: Preterite Perfect Indicative The trapassato remoto is a literary or storytelling tense. It deals with something that happened just before something else happened a very long time ago. For example: Right after grandmother felt better, they resumed their cross-country trek—all back in 1927. It is unlikely you will use it much in daily life; however, as you advance, it is good to be able to recognize it. Io mi fui sentito/a Quando mi fui sentito meglio ripartimmo. When I had felt better we left. Tu ti fosti sentito/a Quando ti fosti sentita male ci fermammo. When you had felt sick we stopped. Lui, lei, Lei si fu sentito/a Quando si fu sentito meglio ripartà ¬. When he had felt better he left. Noi ci fummo sentiti/e Quando ci fummo sentite forti, ripartimmo. When we had felt strong we left. Voi vi foste sentiti/e Quando vi foste sentiti fiacchi, mangiammo. When you had felt weak we ate. Loro, Loro si furono sentiti/e Quando si furono sentite libere tornarono a casa. After they had finally felt free, they returned home. Indicativo Futuro Semplice: Simple Future Indicative In the futuro are, quite simply, your feelings of tomorrow. Io mi sentirà ² Domani mi sentirà ² bene. Tomorrow I will feel well. Tu ti sentirai Dopo ti sentirai meglio. Later you will feel better. Lui, lei, Lei si sentirà   Dopo l'esame si sentirà   felice. After the exam he/she will feel happy. Noi ci sentiremo Ci sentiremo forti dopo aver mangiato. After having eaten we will feel strong. Voi vi sentirete Vi sentirete fiacchi dopo la corsa. You will feel weak after the race. Loro, Loro si sentiranno Si sentiranno libere in vacanza. They will feel free on vacation. Indicativo Futuro Anteriore: Future Perfect Indicative The futuro anteriore speaks to something that will happen in the future after something else has happened: what you will feel, say, after you will have learned all these verb tenses. It is formed with the future of the auxiliary and the past participle. In English it is not used much (English-speakers just use the simple future) but in Italian it is, at least by the most proper speakers. Io mi sarà ² sentito/a Dopo che mi sarà ² sentito meglio partiremo. After I will have felt better we will leave. Tu ti sarai sentito/a Dopo che ti sarai sentita bene ti porterà ² fuori. After you will have felt well I will take you outside. Lui, lei, Lei si sarà   sentito/a Quando si sarà   sentita preparata, darà   l'esame. After she will have felt prepared, she will take her exam. Noi ci saremo sentiti/e Ci sposeremo dopo che ci saremo sentiti sicuri. We will get married after we will have felt sure. Voi vi sarete sentiti/e Dopo che avrete imparato i verbi e vi sarete sentiti pià ¹ sicuri, andremo in Italia. After you will have learned all these verbs and you will have felt more assured, we will go to Italy. Loro, Loro si saranno sentiti/e Quando si saranno sentite libere, torneranno a casa. After they will have felt free, they will return home. Congiuntivo Presente: Present Subjunctive As you know, the subjunctive covers the world of thought, wish, fear, eventuality, possibility, and such. Hence, it is used with the verbs that express that world: to think (pensare), to believe (credere), to fear (temere), to wish (desiderare or volere), to doubt (dubitare), to have the impression that (avere limpressione), and such terms as benchà © and sebbene—although—and à ¨ possibile. The congiuntivo presente deals with those constructions and verbs in the present: I wish for you to feel happy today: che tu ti senta. Che io mi senta Mia madre pensa che io mi senta bene. My mother thinks I am feeling well. Che tu ti senta Temo che tu ti senta male. I fear that you feel sick. Che lui, lei, Lei si senta Non à ¨ possibile che lui si senta solo con tutti gli amici che ha. It's not possible that he feels alone with all the friends he has. Che noi ci sentiamo Sebbene ci sentiamo forti, non vogliamo correre. Although we feel strong, we don't want to run. Che voi vi sentiate Benchà © vi sentiate fiacchi non volete mangiare. Though you feel weak, you still don't want to eat. Che loro, Loro si sentano Ho l'impressione che si sentano libere qui. I have the impression that they feel free here. Congiuntivo Imperfetto: Imperfect Subjunctive With the imperfetto congiuntivo, the same rules apply but everything is in the past: the feeling and the surrounding actions. I feared that you felt lonely: che tu ti sentissi. Che io mi sentissi Mia madre pensava che mi sentissi bene. My mother thought I was feeling well. Che tu ti sentissi Temevo che tu ti sentissi male. I thought that you were feeling sick. Che lui, lei, Lei si sentisse Non era possibile che lui si sentisse solo. I thought he felt happy. Che noi ci sentissimo Sebbene ci sentissimo forti non abbiamo corso. Though we felt strong we didn't run. Che voi vi sentiste Benchà © vi sentiste fiacche non avete mangiato. Though you felt weak you did not eat. Che loro, Loro si sentissero Avevo l'impressione che si sentissero libere qui. I was under the impression that they felt free here. Congiuntivo Passato: Past Subjunctive The congiuntivo passato is a compound tense made with the present subjunctive of your auxiliary and the past participle. The wishing or fearing is in the present and the main action in the past. With sentirsi, I fear (now) that you felt sad (yesterday): che tu ti sia sentito. Che io mi sia sentito/a Mia madre pensa che mi sia sentita meglio. My mother thinks that I felt better. Che tu ti sia sentito/a Non credo che tu ti sia sentito male ieri. I don't believe that you felt sick yesterday. Che lui, lei, Lei si sia sentito/a Non à © possibile che lui si sia sentito solo con tutti gli amici. It's not possible that he felt alone with all of his friends. Che noi ci siamo sentiti/e Benchà © ci siamo sentite forti non abbiamo corso. Though we felt strong we didn't run. Che voi vi siate sentiti/e Penso che vi siate sentiti fiacchi perchà © non avete mangiato. I think you felt weak because you didn't eat. Che loro, Loro si siano sentiti/e Penso che si siano sentite libere qui. I think they felt free here. Congiuntivo Trapassato: Past Perfect Subjunctive The congiuntivo trapassato is another compound tense, made of the imperfetto congiuntivo of the auxiliary and the past participle: che tu ti fossi sentito. Feelings and actions in the main and secondary clauses happened in different times in the past. I feared that you had felt, or I had feared that you had felt. Che io mi fossi sentito/a Mia madre pensava che mi fossi sentita bene. My mother thought I had felt well. Che tu ti fossi sentito/a Pensavo che tu ti fossi sentito male. I thought you had felt sick. Che lui, lei, Lei si fosse sentito/a Non era possibile che lui si fosse sentito solo. It was not possible that he had felt happy. Che noi ci fossimo sentiti/e Benchà © ci fossimo sentite forti non abbiamo corso. Though we had felt strong, we didn't run. Che voi vi foste sentiti/e Temevo che vi foste sentite fiacche. I thought you had felt weak. Che loro, Loro si fossero sentiti/e Avevo l'impressione che si fossero sentite libere. I thought they had felt free. Condizionale Presente: Present Conditional The condizionale presente of sentirsi follows the regular conditional pattern. I would feel better: mi sentirei. Io mi sentirei Mi sentirei bene se mangiassi. I would feel well if I ate. Tu ti sentiresti Non ti sentiresti male se mangiassi. You wouldn't feel sick if you ate. Lui, lei, Lei si sentirebbe Si sentirebbe felice se mangiasse. He would feel happy if he ate. Noi ci sentiremmo Ci sentiremmo forti se mangiassimo. We would feel strong if we ate. Voi vi sentireste Non vi sentireste fiacche se mangiaste. You wouldn't feel weak if you ate. Loro, Loro si sentirebbero Si sentirebbero libere se restassero qui. They would feel if they stayed here. Condizionale Passato: Perfect Conditional The condizionale passato is a compound tense formed with the present conditional of the auxilary and the past participle. I would have felt better: mi sarei sentito. Io mi sarei sentito/a Mi sarei sentito bene se avessi mangiato. I would have felt well if I had eaten. Tu ti saresti sentito/a Non ti saresti sentito male si avessi mangiato You would not have felt sick if you had eaten. Lui, lei, Lei si sarebbe sentito/a Si sarebbe sentito felice se avesse mangiato. He would have felt happy had he eaten. Noi ci saremmo sentiti/e Ci saremmo sentite forti se avessimo mangiato. We would have felt strong had we eaten. Voi vi sareste sentiti/e Non vi sareste sentite fiacche se aveste mangiato. You would not have felt weak had you eaten. Loro, Loro si sarebbero sentiti/e Si sarebbero sentite libere se fossero rimaste qui. They would have felt free had they stayed here. Imperativo: Imperative Tu sentiti Sentiti meglio! Feel better! Noi sentiamoci Sentiamoci forti domani! Let's feel strong tomorrow! Voi sentitevi Sentitevi meglio! Feel better! Infinito Presente Passato: Present Past Infinitive Sentirsi Sentirsi bene à ¨ una gioia. To feel good is a joy. Essersi sentito Essersi sentiti meglio à ¨ stata una gioia. To have felt better has been a joy. Participio Presente Passato: Present Past Participle Sententesi (never used) -- Sentitosi Sentitosi umiliato, l'uomo se ne andà ². Humbled, the man left. Gerundio Presente Passato: Present Past Gerund Sentendosi Sentendosi male, l'uomo se ne andà ². Feeling badly, the man left. Essendosi sentito Essendosi sentito male, l'uomo se n'era andato. Having felt badly, the man had left. Good Expressions to Know Sentirsi a proprio agio and sentirsi in vena mean to be at ease/comfortable and to be in the mood. As you might imagine, they are frequently used: Non mi sento a mio agio qui. I dont feel at ease/comfortable here.Ci siamo subito sentiti a nostro agio qui. We immediately felt comfortable here.Dopo il funerale non ci siamo sentiti in vena di festeggiare. After the funeral, we didnt feel in the mood for partying.Mio padre non à ¨ in vena di scherzi oggi. My father is not in the mood for jokes today. Sentirsi di and Sentirsela: To Feel up to Something Coupled with di and another verb, sentirsi means to feel like doing something, or to feel able to do something, or have it in you to do something. For example, sentirsi di amare, sentirsi di poter fare, sentirsi di andare: Caterina non si sente di amare Luigi. Caterina does not feel that she loves Luigi.Non mi sento di andare a vedere il museo. I dont feel like going to see the museum today.Non mi sarei sentita di vedervi se mi fossi sentita ancora la febbre. I would not have felt like seeing you had I still felt a fever. Used in that way, sometimes the something that we feel like doing or not doing is wrapped up in the pronoun la, and sentirsi becomes one of those double-pronominal verbs in the form of sentirsela. Used that way, sentirsela really means to have it (or not have it) in you to do something. For example: Non me la sento di andare a Siena oggi; sono troppo stanca. I dont have it in me to go to Siena today; I am too tired.Te la senti di aiutarmi? Do you feel up to helping me?Carla non se la sente di dire unaltra bugia a sua mamma, quindi non viene. Carla doesnt have it in her to tell her mother another lie, so she is not coming.