Reflexive verbs In this presentation, we are going to look at a special group of verbs called reflexives. Let’s start out by thinking of the English verb wash. List several things that you can wash.
Some examples I wash my clothes, I wash the dishes, I wash the car, I wash the windows. I wash my hands, I wash my hair, I wash my face.
What’s the difference? I wash my clothes, I wash the dishes, I wash the car, I wash the windows. I can wash things that are not part of me, that is, not attached to my body. In Spanish, we say, “Lavo la ropa, lavo los platos, lavo el coche, lavo las ventanas.”
… and… I wash my hands, I wash my hair, I wash my face. I also wash things that are attached to my body – hands, face, hair (unless you wear a toupee!). In Spanish, we say, “Me lavo las manos, me lavo el pelo, me lavo la cara.”
And your point is…? LLavo la ropa, lavo los platos, lavo el coche, lavo las ventanas. MMe lavo las manos, me lavo el pelo, me lavo la cara. IIf you are washing something that is attached, you need to add the word “me.”
Huh? There are two ways to talk about washing in Spanish: Lavar: to wash something else Lavarse: to wash part of one’s body.
Lavarse HHere are the forms: mme lavo tte lavas sse lava nnos lavamos sse lavan TThe “me, te, se, nos, se” forms are called reflexive pronouns.
How do you get those forms? The infinitive has a –se attached to it to show that the subject is doing something to him/herself. Drop the –se. Change the verb as usual. Put the appropriate reflexive pronoun in front of the verb.
Let’s try one. Llamarse: to call oneself yo______ tú______ él______ nosotros ______ ellos ______
Llamarse Llamarse Llamar -- se yo me llamo tú te llamas él se llama nosotros nos llamamos ellos se llaman Does this look familiar?
What’s going on here? yo me llamo tú te llamas él se llama nosotros nos llamamos ellos se llaman The verb endings are the usual ones.
Brillante! yo me llamo tú te llamas él se llama nosotros nos llamamos ellos se llaman The only difference is that we have to add the reflexive pronoun (before the verb).
Okay, how about some more reflexive verbs? Levantarse: to get/stand up Sentarse (e > ie): to sit down Dormirse (o > ue): to fall asleep Ponerse (-go): to put on an article of clothing
Levantarse yo me levanto tú te levantas él se levanta nosotros nos levantamos ellos se levantan This verb has regular endings.
Sentarse (e > ie) yo me siento tú te sientas él se sienta nosotros nos sentamos ellos se sientan This verb is stem- changing.
Dormirse yo me duermo tú te duermes él se duerme nosotros nos dormimos ellos se duermen This is another stem-changing verb.
Ponerse yo me pongo tú te pones él se pone nosotros nos ponemos ellos se ponen This –go verb changes as usual.
Dormir vs Dormirse The verb forms are the same: duermo, duermes, duerme, dormimos, duermen The difference in form is the addition of the reflexive pronouns: me, te, se, nos, se The difference in meaning is: Dormir: to sleep Dormirse: to fall asleep Reflexive verbs often have a special meaning, such as ‘change in condition’ – from being awake to being asleep.
A morning routine Todos los días, yo ______ (levantarse) a las 7:00. ______ (ir) al baño, _______ (lavarse) la cara, y _______ (afeitarse). Luego ______ (vestirse = e > i) y ______ (tomar) un poco de desayuno. Por fin, _______ (lavarse) los dientes. Hint: not all the verbs in this paragraph are reflexive!
A morning routine Todos los días, yo me levanto a las 7:00. Voy al baño, me lavo la cara, y me afeito. Luego me visto y tomo un poco de desayuno. Por fin, me lavo los dientes. Did you remember to use a reflexive pronoun with levanto, lavo, afeito, and visto? Did you remember to change the stem for visto?
Let’s do another Juana ______ (despertarse = e > ie) a las 6:30, ________ (levantarse), ______ (ir) al baño, y ________ (ducharse). Ella ______ (secarse), _______ (peinarse), y _______ (pintarse) la cara.
Otra rutina diaria Juana se despierta a las 6:30, se levanta, va al baño, y se ducha. Ella se seca, se peina, y se pinta la cara. Did you remember to use a reflexive pronoun with despierta, levanta, ducha, seca, peina, and pinta? Did you remember to change the stem on despierta?
Other things to remember If you use certain two-part verb combinations, the reflexive verb can either be placed before the first verb or can be attached to the second verb. Querer + levantarse Quiero levantarme Me quiero levantar Quieres levantarte Te quieres levantar etc. Make sure that the reflexive pronoun agrees with the subject: yo <> me, tú <> te
What about progressives? Remember that progressives are also two-part verb combinations: Estoy comiendo Estamos escribiendo Refelxive pronouns can go before or after the verb: Estoy lavándome el pelo Estamos lavándonos el pelo Me estoy lavando el pelo Nos estamos lavando el pelo
Whew! That’s a lot to remember! True! But keep in mind that the verb changes as it always does. You just have to remember to use the reflexive pronoun if you see an infinitive that ends in –se. You’re now ready to move on to regular preterite verbs.