1.3.0: Gramática
Let’s talk a bit more about the verbs in Sarah’s diary entry. As you saw, they are different from other verbs we have seen. They’re more like gustar , but they’re also different from gustar . These verbs are called reflexive verbs .
A reflexive verb is a verb that is accompanied by a reflexive pronoun. This verb construction is used when a person performs an action to or for him/herself. In other words, the subject of the verb and the direct object of the verb are the same person. It is important to note that reflexive verbs can sometimes be unintuitive for English speakers because they are not very common in English; yet, they are used quite a bit in Spanish. So it is important to learn not just how to form reflexive verbs, but also when to use them.
Reflexive verbs are used when a person performs an action to or for him/herself and is accompanied by a reflexive pronoun.
You have already seen the reflexive verb llamarse when you learned to introduce yourself in Spanish in the beginning of FL107.
Modelo:
Me llamo Sara. ( I call myself / My name is Sara )
Another typical use of reflexive verbs is personal care , as seen in these examples from Sara’s diary.
Modelo:
Me levanto a las 6:00 de la mañana. ( I wake up at 6 am. )
I. Los verbos reflexivos
These verbs are commonly used to describe rutinas diarias , like the ones included in Sara’s diary. Have a look at the following table:
| acostarse | to go to bed |
|---|---|
| afeitarse | to shave |
| arreglarse | to get ready (to go somewhere) |
| bañarse | to take a bath |
| cepillarse (el pelo, los dientes) | to brush (one’s hair, one’s teeth) |
| despertarse | to wake up |
| divertirse | to have fun / enjoy oneself |
| dormirse | to fall asleep |
| ducharse | to take a shower |
| irse | to leave |
| irse a la cama | to go to bed |
| lavarse (la cara, los dientes) | to wash (one’s face, one’s teeth) |
| levantarse | to get up |
| maquillarse | to put on makeup |
| peinarse (el pelo) | to comb one’s hair |
| pintarse (las uñas) | to paint one’s nails |
| ponerse la ropa | to put on one’s clothes; to get dressed |
| relajarse | to relax |
| sacarse/quitarse la ropa | to take off one’s clothes; to undress |
| secarse (el pelo) | to dry oneself; to dry one’s hair |
II. Los pronombres reflexivos
When conjugating a reflexive verb, we need to use a reflexive pronoun as part of the verb phrase. We will see how this works in the following section. But first, let’s have a look at the pronouns. What do you notice about them? Have a look at the verb endings too. What do you notice?
| (yo) me levanto | I get up |
|---|---|
| (tú) te levantas | you ( inf. ) get up |
| (vos) te levantás | you ( inf. ) get up (Argentina, Uruguay) |
| (él/ella/Ud.) se levanta | he/she gets up; you (fml.) get up |
| (nosotros) nos levantamos | we get up |
| (vosotros) os levantáis | you ( inf., plural, Spain ) get up |
| (ellos/as, Uds.) se levantan | they get up; you ( plural ) get up |
III. La conjugación de los verbos reflexivos
Conjugating reflexive verbs is a three-step process. Let’s see…
- Breaking down the verb: It is important to understand that reflexive verbs can be broken into three sections for their conjugation. As you learned in FL107, (verbs end in -ar and verbs ending in -er and -ir), all verbs have a stem and an ending. Besides these two elements, reflexive verbs in the infinitive also have the -se ending to indicate they are reflexive. Let’s have a look at the verb we just saw levantarse :
| Stem | Ending | Reflexive Part |
|---|---|---|
| levant | ar | se |
- Reflexive pronouns: In order to conjugate the verb, the first thing we need to do is to drop the se . Now we have the verb levantar . However, we need to indicate that 1) it is a reflexive verb and 2) who is doing the action. These two needs can be answered by a reflexive pronoun. So we need to choose a pronoun out of the ones we presented in section II, and our choice will, of course, be determined by who is doing the action. Let’s see…
Modelo:
- (yo) me + levant o
- Amy se + levant a
- Las chicas y yo nos + levant amos
3 ¿Dónde están los pronombres reflexivos?
We place reflexive pronouns before the conjugated verb: Amy siempre se levanta saltando ( jumping ) de la cama.
When the sentence is negative, you place the reflexive pronoun after the particle no and before the conjugated verb: Amy no se levanta a las 6:00 de la mañana.
Modelo:
- Amy no se maquilla.
- Mi mamá se ducha.
- (Yo) me cepillo los diente.
Your turn now! Con un@ compañer@, conjugate these two reflexive verbs: ducharse , irse . Use the table below.
| Reflexive Pronoun | ducharse | irse | |
|---|---|---|---|
| (yo) | |||
| (tú) | |||
| (él/ella/Ud.) | |||
| (nosotros) | |||
| (vosotros) | |||
| (ellos/as, Uds.) |
- Answer
-
Reflexive Pronoun ducharse irse (yo) me ducho voy (tú) te duchas vas (él/ella/Ud.) se ducha va (nosotros) nos duchamos vamos (vosotros) os ducháis vais (ellos/as, Uds.) se duchan van
IV. ¿Cuándo? Los hábitos: Frecuencias
Now that you are an expert on reflexive verbs, let’s learn some expressions that you can use to talk about how often you do something; that is, to talk about your routine. Here are some useful frequency expressions.
| a menudo | often |
|---|---|
| a veces | sometimes |
| casi nunca | almost never/hardly ever |
| casi siempre | almost always |
| con bastante frecuencia | quite often |
| de vez en cuando | occasionally |
| generalmente | usually |
| los fines de semana | during the weekend |
| nunca | never |
| siempre | always |
| todos los días | everyday |
| una vez a la semana | once a week |
| una vez al mes | once a month |
Modelo:
- Casi siempre me levanto a las 6 de la mañana.
- Casi nunca me levanto después de las 8 de la mañana.
Use the following chat mat as you converse with others:
Attribution: Kelsey Harper, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0