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Download Reflexive Verbs: Part I
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Reflexive Verbs: Part I A verb is reflexive when the subject and the object are the same. I wash myself. subject: I verb: wash object: myself Since the subject and object are the same, the verb is reflexive. I wash the car. subject: I verb: wash object: car Since the subject and object are different, the verb is not reflexive. Here's another example of how a verb can be either reflexive or non-reflexive. I scratch myself. subject: I verb: scratch object: myself Since the subject and object are the same, the verb is reflexive. I scratch the dog. subject: I verb: scratch object: dog Since the subject and object are different, the verb is not reflexive. When a verb is reflexive, the infinitive ends in "se." lavar to wash (non-reflexive) rascar to scratch (non-reflexive) lavarse to wash oneself (reflexive) rascarse el brazo to scratch oneself (reflexive) There is one reflexive verb you have been using since you began studying Spanish. llamarse - to call oneself ¿Cómo se llama usted? What do you call yourself? Me llamo Juan. I call myself Juan. Note: A more "natural" translation would be "What is your name?" and "My name is Juan." When you learned to conjugate regular verbs, you needed to learn a set of pronouns called "subject pronouns." lavar yo lavo tú lavas él, ella, usted lava nosotros/as lavamos vosotros/as laváis ellos, ellas, ustedes lavan To learn to conjugate reflexive verbs, you need to learn a different set of pronouns called "reflexive pronouns." These pronouns are positioned before the verb, while the ending "se" is dropped and the verb is conjugated normally. lavarse yo me lavo I wash (myself) tú te lavas you wash (yourself) (informal) él se lava he washes (himself) ella se lava she washes (herself) usted se lava you wash (yourself) (formal) nosotros nos lavamos we wash (ourselves) vosotros os laváis you-all wash (yourselves) (informal) ustedes se lavan you-all wash (yourselves)(formal) ellos se lavan they wash (themselves) ellas se lavan they wash (themselves) (feminine) The reflexive pronouns are not subject pronouns; rather they are object pronouns. me (myself) te (yourself) se (himself, herself, yourself) nos (ourselves) os (yourselves) se (themselves, yourselves) The purpose of the reflexive object pronouns is to show that the action of the verb remains with the subject. Juan se lava la cara. Juan washes his face. (reflexive) Juan lava su carro. (non-reflexive) Juan washes his car. Note: When referring to body parts, use the definite article, thus "la cara" not "su cara." Note that many, many verbs can be made reflexive. All it means when a verb is reflexive is that the action remains with the subject. wash the dog (non-reflexive) wash your face (reflexive) raise the book (non-reflexive) raise your arm (reflexive) put the baby to bed (nonreflexive) go to bed (reflexive) wake up your son (nonreflexive) wake up yourself (reflexive) ...and so on Spanish Direct Object Pronouns: when there are two verbs, you have two options on where to place the pronoun: before the conjugated verb or attached to the end of the infinitive. When the pronoun replaces the name of the direct object, use the following pronouns: me (me) te (you-familiar) lo, la (him, her, it, you-formal) nos (us) os (you-all-familiar) los, las (them, you-all-formal) I want to see it. (querer, ver) Lo quiero ver. Quiero verlo. María nos debe visitar. María debe visitarnos. Mary should visit us. Lo debemos comprar. Debemos comprarlo. We should buy it. Juan lo necesita lavar. Juan necesita lavarlo. John needs to wash it. The same is true regarding reflexive pronouns. When the sentence has two verbs, the pronoun can be placed directly before the conjugated verb or attached to the end of the infinitive. I want to see myself. Me quiero ver. Quiero verme. John needs to wash his hair. Juan se necesita lavar el pelo. Juan necesita lavarse el pelo. Maria can wash her face now. Ahora María se puede lavar la cara. Ahora María puede lavarse la cara. I have just gone to bed. Acabo de acostarme. Me acabo de acostar. We prefer to wash with scented soap. Preferimos lavarnos con jabón perfumado. Nos preferimos lavar con jabón perfumado. Whenever a verb directly follows a preposition, it remains in the infinitive form. For reflexive verbs, the ending -se changes to agree with the subject. Observe the differences in the following sentences, all of which are about counting burros before falling asleep. Antes de dormirme, yo cuento burros. Antes de dormirnos, nosotros contamos burros. Antes de dormirte, tú cuentas burros. Antes de dormiros, vosotros contáis burros. Antes de dormirse, la chica cuenta burros. Antes de dormirse, los chicos cuentan burros. A few verbs are always used reflexively. arrepentirse (e:ie) - to repent atreverse a - to dare darse cuenta de - to realize jactarse de - to boast quejarse de - to complain about suicidarse - to commit suicide In English, many verbs can be used transitively (with a direct object) or intransitively (without a direct object). The sun dried the clothes. (transitive) The clothes dried in the sun. (intransitive) In Spanish, these intransitive constructions frequently employ the reflexive form. The sun dried the clothes. (transitive) El sol secó la ropa. The clothes dried in the sun. (intransitive) La ropa se secó al sol. Sometimes, the reflexive construction is used merely to emphasize who is performing the action of the sentence. The cake? Maria ate it. ¿La torta? María se la comió. For some verbs, the meaning changes when they are used reflexively. aburrir - to bore aburrirse - to be bored ir - to go irse - to go away, to leave acordar - to agree acordarse de - to remember morir - to die (abruptly, as of an accident, war, etc.) morirse - to die (as from natural causes; also "to die" figuratively) acostar - to put to bed acostarse - to go to bed casar - to perform a marriage ceremony casarse con - to become married to someone negar - to deny negarse a - to refuse parecer - to seem parecerse a - to resemble despedir - to fire despedirse de - to say goodbye poner - to put ponerse - to put on dormir - to sleep dormirse - to fall asleep probar - to try, to taste probarse - to try on quitar - to take away quitarse - to take off