Apuntes el 21 de abril Los verbos reflexivos (Reflexive Verbs) Yo me despierto a las cinco y me levanto cinco minutos más tarde. I wake up at five o’clock and I get up five minutes later. Mis padres se levantan a las seis. My parents get up at six o’clock.
secarse to dry (oneself) yo me seco I dry (myself) tú te secas you dry (yourself) Ud. se seca you dry (yourself) él/ella se seca he/she dries (him/herself) nosotros/as nos secamos we dry (ourselves) vosotros/as os secáis you dry (yourselves) Uds. se secan you dry (yourselves) ellos/as se secan they dry (themselves)
Reflexive verbs have a reflexive pronoun that agrees with the subject of the verb. subjectreflexive pronoun yo me tú te Ud. se él/ella se nosotros/as nos vosotros/as os Uds. se ellos/as se
The verb and the reflexive pronoun agree with the subject. Tú te duchas por la noche. Nosotros nos acostamos tarde. Laura se viste.
As is the case with other object pronouns, there are two options for reflexive pronoun placement if there is an infinitive or a present participle in the sentence: Me voy a acostar. Voy a acostarme. I’m going to go to bed. Los niños se están bañando. Los niños están bañándose. The children are taking a bath.
Reflexive stem-changing verbs are conjugated just like non-reflexive stem-changing verbs, you only need to include the appropriate reflexive pronoun. despertarse (e ie) yo me despiertonosotros/as nos despertamos tú te despiertasvosotros/as os despertáis Ud., él/ella se despiertaUds., ellos/as se despiertan
Parts of the body and clothing use the definite article with reflexive verbs. Miguel se cepilla los dientes. Miguel is brushing his teeth. Quiero quitarme la chaqueta. I want to take off my jacket.
Many verbs have reflexive and non-reflexive forms. Compare the following sentences. La madre baña a su bebé. The mother is bathing her baby. La madre se baña. The mother is bathing herself.