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…? LLavo la ropa, lavo los platos, lavo el coche, lavo las ventanas. MMe lavo las manos, me lavo el pelo, me lavo la cara. IIf you are washing something that is attached, you need to add the word “ me.”

Huh?Huh?  There are two ways to talk about washing in Spanish:  Lavar: to wash something else  Lavarse : to wash part of one’s body.

LavarseLavarse HHere are the forms: mme lavo tte lavas sse lava nnos lavamos sse lavan TThe “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.  Conjugate the verb as usual.  Put the appropriate reflexive pronoun in front of the verb. Ducharse  Duchar  me ducho, te duchas, se ducha

…And when do you use them?  1. As a true reflexive Me miro en el espejo  I see myself in the mirror 2. To show ownership of an item or body part Me pongo la ropa  I put on my clothes 3. To show a change or state in state Me vuelo loco  I’m going crazy Me alegro  I’m becoming happy

Let’s try one.  Llamarse: to call oneself  yo______  tú______  él______  nosotros ______  ellos ______

LlamarseLlamarse  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!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

LevantarseLevantarse  yo me levanto  tú te levantas  él se levanta  nosotros nos levantamos  ellos se levantan  This verb has regular endings.

DormirseDormirse  yo me duermo  tú te duermes  él se duerme  nosotros nos dormimos  ellos se duermen  This is a stem-changing verb.

PonersePonerse  yo me pongo  tú te pones  él se pone  nosotros nos ponemos  ellos se ponen  This –go verb changes as usual.

Despertarse Me despierto

Ducharse Me ducho

Afeitarse Me afeito

Acostarse To go to sleep

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 _______ (maquillarse) 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 maquilla la cara.  Did you remember to use a reflexive pronoun with despierta, levanta, ducha, seca, peina, and maquilla?  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 before the first verb or can be attached to the second verb.  Querer + levantarse  Quiero levantar me  Me quiero levantar  Quieres levantar te  Te quieres levantar  etc.  Make sure that the reflexive pronoun agrees with the subject: yo <> me, tú <> te

Whew! That’s a lot to remember!  But we will practice!!