LRD - Gramática: Los Verbos Reflexivos (Lesson)

Gramática: Los Verbos Reflexivos

Learning reflexive verbs is not difficult, but it does take some practice as they are not a formal part of English grammar.

A "reflexive" sentence is one in which the subject does something to him/herself. Or put another way, the subject and the object of the sentence refer to the same person. The action of the verb in a reflexive sentence is "reflected" back onto the subject. Compare:

I read the book.
I wash myself.

In the first sentence the action of the verb, reading, is passed onto an object, the book. The sentence is not reflexive. But in the second sentence, the person doing the washing and the person being washed is one and the same. The second sentence is reflexive.

In English, we deal with reflexives by adding words like "himself" or "yourself" to the sentence. In Spanish, we use a special class of verbs known as "reflexive verbs" which have their own unique rules.

Spanish Reflexive Verbs

In their infinitive form, reflexive verbs end with a "-se" after the usual "-ar," "-er," or "-ir." For example, if you look up "to shave" in a Spanish/English dictionary, you'll find "afeitarse" and you can see from its "-se" ending that it is a reflexive verb. Here are some other reflexive verbs. Notice the "-se" endings:

despertarse: to wake up

levantarse: to get up

sentarse: to sit down

acostarse: to go to bed

The "-se" at the end of each verb is something known as a "reflexive pronoun" and we'll need to pay special attention to it when we conjugate.

Conjugating Reflexive Verbs

To conjugate a reflexive verb we first take the "-se" ending and place it in front of the verb. Then we conjugate as we normally would. Here's the process for saying "I shave":

Yo afeitarse. Yo se afeitar. Yo se afeito.

Note: In English when someone says "I shave" it's understood that they're talking about shaving themselves. Rarely does anyone say, "I shave myself." But in Spanish, we're a bit more explicit.

This is a good start, but we're not quite done. Just as the verb ending, "-o," needs to agree with the subject, our reflexive pronoun, se, needs to agree as well. In this case, the se needs to become me :

Yo se afeito changes to Yo me afeito. I shave. I shave myself.

So the reflexive pronoun se becomes me when the subject is yo. What about other subjects?

Spanish Reflexive Pronouns

Here's the list of reflexive pronouns in Spanish, with subject pronouns for comparison:

Two charts first of Spanish subjective pronouns and then of reflexive pronouns

 

Therefore a complete set of sentences using afeitarse as the verb would look like this:

  • Yo me afeito.
  • Tú te afeitas.
  • Róger se afeita.
  • Nosotros nos afeitamos.
  • Vosotros os afeitáis.
  • Mis amigos se afeitan.

Notice that with reflexive verbs the subject, the reflexive object, and the verb ending are all in agreement (because the subjects are doing the action to themselves). Some more examples:

  • Tú te despiertas.
    You wake up.
  • Ella se levanta.
    She gets up.
  • Nosotros nos sentamos.
    We sit down.
  • Uds. se acuestan.
    You all go to bed.-

Two things to be aware of before we get any further:

Reflexive pronouns are not optional. This "extra" reflexive pronoun can be frustrating for students who are already busy enough trying to remember the verb endings and as a result, it often gets ignored, but we can't just ignore the things we find difficult.
Reflexive pronouns do not replace the subject. Nos is not the same as nosotros. It's not an abbreviation either.


So how do you know if a verb is reflexive or not? Well, the idea that reflexive verbs are used when the subject does the action to him/herself is a good starting place, but the truth is you really need to memorize which verbs are reflexive and which ones aren't. You won't be able to tell from the context whether you need to add a reflexive pronoun or not. For some reflexive verbs, it's quite obvious why they are reflexive but other reflexive verbs may make no sense to you whatsoever.

Here's a list of commonly used reflexive verbs:

Chart with list of commonly used reflexive Spanish verbs, their meanings, and more literal translations to English

A few things to note from the list above:

  • Many reflexive verbs have to do with daily routine: washing, combing, drying, etc., and many have to do with emotions.
  • As mentioned before it's not obvious why some of these verbs are reflexive; they just are. The sooner you accept that the better off you'll be.
  • Some of the verbs listed are inherently reflexive and can't be conjugated any other way. Some also have non-reflexive forms that convey different meanings. Speaking of which...

Note: Ponerse means "to put on" but it can also mean "to become."

Reflexive Verbs as Intensifiers

Sometimes we can add a reflexive pronoun to a verb that isn't normally reflexive to "intensify" it or give it a stronger meaning. We can also use reflexive pronouns to convey a sense of "getting" or "becoming":

Chart with a list of Spanish reflexive pronouns and how they appear with an intensifier, here se, to give the pronouns stronger meaning.

 

Possessive Adjective Replacement

When using reflexive verbs we frequently omit possessive adjectives and use definite articles instead (this tends to happen with body parts and articles of clothing). The reflexive pronoun does the job of the possessive adjective:

Yo me seco mi pelo.

Yo me seco el pelo.

I dry my hair.

Juana se lavó sus manos.

Juana se lavó las manos.

Juana washed her hands.

Tú te pones tu abrigo.

Tú te pones el abrigo.

You put on your jacket.

 

Reflexive Pronoun Placement

Like other pronouns, reflexive pronouns are placed before a "normal" conjugated verb. But they can be attached to present participles and infinitives if they're available. Reflexive pronouns must be attached to affirmative commands. Some examples:

Chart of Spanish pronouns and ways they may be placed grammatically in a sentence.

 

¡Ojo! [Careful]

The reflexive object must agree with the subject even if the verb it's attached to isn't conjugated:

Tú puedes lavarte las manos.
You can wash your hands.

Nosotros queremos acostarnos temprano.
We want to go to bed early.

 

Using Mismo For Emphasis

In addition to using a reflexive pronoun, we can also use a form of mismo to really emphasize the reflexive nature of an action:

¿Porqué no puedes perdonarte a ti mismo?
Why can't you forgive yourself?

Ella se cuida a ella misma.
She takes care of herself.

There are several presentations below which describe how sentences are structured using these kinds of verbs. Take notes as you view the material as you will be responsible for the content. Be sure your speakers are turned up.

Reflexive Verbs

Please watch the video below.

Using Reflexive Verbs in Spanish

Please watch the following video.

Using Stem-changing Reflexive Verbs in Spanish!

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Reflexive Verbs Made Easy with a Song!

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Below you will find another approach/explanation to reflexives by a Spanish teacher, Sr. Lafontant.

Los Verbos Reflexivos: La Conjugación y El Vocab

Please watch the following video.

Los Verbos Reflexivos

Please watch this video.

 

Reflexive Verbs Review Activities

Below are several review activities to help you practice reflexive verbs.

Test your knowledge by completing the activity below.

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