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
Spanish: | English: |
---|---|
despertarse | to wake up |
levantarse | to get up |
sentarse | to sit down |
acostarse | to go to bed |
The
Conjugating Reflexive Verbs
To conjugate a reflexive verb we first take the
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.
↓
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:
subject pronouns:
yo | |
tú | |
él, ella, Ud. |
reflexive pronouns:
me | nos |
te | os |
se | se |
Therefore a complete set of sentences using afeitarse as the verb would look like this:
Yo meafeito.
Tú teafeitas.
Róger seafeita.
Nosotros nosafeitamos.
Vosotros osafeitáis.
Mis amigos seafeitan.
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 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 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.
Common Reflexive Verbs
Froggy knows his reflexive verbs (and how to get dressed).
Here's a listof commonly used reflexive verbs:
reflexive verb: | meaning: | more literal translation: |
---|---|---|
acostarse | to go to bed | to put oneself to bed |
afeitarse | to shave | to shave oneself |
apurarse | to hurry up | to hurry oneself |
bañarse | to take a bath | to bathe oneself |
despertarse | to wake up | to wake oneself |
ducharse | to take a shower | -- |
lavarse | to wash up | to wash oneself |
levantarse | to get up | to raise oneself |
peinarse | to comb one's hair | -- |
ponerse | to put on | to put onto oneself |
quitarse | to take off | to remove from oneself |
reirse | to laugh | -- |
secarse | to dry off | to dry oneself |
sentarse | to sit down | to seat oneself |
sentirse | to feel | -- |
vestirse | to get dressed | to dress oneself |
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":
normal: | with se: | ||
---|---|---|---|
comer | to eat | comerse | to eat up |
dormir | to sleep | dormirse | to fall asleep |
enojar | to anger | enojarse | to get angry |
entristecer | to sadden | entristecerse | to become sad |
ir | to go | irse | to go away, to leave |
llevar | to carry | llevarse | to carry away |
tomar | to drink | tomarse | to drink up, quickly |
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 el pelo.
I dry my hair.
Juana se lavó las manos.
Juana washed her hands.
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 attached to present participles and infinitives if they're available. Reflexive pronouns must be attached to affirmative commands. Some examples:
"normal" verb: | Él se viste. |
infinitive: | Él quiere vestirse. |
present participle: | Él está vistiéndose. |
command: | ¡Vístete! |
¡Ojo!
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.