Reflexive Verbs
Lots of verbs in Spanish are reflexive, meaning that the action of the verb reflects back on the subject. For example, “I look at myself in the mirror” is a reflexive form in English. The Spanish equivalent of “to look at oneself” is
The infinitive form of a reflexive verb takes the pronoun se. For example, if you look for “wake up” in the dictionary, you'll find the Spanish translation listed as despertarse. In constructions that take a conjugated verb plus a reflexive infinitive, use the pronoun that relates to the subject of the conjugated verb: Voy a levantarme, Vas a despertarte, etc.
Remember the stem change in these conjugations: e > i |
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Notice that the verbs themselves are conjugated like any other verb. The only difference is that reflexive verbs include reflexive pronouns. Because the reflexive pronoun and the verb conjugation make it very clear who the subject is, you rarely use subject pronouns as well. However, it is common to include the subject pronouns for the third-person singular and plural conjugations for clarification since they all have the same reflexive pronoun:
Reflexive Verbs in Your Daily Life
Many of your daily activities are expressed with reflexive verbs in Spanish. Let's have a look at some more of them:
These verbs are stem-changing verbs like
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Listen to the examples of reflexive verbs in action as you look at them in the text. Repeat each sentence after you hear it.
(I get up every day at 5:30.)
(You are always well put together.)
(My mother sits down to put on her makeup.)
(We brush our teeth three times a day.)
(What time do you go to bed?)
You don't need to use possessive adjectives with reflexive verbs like lavarse. To say you wash your hands or hair, simply say Me lavo las manos (el pelo). The reflexive pronoun makes it obvious whose hands are being washed.
Practice: Reflexive Verb Conjugations
Now it's your turn. Use the cues to make complete sentences using reflexive verbs. Check your answers in Appendix D when you're done.
Carmen / generalmente / despertarse / muy temprano bañarse / yo / y lavarse el pelo / cada mañana Anita / maquillarse / cuidadosamente / y entonces / vestirse Mi hermano y yo / afeitarse / todos los días ¿lavarse los dientes / tú / después de desayunar? Adán / siempre / vestirse / elegantemente ¿ustedes / quitarse / los lentes de contacto / antes de ducharse? los niños / ponerse / ropa cómoda / para jugar yo / sentarse / en el medio / cuando / ir al cine ellos / normalmente / acostarse / temprano
When the adverbial phrases antes de (before) and después de (after) are followed by a verb, the verb is in the infinitive form: A veces me duermo en el sofá antes de acostarme (Sometimes I fall asleep on the sofa before going to bed). In the case of reflexive verbs, remember to attach the appropriate reflexive pronoun to the infinitive.
