Reflexive Verbs (Part 1)

In this topic we will we will look at how to use Spanish Reflexive Verbs.

So far we have seen various Spanish verbs in Present Tense. We have looked at some Regular Spanish Verbs and learned the patterns to conjugate them. We have also seen some Irregular Spanish Verbs which do not follow the same pattern, such as Querer (To want), Tener (To have), Ser (To be), and Estar (To be). In this lesson we will learn about another category of verbs in Present Tense: Reflexive Verbs.

Reflexive Spanish Verbs indicate that the action of the verb reflects back on the subject (the person doing the action). In their infinitive (unchanged) forms, reflexive verbs end in -se.

Let’s see some examples of Reflexive Spanish Verbs:

Despertarse: To wake up
Levantarse: To get up
Ducharse: To have a shower
Lavarse: To wash yourself
Lavarse el pelo / los dientes… : To wash your hair / teeth…
Vestirse: To get dressed
Peinarse: To comb your hair
Ponerse: To put something on
Quitarse: To take something off
Acostarse: To go to bed

As you can see all of these verbs involve an action that is being done to oneself and this is why they are known as Reflexive verbs. You comb your hair, you get yourself dressed, you take yourself to bed, you wash yourself, etc.. The action can be done to myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.

Now, let’s see how to conjugate (change the ending) of one of these verbs, Levantarse, for all persons:

(Yo) Me levanto: I get up
(Tú) Te levantas: You get up
(Usted) Se levanta: you get up (formal)
(Él/Ella) Se levanta: He/She gets up
(Nosotros/as) Nos levantamos: We get up
(Vosotros/as) Os levantáis: You get up
(Ellos/as) Se levantan: They get up
(Ustedes) Se levantan: you get up (group/formal)

Some example sentences using Reflexive Verbs:

¿A qué hora te levantas?: What time do you get up?
¿Te levantas a la misma hora todos los días?: Do you get up at the same time every day?
¿Tu esposa se levanta en el mismo momento que tú?: Does your wife get up at the samer time as you?
¿Te duchas por las mañanas?: Do you have a shower in the mornings?
¿Tu esposa también se ducha por la mañana?: Does your wife have a shower in the morning also?
¿A que hora te lavas los dientes?: What time do you clean your teeth?
¿Te lavas los dientes en el baño con tu esposa?: Do you clean your teeth in the bathroom with your wife?
¿Lavas los dientes de tus hijos o ellos mismos se lavan los dientes?: Do you clean your children’s teeth or do they clean their own teeth?
¿Ayudas a tus hijos a vestirse o se visten solos?: Do you help your children get dressed or do they get dressed themselves?
¿Tus hijos se peinan todos los días?: Do your children comb their hair every day?
¿Tus hijos se duchan todos los días?: Do your children have a shower every day?
¿A qué hora vas a la cama?: What time do you go to bed?
¿Tu esposa se acuesta a la misma hora que tú?: Does your wife go to bed at the same time as you?
¿A qué hora se acuestan tus hijos?: What time do your children go to bed?
¿Ambos se van a la cama al mismo tiempo?: Do they both go to bed at the same time?

Reflexive Spanish Verbs are notoriously tricky at first for English speakers who are unfamiliar with their structure. Try not to get frustrated if you find them difficult to process and use. Give yourself time. Little by little. Rest assured you will learn how to use them eventually. They appear complicated, but soon they will become second nature.