A verb is reflexive when the subject is doing the action on himself (the subject and the object are the same), i.e. ‘I wash myself’, ‘you wash yourself’, etc. In the sentence ‘You wash the dishes’ the verb ‘wash’ is NOT reflexive since you don’t wash yourself (but rather wash something else.)
All the rules regarding object pronouns apply here as well. The necessary grammar for the construction of such forms has already been learned (Objects pronouns and the present simple conjugations.)
How to Recognize a Reflexive Verb in Spanish
Reflexive verbs in Spanish take this form: __________SE (i.e. Vestirse, to get dressed, Ducharse, to take a shower). The suffix ‘-SE’ indicates that the verb is reflexive. When we conjugate the reflexive verb, we first have to know how to conjugate the non-reflexive verb. The non-reflexive verb can be an AR/ER/IR verb, regular or irregular. In our example, ‘Casar’ (to marry) is an AR regular verb.
Reflexive Verb Conjugation
The ‘Direction’ of the Verb
By ‘direction’ of the verb we mean on whom the action is done. I can dress myself as I can dress others. The reflexive verbs ending in ‘-se’ (i.e. vestirse, ducharse, etc.’) relate to actions that one does on oneself, while the non-reflexive verbs (i.e. vestir, duchar, etc.’) relate to actions that one does to others.
The non-reflexive verb
The reflexive verb
Vestir (to dress
somebody else)
Vestirse (to get dressed
oneself)
Lavar (to wash
something)
Lavarse (to wash
oneself)
Sentar (to seat
somebody)
Sentarse (to sit
oneself)
How to Use Reflexive Verbs
When using reflexive verbs in English we use words ‘oneself’, ‘himself’, etc.’ to indicated that the action is being done on the subject of the sentence. Unlike English, Spanish uses reflexive objects that are quite similar to the Indirect Objects. The following table illustrates the Spanish reflexive pronouns and their English equivalent.
Spanish
English
me
myself
te
yourself
se
himself, herself, yourself
nos
ourselves
os
Not used in Latin America
se
themselves, yourselves
1. They wash themselves (Ellos) se lavan 2. I dress myself (Yo) me visto 3. He shaves himself (Él) se afeita
Steps of Conjugating Reflexive Verbs
Reflexive verbs are conjugated in three steps: 1. Conjugate the non-reflexive verb in the appropriate tense, according to the subject pronoun. 2. Select the proper reflexive pronoun. 3. Attach the reflexive pronoun before or after the conjugated verb (according to the tense in which the verb is conjugated.)
The verb conjugated in the table below is ‘Secarse’ to dry oneself
Pronoun
Reflexive Pronoun
Conjugated Verb
English Translation
Yo
me
seco
I dry myself
Tú
te
secas
You dry yourself
Él/Ella/Ud.
se
seca
He/she/it dries himself/herself/itself
Nosotros/as
nos
secamos
We dry ourselves
Vosotros/as
os
secáis
Not used in Latin America
Ellos/Ellas/Uds.
se
secan
They dry themselves
Additional Verbs
Acostumbrarse
To become accustomed
Afeitarse
To shave (oneself)
Alegrarse
To be happy
Arrepentirse
To regret
Asustarse
To be alarmed
Calentarse
To warm-up
Cansarse
To be weary/
To get tired
Conducirse
To behave
Curarse
To be cured
Despertarse
To wake-up
Desvestirse
To undress
Divorciarse
To get divorced
Ducharse
To take a shower
Enfermarse
To become ill
Enfriarse
To become cold
Enojarse
To get annoyed
Entristecerse
To become sad
Esconderse
To hide (oneself)
Irse
To leave
Lavarse
To wash (oneself)
Levantarse
To get-up
Limpiarse
To clean (oneself)
Llamarse
To call (oneself)*
* Spanish uses the verb ‘Llamarse’ (to call oneself) in a different way than English. In Spanish we say ‘Se llama Juan’, literally meaning: he calls himself Juan, but the actual meaning of the sentence is: ‘His name is Juan.’
somebody else)