Note: The examples below include a direct (ungrammatical) word-for-word translation (with *), as well as the English sentence expressing the same meaning. You’ll notice that in English it seems redundant to say “I woke myself up” however, the specificity does add information because it is possible that someone or something (alarm clock, barking dog, etc.) else woke you up. A few examples are:Ĭuidarse (to take care) Some Verbs Change Meaning When Reflexiveįor other verbs, adding a reflexive pronoun changes the meaning (just as it does in English).įor example, in Spanish, the verb for “to wake up” requires that you use a personal pronoun to distinguish whether you woke someone else up or yourself. These verbs include the neutral se at the end of the infinitive (or most basic) form. Spanish is much stricter about which verbs need to specify the reflexive pronoun.
me myself te yourself se himself/herself/itself nos ourselves os yourselves se themselvesįind out how Some Verbs Are Always Reflexive In Spanish, the reflexive pronouns (or pronombres reflexivos) “ me, te, se, nos, os” are used in the same way. Reflexive verbs are a type of pronominal verb, which means they include or relate to a pronoun. In English, we use the pronouns “myself, yourself, himself, herself, themselves” to express the “who” that’s receiving the action. In Spanish, reflexive verbs (or verbos reflexivos) are commonly used to talk about motion, your own body, your clothing, your state of mind, and your routines. In English, we sometimes use the word “commit” in front of reflexive verbs, such as “to perjure” (commit perjury), meaning to lie under oath, which can only be done by the person in question back “to” that same person. Spanish also has verbs that are considered inherently reflexive (not the same ones as English!), and some that can become reflexive in certain scenarios. But with a verb like “wash,” the subject of the sentence could be washing themselves or some other object.
For example, someone can’t “repent” for someone else, only the subject can initiate this action. This reflective meaning is inherent in some verbs, while others require specification that the action is being done back to the subject.
Reflexive verbs “reflect” the action back upon oneself, meaning that the person performing the action is also the one receiving it.