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LOS VERBOS REFLEXIVOS REFLEXIVE VERBS |
A verb is reflexive when the subject and the object are the same.
Example:
I wash myself.
| subject: I | verb: wash | object: myself |
In this situation, I do the action and the action affects me directly, that is, I become clean. This is different from:
I wash the car.
| subject: I | verb: wash | object: car |
Since the subject and object are different, the verb is not reflexive. I do the action of washing but the result affects the car directly, it becomes clean whereas I don’t.
When a verb is reflexive, the infinitive ends in "se."
| lavar |
to wash (non-reflexive) |
| lavarse |
to wash oneself (reflexive) |
| vestir |
to dress (non-reflexive) |
| vestirse | to dress oneself (reflexive) |
There is one reflexive verb you have been using since you began studying Spanish.
| llamarse |
to call oneself |
| ¿Cómo se llama usted? |
What do you call yourself? |
| Me llamo Juan. | I call myself Juan. |
When you learned to conjugate regular verbs, you needed to learn a set of pronouns called "subject pronouns". Take for example LAVAR
| Singular | YO lavo | Plural |
NOSOTROS/AS lavamos |
| TÚ lavas | VOSOTROS/AS laváis | ||
| ÉL, ELLA, USTED lava | ELLOS/AS, USTEDES lavan |
To learn to conjugate reflexive verbs, you need to learn a different set of pronouns called "reflexive pronouns." These pronouns are positioned before the verb, while the ending "se" is dropped and the verb is conjugated normally. Take for example LAVARSE:
| yo ME lavo |
I wash (myself) |
| tú TE lavas |
you wash (yourself) (informal) |
| él/ella SE lava |
he/she washes (himself/herself) |
| usted SE lava |
you wash (yourself) (formal) |
| nosotros/as NOS lavamos | we wash (ourselves) |
| vosotros/as OS laváis |
you-all wash (yourselves) (informal) |
| ellos/as SE lavan |
they wash (themselves) |
| ustedes SE lavan |
you-all wash (yourselves)(formal) |
The reflexive pronouns do not substitute subject pronouns, they work with them and these are their meanings:
| me (myself) | nos (ourselves) |
| te (yourself) |
os (yourselves) |
| se (himself, herself, yourself) |
se (themselves, yourselves) |
The purpose of the reflexive object pronouns is to show that the action of the verb remains with the subject, not the object.
| Juan se lava la cara. |
Juan washes his face. (reflexive) |
| Juan lava su coche. |
Juan washes his car. (non-reflexive) |
When referring to body parts, use the definite article, thus "la cara" not "su cara."
For some verbs, the meaning changes when they are used reflexively.
| aburrir |
- to bore |
| aburrirse | - to be bored |
| acordar |
- to agree |
| acordarse de |
- to remember |
| despedir |
- to fire or sack someone |
| despedirse |
- to say goodbye |
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