Reflexive VerbsReflexive Verbs

Spanish

Los Verbos Reflexivos

In the reflexive construction, the subject is also the object

A person does as well asreceives the action…

The subject, the pronoun andthe verb are all in the sameform…

• Yo me levanto a las ocho de la mañana.

• Ella se despierta muy temprano.

• ¿A qué hora te desayunas cada día?

• Mis hermanas se maquillan en su cuarto.

• Nosotros nos acostamos muy tarde.

• Pepito se baña en el baño.

Por ejemplo:

I get up at eight in the morning.

She wakes up very early.

At what time do you have breakfast every day?

My sisters put on makeup in their room.

We go to bed very late.

Pepito takes a bath in the bathroom.

Some examplesSome examples

I wash the clothesI wash the dishesI wash the carI wash the windows.

I wash my feetI wash my handsI wash my hairI wash my face.

What’s the difference?What’s the difference?

I wash my clothes, I wash the dishes, I wash the car, I wash the windows. I can wash things that are not part of me, that is, not attached to my body. In Spanish, we say, “Lavo la ropa, lavo los platos, lavo el coche, lavo las ventanas.”

… and…

I wash my hands, I wash my hair, I wash my face. I also wash things that are attached to my body – hands, face, hair (unless you wear a toupee!). In Spanish, we say, “Me lavo las manos, me lavo el pelo, me lavo la cara.”

And your point is…?And your point is…?

Lavo la ropa, lavo los platos, lavo el coche, lavo las ventanas. Me lavo las manos, me lavo el pelo, me lavo la cara. If you are washing something that is attached, you need to add the word “me.”

Huh?Huh?

There are two ways to talk about washing in Spanish:

Lavar: to wash something else Lavarse: to wash part of one’s body.

LavarseLavarse

Here are the forms: me lavo te lavas se lava nos lavamos se lavan

The “me, te, se, nos, se” forms are called reflexive pronouns.

How do you get those forms?

The infinitive has a –se attached to it to show that the subject is doing something to him/herself. Drop the –se. Change the verb as usual. Put the appropriate reflexive pronoun in front of the verb.

Let’s try one.Let’s try one.

Llamarse: to call oneself yo______ tú______ él______ nosotros ______ ellos ______

LlamarseLlamarse

Llamarse Llamar -- se

yo me llamo tú te llamas él se llama nosotros nos llamamos ellos se llaman Does this look familiar?

What’s going on here?What’s going on here?

yo me llamo tú te llamas él se llama nosotros nos llamamos ellos se llaman

The verb endings are the usual ones.

Brillante!Brillante!

yo me llamo tú te llamas él se llama nosotros nos llamamos ellos se llaman The only difference is that we have to add the reflexive pronoun (before the verb).

AcostarseBañarse

CepillarseDespertarse

LavarseLevantarseMaquillarse

PeinarseQuemarseSentarse

AcostarBañar

CepillarDespertar

LavarLevantarMaquillar

PeinarQuemarSentar

vs

… un poco de vocabulario

la toalla

la duchala tina

el desodorante

el espejo

el maquillaje

Posición de los pronombres reflexivos:

1. In front of a conjugated verb:• Me acuesto a las diez de la noche.• Me quiero acostar a las diez de la noche.• Me estoy acostando ahora mismo.

2. Attached to a gerund:• Estoy acostándome ahora mismo.• Luisa está cepillándose los dientes.

3. Attached to an infinitive:• Voy a acostarme ahora mismo.• Luisa va a cepillarse os dientes.

Okay, how about some more Okay, how about some more reflexive verbs?reflexive verbs?

Levantarse: to get/stand up Sentarse (e > ie): to sit down Dormirse (o > ue): to fall asleep Ponerse (-go): to put on an article of clothing

LevantarseLevantarse

yo me levanto tú te levantas él se levanta nosotros nos levantamos ellos se levantan

This verb has regular endings.

Sentarse (e > ie)Sentarse (e > ie)

yo me siento tú te sientas él se sienta nosotros nos sentamos ellos se sientan

This verb is stem-changing.

DormirseDormirse

yo me duermo tú te duermes él se duerme nosotros nos dormimos ellos se duermen This is another stem-changing verb.

PonersePonerse

yo me pongo tú te pones él se pone nosotros nos ponemos ellos se ponen

This –go verb changes as usual.

Dormir vs DormirseDormir vs Dormirse

The verb forms are the same: duermo, duermes, duerme, dormimos, duermen The difference in form is the addition of the reflexive pronouns: me, te, se, nos, se The difference in meaning is:

Dormir: to sleep Dormirse: to fall asleep

Reflexive verbs often have a special meaning, such as ‘change in condition’ – from being awake to being asleep.

A morning routineA morning routine

Todos los días, yo ______ (levantarse) a las 7:00. ______ (ir) al baño, _______ (lavarse) la cara, y _______ (afeitarse). Luego ______ (vestirse = e > i) y ______ (tomar) un poco de desayuno. Por fin, _______ (lavarse) los dientes. Hint: not all the verbs in this paragraph are reflexive!

A morning routineA morning routine

Todos los días, yo me levanto a las 7:00. Voy al baño, me lavo la cara, y me afeito. Luego me visto y tomo un poco de desayuno. Por fin, me lavo los dientes. Did you remember to use a reflexive pronoun with levanto, lavo, afeito, and visto? Did you remember to change the stem for visto?

Let’s do anotherLet’s do another

Juana ______ (despertarse = e > ie) a las 6:30, ________ (levantarse), ______ (ir) al baño, y ________ (ducharse). Ella ______ (secarse), _______ (peinarse), y _______ (pintarse) la cara.

Otra rutina diariaOtra rutina diaria

Juana se despierta a las 6:30, se levanta, va al baño, y se ducha. Ella se seca, se peina, y se pinta la cara.

Did you remember to use a reflexive pronoun with despierta, levanta, ducha, seca, peina, and pinta?

Did you remember to change the stem on despierta?

Other things to rememberOther things to remember

If you use certain two-part verb combinations, the reflexive verb can either before the first verb or can be attached to the second verb. Querer + levantarse

Quiero levantarme Me quiero levantar Quieres levantarte Te quieres levantar etc.

Make sure that the reflexive pronoun agrees with the subject: yo <> me, tú <> te

What about progressives?What about progressives?

Remember that progressives are also two-part verb combinations:

Estoy comiendo Estamos escribiendo

Refelxive pronouns can go before or after the verb:

Estoy lavándome el pelo Estamos lavándonos el pelo Me estoy lavando el pelo Nos estamos lavando el pelo

Whew! That’s a lot to remember!Whew! That’s a lot to remember!

True! But keep in mind that the verb changes as it always does. You just have to remember to use the reflexive pronoun if you see an infinitive that ends in –se. You’re now ready to move on to #11, regular preterite verbs.