Severn Spanish

Reflexive verbs II

 

 

Introduction/Review

Reflexive verbs are verbs whose subject performs the action on him or herself. Here are some English examples:

He washes himself.

Susana dresses herself.

We bathe ourselves.

In Spanish and English, reflexive pronouns are used to show that the action of the verb is being performed by the subject on the subject. However, in English, many times these pronouns are implied. For instance:

They shower. (This implies that they are showering themselves, i.e. washing themselves, but the reflexive pronoun is not used.)

Maria dresses. (Again, it is implied that she is dressing herself and not someone else, but the reflexive pronoun is omitted.)

In Spanish, if the verb is reflexive, the pronoun must be used. So, without further ado, let's move onto the reflexive pronouns and how to use them.

 

Structure of Reflexives

In their infinitive forms, reflexives have a se stuck on the end. They can be regular or irregular, just like other verbs. The one difference is the requirement of the pronoun. Here are some infinitive reflexives:

bañarse (to bathe)

ducharse (to shower)

vestirse (to dress)

These are the reflexive pronouns:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reflexive pronouns work a lot like direct and indirect object pronouns in terms of placement. They come before their verb if it is conjugated, but they can be attached to the infinitive or present participle.

Examples:

Yo me lavo. (“I wash myself.” Could also be, “I wash,” which sounds a little more natural to English speakers.)

Ella se peina. (“She brushes her hair.” Notice that the reflexive pronoun does not necessarily translate as “myself/yourself/himself” etc.)

Tú te vistes. (“You dress yourself,” or “You dress.”)

Some verbs have a “normal” meaning and a reflexive meaning — that is, they can be either reflexive or non-reflexive, and they mean different things in each case. The best example of this is dormir. Dormir means “to sleep.” Dormirse, on the other hand, means “to fall asleep.”

Yo duermo. (“I sleep.”)

Yo me duermo. (“I fall asleep.”)

Reflexive verbs are also used to talk about body parts. If you are washing your hands, for instance, you would say, Yo me lavo las manos. The reflexive pronoun seems redundant to English speakers, who might try to translate as, “I wash myself my hands.” This is partly why reflexives confuse so many people. In Spanish, when the action is performed on the subject by the subject, regardless of the body part, the reflexive is needed.

Make sure that when you use reflexives with body parts, you use the definite article with the body part, as it is implied that it belongs to you.

Here are some examples of reflexive verbs in Spanish:

• lavarse (to wash)

• peinarse (to brush one’s hair)

• vestirse (to dress)

• ducharse (to shower)

• bañarse (to bathe)

• caerse (to fall)

• burlarse de (to make fun of) [This one is tricky. The reflexive pronoun must agree with the person doing the teasing, not the person being teased, which seems counterintuitive. The person being teased follows the de.]

 

Practice