Los Verbos Reflexivos

Verbs are reflexive if you are doing the action to yourself.

In other words, the subject is also receiving the action.

Reflexive: Not reflexive:• He’s washing his hair.

• She bathes in the morning (herself).

• You brush your hair.

• The mom is washing her son’s hair.

• The mother bathes her baby every day.

• They are brushing the dog’s hair.

Decide if the verbs in these sentences would be reflexive

1. I have to shave today.reflexive

2. The woman put make-up on me.

not reflexive

3. I am combing Julia’s hair.

not reflexive

4. We are getting dressed.

reflexive

Decide if the verbs in these sentences would be reflexive:

5. I need to take a bath.reflexive

6. I am taking off my shoes.reflexive

7. You wake up your brother at 7:30.not reflexive

8. They went to bed at 10:30.reflexive

Reflexive Verbs……show when a person does an action

to oneself

* Me lavo el pelo = I wash my hair.The hair is a part of me so

it’s reflexive.

* Lavo el pelo de Juan = I wash Juan’s hair.

The hair is NOT a part me of, so it’s NOT reflexive.

Two more examples:

* Me maquillo. = I’m putting makeup on

(myself).

* Maquillo a Ana. = I’m putting makeup on Ana.

I’m putting makeup on somebody else, so

it’s NOT reflexive.

Not Reflexive vs. Reflexive• Lavo los platos.

• Cepillas el perro.

• Pongo los libros en la mesa.

• Ellos secan los platos.

• Me lavo la cara.

• Te cepillas el pelo.

• Me pongo una falda.

• Se secan el pelo.

Reflexive Verbs…

…always end in “se” before they are conjugated

Some Examples:• lavarse = to wash oneself• bañarse = to bathe oneself• peinarse = to comb one’s hair• vestirse = to dress oneself

lavarse ~ to wash oneself

me lavo I wash myself

nos lavamos

we wash ourselves te lavas

you wash yourself

os laváis You all (fam) wash yourselves

se lava He/she/You (F) wash

him/her/yourself

se lavan They/you all (f) wash

themselves/yourselves

Reflexive Verbs have 2 parts:

1) the verb: (the part with

the -ar, -er or -ir)

ducharse vestirse acostarse quitarse

2) the reflexive pronoun:

me nos

te os

se se

myself

yourself

himself

herself,

yourself (for)

ourselvesyourselvesthemselves

yourselves (for)

Steps for Conjugating

1. Regular conjugating rules still apply. Yes, even stem-changing verbs!

2. Add the “itty-bitty” reflexive pronoun in front in order to match the subject.

An Example

acostarse – to put oneself to bed me acuesto nos

acostamos

te acuestas os acostáis

se acuesta se acuestan

You try…

vestirse (e-i) – to dress oneself

me visto nos vestimos

te vistes os vestís

se viste se visten

Remember…

When we conjugate one reflexive verb, we put the reflexive pronoun before the conjugated verb.

Me lavo …. NOT lavarme… NOT lavome

¡Practicamos!

1. ponerse – yo2. quitarse – mi madre3. secarse – mi hermano4. levantarse – mis

padres5. I shave6. We put on make up7. You (fam) get dressed8. They wake-up

1. me pongo2. se quita3. se seca4. se levantan5. me afeito6. nos maquillamos7. te vistes8. se despiertan

Verbs that stem-change STILL require a stem-change even if it’s reflexive!

Another rule….You can’t claim ownership for clothing or body parts when using reflexive verbs!

Se pone el sombrero. NOT ---Se pone su sombrero. He puts on THE hat, not -- He puts on HIS hat.

Me cepillo los dientes. NOT ---Me cepillo mis dientes. I brush THE teeth, not -- I brush MY teeth.

You Try1. I wash my face.2. She brushes her teeth.3. They shave their legs.

Me lavo la cara.Se cepilla los dientes.Se afeitan las piernas.

¡El Fin…Para Hoy!

1. Name the Reflexive Pronouns

2. What does it mean to be “reflexive”?

3. Where do we place the reflexive pronoun?

4. Is “Te bañas” reflexive? Explain.

5. Is “Le maquillo” reflexive? Explain.