Reflexive verbs
In this presentation, we are
going to look at a special group
of verbs called reflexives.
Lets start out by thinking of the
English verb wash. List
several things that you can
wash.
Some examples
I wash my clothes, I wash
the dishes, I wash the car,
I wash the windows.
I wash my hands, I wash
my hair, I wash my face.
Whats the difference?
I wash my clothes, I wash the dishes, I wash the car, I wash the windows.
I can wash things that are not part of me, that is, not attached to my body.
In Spanish, we say, Lavo la ropa, lavo los platos, lavo el coche, lavo las ventanas.
and
I wash my hands, I wash
my hair, I wash my face.
I also wash things that are
attached to my body
hands, face, hair (unless
you wear a toupee!).
In Spanish, we say, Me
lavo las manos, me lavo
el pelo, me lavo la cara.
And your point is?
Lavo la ropa, lavo los platos,
lavo el coche, lavo las ventanas.
Me lavo las manos, me lavo el
pelo, me lavo la cara.
If you are washing something
that is attached, you need to add
the word me.
Huh?
There are two ways to
talk about washing in
Spanish:
Lavar: to wash something
else
Lavarse: to wash part of
ones body.
Lavarse
Here are the forms:
me lavo
te lavas
se lava
nos lavamos
se lavan
The me, te, se, nos, se
forms are called reflexive
pronouns.
How do you get those forms?
The infinitive has a se
attached to it to show that the
subject is doing something to
him/herself.
Drop the se.
Change the verb as usual.
Put the appropriate reflexive
pronoun in front of the verb.
Lets try one.
Llamarse: to call oneself
yo______
t______
l______
nosotros ______
ellos ______
Llamarse
Llamarse
Llamar -- se
yo me llamo
t te llamas
l se llama
nosotros nos llamamos
ellos se llaman
Does this look familiar?
Whats going on here?
yo me llamo
t te llamas
l se llama
nosotros nos llamamos
ellos se llaman
The verb endings are
the usual ones.
Brillante!
yo me llamo
t te llamas
l se llama
nosotros nos llamamos
ellos se llaman
The only difference is that we have to add the reflexive pronoun (before the verb).
Okay, how about some more reflexive verbs?
Levantarse: to get/stand up
Sentarse (e > ie): to sit down
Dormirse (o > ue): to fall asleep
Ponerse (-go): to put on an article
of clothing
Levantarse
yo me levanto
t te levantas
l se levanta
nosotros nos levantamos
ellos se levantan
This verb has regular endings.
Sentarse (e > ie)
yo me siento
t te sientas
l se sienta
nosotros nos sentamos
ellos se sientan
This verb is stem-changing.
Dormirse
yo me duermo
t te duermes
l se duerme
nosotros nos dormimos
ellos se duermen
This is another stem-changing verb.
Ponerse
yo me pongo
t te pones
l se pone
nosotros nos ponemos
ellos se ponen
This go verb changes as usual.
Dormir vs Dormirse
The verb forms are the same: duermo,
duermes, duerme, dormimos, duermen
The difference in form is the addition of the
reflexive pronouns: me, te, se, nos, se
The difference in meaning is:
Dormir: to sleep
Dormirse: to fall asleep
Reflexive verbs often have a special
meaning, such as change in condition
from being awake to being asleep.
A morning routine
Todos los das, yo ______ (levantarse)
a las 7:00. ______ (ir) al bao,
_______ (lavarse) la cara, y _______
(afeitarse). Luego ______ (vestirse = e
> i) y ______ (tomar) un poco de
desayuno. Por fin, _______ (lavarse)
los dientes.
Hint: not all the verbs in this paragraph are reflexive!
A morning routine
Todos los das, yo me levanto a las 7:00. Voy al bao, me lavo la cara, y me afeito. Luego me visto y tomo un poco de desayuno. Por fin, me lavo los dientes.
Did you remember to use a reflexive pronoun with levanto, lavo, afeito, andvisto?
Did you remember to change the stem for visto?
Lets do another
Juana ______ (despertarse = e > ie) a
las 6:30, ________ (levantarse),
______ (ir) al bao, y ________
(ducharse). Ella ______ (secarse),
_______ (peinarse), y _______
(pintarse) la cara.
Otra rutina diaria
Juana se despierta a las 6:30, se levanta, va al bao, y se ducha. Ella se seca, se peina, y se pinta la cara.
Did you remember to use a reflexive pronoun with despierta, levanta, ducha, seca, peina, and pinta?
Did you remember to change the stem on despierta?
Other things to remember
If you use certain two-part verb combinations, the reflexive verb can either before the first verb or can be attached to the second verb.
Querer + levantarseQuiero levantarme
Me quiero levantar
Quieres levantarte
Te quieres levantar
etc.
Make sure that the reflexive pronoun agrees with the subject: yo me, t te
What about progressives?
Remember that progressives are also
two-part verb combinations:
Estoy comiendo
Estamos escribiendo
Refelxive pronouns can go before or
after the verb:
Estoy lavndome el pelo
Estamos lavndonos el pelo
Me estoy lavando el pelo
Nos estamos lavando el pelo
Whew! Thats a lot to remember!
True! But keep in mind that the
verb changes as it always does.
You just have to remember to
use the reflexive pronoun if you
see an infinitive that ends in se.
Youre now ready to move on to
#11, regular preterite verbs.
