Spanish:Reflexive Verbs

Reflexive verbs in Spanish are verbs where the subject performs an action on themselves. They are used with reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nos, os, se) to indicate that the action reflects back on the subject.

Structure:

Subject + Reflexive Pronoun + Verb

Example:

• Yo me lavo (I wash myself)

• Ella se despierta (She wakes herself up)

• Nosotros nos acostamos (We go to bed)

How to Spot Reflexive Verbs:

They end in -se in their infinitive form:

• Lavarse (to wash oneself)

• Despertarse (to wake oneself up)

• Vestirse (to dress oneself)

• Ducharse (to shower oneself)

• Peinarse (to comb one’s hair oneself)

• Banarse (to bathe oneself)

• Cepillarse (to brush one’s teeth oneself)

• Maquillarse (to put makeup on oneself)

Why Use Them?

They show that the subject is both doing and receiving the action.

N.B. Some reflexive verbs are irregular and when they are they will have the change that is needed to be made in brackets.