Transcript Reflexive Verbs - Gordon State College

The following verbs from Chapter 5 (page
157) are reflexive. A verb is reflexive
when the infinitive has “se” attached to the
end of the verb.
acostarse (ue)
afeitarse
bañarse
cepillarse
despertarse (ie)
ducharse
lavarse
levantarse
maquillarse
peinarse
quitarse
sentarse (ie)
vestirse (i)
“Reflexive” means “-self” (myself,
yourself, etc.). What “se” literally
means is “himself,” “herself,”
“themselves,” “yourself” (formal),
or “yourselves” (formal).
Reflexive verbs have to have a reflexive pronoun.
“Se” is the third person reflexive pronoun.
He shaves = (El) se afeita.
You can’t simply say “afeita.” That doesn’t mean
anything. If you were to say that to a speaker of
Spanish, he’d think, “He shaves what?” You
have to specify “He shaves HIMSELF.”
What you do is take “se” off the end of the verb,
put it in front of the verb, and then conjugate the
verb:
sentarse (ie) – (Ella)
sienta. – She sits down. – Literally, “she seats herself.”
bañarse – (Ellos) se bañan. -- They bathe. – Literally, “they bathe themselves.”
vestirse (i) – (El) se viste. – He dresses. – Literally, “he dresses himself.”
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“Se” only works for third person.
You can’t use it to say “I bathe” or
“You wake up.” You need first
and second person pronouns.
Here are the reflexive pronouns:
me
te
se
nos
os
se
myself
ourselves
yourself
yourselves
himself,
themselves,
herself,
yourselves (formal)
itself,
yourself (formal)
Notice that four of the pronouns are identical to the direct
object pronouns:
REFLEXIVE
me
te
se
nos
os
se
DIRECT OBJECT
me
nos
te
os
lo, la los, las
So . . .
bañarse – I bathe. – (Yo) me baño . – Literally, “I bathe myself.”
secarse – You dry off. – (Tú) te secas . – Literally, “You dry
yourself.”
levantarse – We get up. – (Nosotros) nos levantamos. – Literally,
“We raise ourselves up.”
ducharse – Y’all take a shower. – (Vosotros) os ducháis. –
Literally, “Y’all shower yourselves.”
me
te
se
nos
os
se
So how do you say “you shave”?
Te afeitas.
How about “he shaves”?
Se afeita.
And “we shave”?
Nos afeitamos.
“Y’all shave”?
Os afeitáis.
“They shave”?
Se afeitan.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that
“me,” “te,” etc., are substitutes for subject
pronouns. I can say
me afeito
and
te afeitas
but I can also say
yo me afeito
and
tú te afeitas
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With most reflexive verbs, if they’re not reflexive, you
have to do the action to someone else
I shave (myself). Me afeito.
Afeito al hombre.
I shave the man.
I sit down (seat myself). Me siento.
Siento a mis amigos. I seat my friends.
I wake up (myself). Me despierto.
Despierto a mi hija.
I wake my daughter up.
I go to bed. Me acuesto.
Acuesto a mis hijas. I put my daughters to bed.
The first one of each pair has “me” as a reflexive
pronoun. The second doesn’t have a reflexive
pronoun because it has a direct object.
Now look again at the sentences from the previous slide. What if,
instead of “I shave the man,” you want to say, “I shave him”?
I shave (myself). Me afeito.
Afeito al hombre.
Lo afeito.
I shave the man.
I shave him.
What about “I seat them” instead of “I seat my friends”?
I sit down (seat myself). Me siento.
Siento a mis amigos. I seat my friends.
I seat them.
Los siento.
And “I wake her up” instead of “I wake my daughter up”?
I wake up (myself). Me despierto.
Despierto a mi hija. I wake my daughter up.
La despierto.
I wake her up.
Finally, “I put them to bed” instead of “I put my daughers to bed”?
I go to bed. Me acuesto.
Acuesto a mis hijas. I put my daughters to bed.
I put them to bed.
Las acuesto.
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SHORT PRACTICE.
DORMIRSE
The verb “dormirse” is a little different.
You can’t sleep someone else. “Dormir”
means “to sleep”; “dormirse” means “to fall
asleep.”
• Duermo. – I sleep.
• Me duermo. – I fall asleep.
• **Lo duermo.** -- Garbage. Not possible.
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