One Day in the Life of Celso

The following mini essay is written by Celso about his day. See how much you can understand of what he is saying, and listen to Track 72 to hear the pronunciation.

Hola. Yo soy Celso, el hermano de Estefi. La mañana típica para mí comienza a las seis, la hora que me despierto. Soy un poco lento para levantarme, especialmente cuando hace frío afuera. A veces me quedo acostado y miro hacia el techo de mi dormitorio. Me gusta pensar en el día que me espera mientras escucho la radio.

Por lo general, me levanto a las seis y cuarto, cuando sé que no hay nadie en el baño. Después de salir de la cama, me cepillo los dientes y me lavo el sueño de la cara. Ya despierto, saludo a mi mami, mi papi, y a mi hermanita. Como todos nos apresuramos a partir, no hay mucho tiempo para hablar.

Me ducho, me afeito (¡de veras!) y me visto en treinta minutos. A veces desayuno en casa. Pero cuando no tengo tiempo, espero para hacerlo en la escuela. Salgo para la escuela a las siete de la mañana. Tomo el tren y llego allí con tiempo suficiente para hablar con mis amigos antes de mi primera clase.

So, how did you do? How much were you able to understand? If you need help, take a look at the translation below.

Hi. I'm Celso, Estefi's brother. A typical morning for me begins at six, the hour I wake up. I am a little slow to get myself up, especially when it's cold outside. At times I stay in bed and look toward the ceiling of my bedroom. I like thinking about the day that awaits me while I listen to the radio.

I usually get up at 6:15 a.m., when I know that there is no one in the bathroom. After getting myself up from bed, I brush my teeth and wash the sleep from my face. Now awake, I greet my dear mother, father, and sister. Because we are all rushing ourselves to leave, there isn't much time to speak.

I shower, shave (it's true!), and get dressed within thirty minutes. Sometimes I eat breakfast at home. But when I don't have time, I wait to do it at school. I leave for school at 7 a.m. I take the train and arrive there with enough time to speak with my friends before my first class.

What Did You Notice?

In Celso's story, did you notice the following phrases?

la hora que me despierto the hour when I wake up me quedo acostado I stay in bed me levanto a las seis y cuarto I get up at 6:15 a.m. me cepillo los dientes I brush my teeth me ducho, me afeito, y me visto I take a shower, shave, and get dressed

You might wonder what the pronoun me is doing in these sentences. After all, it can't be a direct-object pronoun, right? Well, not exactly. In this case, me acts as a reflexive pronoun. That is, it reflects back to the subject. If the subject is yo (as it is in this case), the reflexive pronoun will be me. Other reflexive pronouns are outlined in the following table.

Reflexive Pronouns

Subject Pronoun Reflexive Pronoun English yo me myself te yourself él, ella se himself, herself usted se yourself (polite) nosotros, nosotras nos ourselves vosotros, vosotras os yourselves ellos, ellas se themselves ustedes se yourselves
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