LRD: Lesson - Los verbos reflexivos: Introduction

A mirror reflects back an image of a stylish modern room.Los verbos reflexivos: Introduction

Los verbos reflexivos (reflexive verbs) are verbs that must be followed by a reflexive pronoun (in Spanish: me, te, se, etc.; in English: myself, yourself, himself, herself, etc.)

As we will see in this lesson, there are verbs in Spanish that require a reflexive pronoun but that the same verb in English does not. Remember: Spanish is not English, and this lesson highlights one of those interesting differences.

Reflexive Verbs

Reflexive verbs are used when an action acts on the subject, meaning that the verb acts on whoever is doing the action. You can see this in examples like:

  • comb your hair
  • brush your teeth
  • wake (yourself) up

In that last example, we see one instance where English does not need the reflexive pronoun and, in fact, it sounds a little awkward to include the reflexive pronoun there. For all three of these examples, Spanish will require the reflexive pronoun.

Spanish Reflexive Verb Formation

You will be able to recognize a Spanish reflexive verb in the vocabulary list because it will end in -se. We are used to seeing verbs listed with their -r ending (-ar, -er, or -ir), but now you will see some that have the -r infinitive ending followed by -se. For example:

  • levantarse (levantar + se)
  • ducharse (duchar + se)

Please note that the pronoun -se is attached to the infinitive form. This is how you will recognize the reflexive form. However, when you conjugate these reflexive verbs, the pronoun will detach and be used separately from the verb. For example:

  • Me preparo un café. - I make (myself) a coffee.
    • The verb is prepararse, which is an -ar reflexive verb. When the subject is yo (1st person singular), detach the pronoun and reflect the subject with me - the first person reflexive pronoun. Also notice that the verb has been conjugated in the yo form - preparo.
  • Me levanto a las 7 y media. - I get up at 7:30.
    • Here, our verb is levantarse, which is an -ar reflexive verb. The subject is yo (levanto), and so we use me to reflect that subject.
    • 1st person singular (yo) = reflexive pronoun me

Spanish Reflexive Pronouns

Now that we have a basic understanding of the formation, let's take a look at the six reflexive pronouns in Spanish: me, te, se, nos, os, se. Using the verb levantarse, let's conjugate:

Conjugation of levantarse
Person Singular Plural
1st Person

Yo me levanto.

Nosotros/Nosotras nos levantamos.
2nd Person (informal)

Tú te levantas.

Vosotros/Vosotras os levantáis.
3rd Person

Él/Ella se levanta.

Ellos/Ellas se levantan.
2nd Person (formal)

Usted se levanta.

Ustedes se levantan.

Take note: the reflexive pronoun se is used for both singular and plural, 3rd person (él, ella, ellos, ellas) and 2nd person formal (usted, ustedes).

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