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REFLEXIVE CONSTRUCTIONS C 3 INSTANCES
Translating German sich and its equivalents mich, dich, uns, euch, etc. into English.
— TRUE REFLEXIVE
The subject of the sentence is also the direct object.
The performer of the action is clearly acting on itself.
The true reflexive translates from German into English as: myself, yourself, himself, herself, ourselves, themselves
Many transitive verbs can be made reflexive. Reflexive does NOT change the meaning of the verb.
verletzen: to hurt
Sie hat sich verletzt. She hurt herself.
(Reflexive: The subject equals the direct object, the subject is acting on itself.)
Counter Example:
Sie hat ihn verletzt. She hurt him.
(Not reflexive: The subject is acting on someone else.)
sehen: to see
Das Mädchen sieht sich im Spiegel. The girl sees herself in the mirror.
(Reflexive: The subject equals the direct object, the subject is acting on itself.)
Counter Example:
Das Mädchen sieht den Hund im Spiegel. The girl sees the dog in the mirror.
(Not reflexive: The subject acts on something else.)
hören: to hear
Kannst du dich hören? Can you hear yourself?
(Reflexive: Subject equals direct object.)
Counter Example:
Kannst du mich hören? Can you hear me?
(Not reflexive: Subject acts on someone else.)
— REFLEXIVE VERBS (verb-oriented reflexive)
Reflexive verbs are those which take a reflexive particle for their meaning.
In these instances, the German reflexive particle has no meaning of its own in English.
However, the reflexive particle changes the meaning of the verb (sometimes slightly, sometimes greatly).
Some German verbs always require the reflexive particle and no non-reflexive counterpart of those verbs exists.
When translating from German to English, there is no equivalent English translation for the reflexive particle.
This means the reflexive particle simply does not appear in English.
Leave out the reflexive particle in the English version of the translation.
The reflexive particle is required as part of the grammatical construction of certain German reflexive verbs.
There is no true reflection occuring in these actions (in contrast to true reflexive).
Most reflexive verbs have a non-reflexive counterpart.
(Reflexive Constructions C 3 Instances • Page 2)
How to translate the German word sich and its equivalents mich, dich, uns, euch, etc. into English.
Reflexive Verbs - Examples of verb-oriented reflexive
sich unterhalten: to chat
Wir unterhalten uns mit meinem Freund. We are chatting with my friend. (no translation of reflexive particle)
The reflexive particle uns is part of the verb unterhalten, uns has no meaning in English.
Here, the reflexive particle changes the meaning of the verb.
The non-reflexive verb unterhalten (to entertain) changes into its reflexive counterpart sich unterhalten (to chat).
sich erkälten: to catch cold
Ich habe mich erkältet. I caught (a) cold. (no translation of reflexive particle)
Here, the word mich is a reflexive particle as part of the verb erkälten. The word mich has no meaning in English.
(There is no non-reflexive counterpart to this verb.)
sich beeilen: to hurry
Du musst dich beeilen. You need to hurry. (no translation of reflexive particle)
The reflexive particle dich is part of the verb beeilen. The reflexive particle dich has no meaning in English.
(There is no non-reflexive counterpart to this verb.)
— GRAMMAR-DEFAULT REFLEXIVE
If a grammatical object in the sentence is the same as the subject, the grammatical object is required to take the
reflexive form in German. However, there is no single English equivalent for this use of sich.
When translating from German to English, look for an appropriate equivalent in English.
Translations into English will vary. There is no single translation to the English.
Translate the reflexive element into logical English, not necessarily a reflexive pronoun.
The reflexive element in German usually becomes something in English different from its German counterpart.
Pay particular attention when the verb is not reflexive.
Be aware, also, that there may be no true reflection occuring in the sentence.
object of a preposition = subject
Sie hat Geld bei sich. She has money with her.
(with her = object of preposition / reflexive in German - personal pronoun in English, not reflexive)
Ich habe Geld bei mir. I have money with me.
(with me = object of preposition / reflexive in German - personal pronoun in English, not reflexive)
beneficiary = subject
Sie kauft sich ein Auto. She is buying a car for herself. (for herself = beneficiary / reflexive in both languages)
Ich kaufe mir ein Auto. I am buying myself a car. (for myself = beneficiary / reflexive in both languages)
dative locator = subject
Er wäscht sich die Hände. He is washing his hands.
(his = possessive adjective / reflexive in German - possessive adjective in English)
Ich washe mir die Hände. I am washing my hands.
(my = possessive adjective / reflexive in German - possessive adjective in English)