Lunes, el 19 de septiembre

Los verbos reflexivos

You have already learned about verbs and how to conjugate them. You have learned that there are three types of verbs: -AR, -ER and -IR verbs. You have also learned that there are 4 different stem-changes in Spanish: e → ie, e → i, o → ue, and u → ue.

In this unit, “GETTING READY FOR OUR DAY”, you are going to learn more about daily routine, personal hygiene and verbs that talk about these things, known as reflexive verbs. Reflexive verbs are conjugated in the same way as non-reflexive verbs.

The only difference between reflexive and non-reflexive verbs is the fact that in the infinitive, you will notice that reflexive verbs have the pronoun se connected at the end of it. When reflexive verbs are conjugated, they must have a reflexive pronoun preceding the conjugated verb. The reflexive pronouns are provided below with their corresponding subject pronouns:

As you can see, each reflexive pronoun works in conjunction with a corresponding subject pronoun. Why is this, you may ask? Answering this question will also demonstrate to you the purpose of reflexive verbs. Take a look at the following examples:

1A. Yo me lavo las manos. (I wash my hands. My hands are part of me.)

1B. Yo lavo el coche de mi padre. (I wash my father’s car. His car is NOT part of me.)

2A. Mi madre se despierta a las siete de la mañana. (My mom wakes up at 7 AM. She wakes herself up and she is also the one being woken up.)

2B. Mi madre despierta a mi hermano. (My mom wakes up my brother. My mom and my brother are NOT the same person.)

What do you notice about the “A” sentences and how they differ from the “B” sentences? In the “A” sentences, the subject and the direct object are the same person. What does this mean? What this is saying is that the “do-er” of the action is also the same person as the recipient of the action. This means that the subject and the direct object are the same person. In the “B” sentences, the subject and the direct object are different. The direct object is NOT part of the same person performing the action.

So, why do we use a reflexive verb? We use a reflexive verb to show that the person doing the action is the same person receiving the action. If you look at the above chart, this makes perfect sense, as one pronoun refers to the “do-er” (subject) while the other refers to the recipient (direct object).

Take a look at the following sentences. See if you can identify the subject pronouns as well as the reflexive pronouns.

1. Nosotros nos acostamos muy tarde cada noche.

2. Mis amigos se ponen una chaqueta cuando hace frío.

3. Yo me visto formalmente cuando voy a la iglesia.

4. ¿A qué hora te levantas tú cada mañana?

5. Diego se afeita la barba con crema de afeitar.

Now take a look at these examples. What do you notice about the reflexive pronouns? Where are they located when using the reflexive verb in the infinitive form?

6. Yo necesito cepillarme el pelo.

7. Tú vas a ponerte unos zapatos.

8. Usted quiere prepararse antes de salir esta noche.

9. Nosotras preferimos despertarnos a las seis.

10. Después de ducharse, ellos tienen que secarse con una toalla.

Let’s recap what you’ve learned.

1. Reflexive verbs are conjugated like non-reflexive verbs, except they always have a reflexive pronoun with them.

2. Reflexive pronouns are used with reflexive verbs to show that the “do-er” of the action and the recipient of the action are the same person.

3. When talking about our daily routine and/or personal hygiene, we typically use reflexive verbs.

4. When using an infinitive with a reflexive verb, the reflexive pronoun is still used and still corresponds to the subject of the verb.