Page 1 of 5
AP Spanish
Study Sheet: Reflexive Pronouns and Verbs
Figure It Out!
Ayer me acosté a las seis pero no me levanté hasta las siete. Cuando me levanté me afeité,
me duché, me sequé, me vestí, me preparé para el día y luego desayuné. A las ocho me fui
a la escuela.
How does the word in front of each verb in this paragraph about this person's personal
routine affect the meaning of the verb?
Introduction
A verb is reflexive when the subject receives the action of the verb. That is, the subject
does the action to or for himself, herself, themselves, etc. Other times, a reflexive verb
simply indicates that the subject receives the action, and that the performer of the action is
unknown or unimportant. Reflexive verbs can also be used to indicate reciprocal action,
meaning something that two people or things do to each other. A reflexive pronoun
always accompanies a reflexive verb. They agree in person and number with each other.
Reflexive pronouns generally precede the conjugated reflexive verb.
Reflexive Pronouns
The purpose of reflexive object pronouns is to show that the action of the verb remains with
the subject. The following table shows the six reflexive pronouns in Spanish, along with
their English equivalents in parentheses.
REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS
me
(myself)
te
(yourself [informal])
se
(himself, herself,
yourself [formal])
nos
(ourselves)
os
(yourselves [informal])
se
(themselves,
yourselves [formal])
Reflexive pronouns are always placed before the conjugated reflexive verb. They can also be
attached to the end of infinitives, present participles, and affirmative commands. A written
accent is often necessary to keep the original stress of present participles and affirmative
commands when reflexive pronouns are attached. Also, reflexive pronouns agree in person
and number with the conjugated verb. For example:
Me levanto temprano.
Necesitamos levantarnos temprano mañana.
Ellos no están levantándose temprano hoy.
Levántate ahora.
I get [myself] up early.
We need to get [ourselves] up early
tomorrow.
They are not getting [themselves] up
early today.
Get [yourself] up now.
When a reflexive verb is after another verb (an auxiliary, or "helping" verb), and the
reflexive verb is either an infinitive, a present participle, or an affirmative command, the
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Page 2 of 5
AP Spanish
Study Sheet: Reflexive Pronouns and Verbs
reflexive pronoun can be placed either before both verbs or attached to the end of the
second verb. For example, you could say the following:
Tenemos que levantarnos temprano mañana. OR Nos tenemos que levantar temprano
mañana.
Ellos no están levantándose temprano hoy. OR Ellos no se están levantando temprano
hoy.
If the meaning of the reflexive pronoun is not clear from the context of the sentence, then a
prepositional phrase involving mismo or propio is used to clarify its reflexive meaning
(directed to oneself), or the phrase el uno al otro is used to signify reciprocity (directed to
each other or one another). For example:
Se vio a sí mismo. (He saw himself.)
Se escribieron el uno al otro. (They wrote to each other.)
Reflexive Verbs
A reflexive verb is formed by adding a reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) before
the conjugated verb or attached to the end of an infinitive verb, present participle, or
affirmative command. The reflexive pronoun used agrees in person and number with the
conjugated verb. The following table shows the conjugation of a common reflexive verb.
(to bath oneself)
nos bañamos
(we wash ourselves)
os bañáis
(you [plural] wash
yourselves)
se baña
se bañan
(he washes himself)
(they wash themselves)
(she washes herself)
(they wash themselves)
(you wash yourself)
(you [plural] yourselves)
BAÑARSE
me baño
(I wash myself)
te bañas
(you wash yourself)
In Spanish, when reflexive verbs appear in vocabulary lists they have the reflexive pronoun
–se attached to the end of the infinitive verb. Without the reflexive pronoun the verb is not
reflexive. You should also note that not all verbs can be reflexive and that a few verbs are
always used reflexively. Also, for some verbs, the meaning changes when they are used
reflexively. The following table lists some typical verbs in Spanish. Most can either be
reflexive or non-reflexive, but a few can only be of one type. The equivalents are given in
English. Pay special attention to the reflexive verbs and make a note as to which ones are
stem-changing.
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No portion of these materials may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express permission of
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Page 3 of 5
AP Spanish
Study Sheet: Reflexive Pronouns and Verbs
NON-REFLEXIVE VERBS
aburrir
to bore
acordar (ue)
to agree
acostar (ue)
to put to bed
afeitar
to shave
almorzar (ue)
to (have) lunch
REFLEXIVE VERBS
aburrirse
to get bored
acordarse (ue)
to remember
acostarse (ue)
to go to bed
to take or have a
afeitarse
shave
arrepentirse (ie,i)
arreglar
to arrange, fix
asistir (a)
to attend
arreglarse
atreverse a
cepillarse
darse cuenta de
desayunarse (ie)
despedirse (i,i)
to dare
to take or have a
bath
to fall down
to keep quiet,
remain silent
to change clothes
to get tired
to become married
to someone
to brush oneself
to realize
to have breakfast
say goodbye
despertarse (ie)
to wake up oneself
divertirse (ie,i)
dormirse (ue,u)
ducharse
encontrarse (ue)
enojarse
irse
jactarse de
lavarse (la/el …)
levantarse
llamarse
to have a good time
to fall asleep
to take a shower
to meet, run into
to get angry
to leave, go away
to boast
to wash oneself
to get up
to be called, named
to put make-up on
oneself
to die (as from
natural causes; also
"to die" figuratively)
to refuse
to resemble
bañar
to bathe
bañarse
caer
to fall
caerse
callar
to silence, shut up
callarse
cambiar
cansar
to change
to tire
to perform a
marriage ceremony
to brush
to give
to have breakfast
to fire
to wake someone
up
to entertain, divert
to sleep
to give a shower to
to find
to anger
to go
cambiarse (de ropa)
cansarse
casar
cepillar
dar
desayunar (ie)
despedir (i,i)
despertar (ie)
divertir (ie,i)
dormir (ue,u)
duchar
encontrar (ue)
enojar
ir
lavar
levantar
llamar
maquillar
morir (ue,u)
negar (ie)
parecer
to wash
to lift, raise
to call
to make up (with
cosmetics)
to die (abruptly, as
of an accident, war,
etc.)
to deny
to seem
to repent
to get dressed,
ready
casarse con
maquillarse
morirse (ue,u)
negarse (ie)
parecerse
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Page 4 of 5
AP Spanish
Study Sheet: Reflexive Pronouns and Verbs
peinar
poner
preocupar
prepar
probar (ue)
to take for a walk,
ride
to comb
to put
to worry, preoccupy
to prepare
to try, taste
peinarse
ponerse
preocuparse
prepararse
probarse (ue)
quedar
to remain, fit
quedarse
pasear
pasearse
quejarse de
quitar
to take away
quitarse
secar
sentar (ie)
to dry
to sit (someone)
secarse
sentarse (i)
sentir (ie,i)
to feel, sense
sentirse (ie,i)
vestir (i,i)
to dress
vestirse (i,i)
to go for a walk,
ride
to comb one's hair
to put on clothing
to worry, care
to get ready
to try on
to stay or remain
behind
to complain about
to take off
(clothing)
to get dried off
to sit down
to feel (a certain
way)
to get dressed
Remember that a verb is reflexive when the subject and the object are the same. For
example, in the sentence "I washed myself," the subject is "I" and the object is "myself,"
both 1st person singular. However, the sentence "I washed the car" is not reflexive because
the subject (I) and the object (car) are not the same. By the same token, the Spanish
sentence Yo me lavo is reflexive because yo and me refer to the same person.
More Information on Reflexive Verbs and Pronouns: Sentence Structure and
Meaning
The following are a few important points that you should learn in connection with the
meaning and usage of reflexive verbs and pronouns.
Whenever a verb directly follows a preposition, it remains in the infinitive form. For reflexive
verbs, the ending -se changes to agree with the subject. Note the differences in the
following sentences.
• Antes de acostarme, yo hago mi tarea. (Before going to bed I do my homework.)
• Antes de acostarte, tú llamas a tu novia. (Before going to bed you call your
girlfriend.)
• Antes de acostarse, ella escribe en su diario. (Before going to bed she writes in her
journal.)
• Antes de acostarnos, nosotros leemos un libro. (Before going to bed we read a
book.)
• Antes de acostaros, vosotras habláis por teléfono. (Before going to bed y'all talk on
the phone.)
• Antes de acostarse, ellos miran la televisión. (Before going to bed they watch TV.)
In Spanish, the reflexive construction can be used even when some other noun or pronoun
is already present as the direct object, to emphasize who is performing the action of the
sentence.
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Page 5 of 5
AP Spanish
Study Sheet: Reflexive Pronouns and Verbs
•
•
¿Dónde están las galletas? —Juan se las comió. (Where are the cookies? Juan at
them all up.)
¿Hay limonada? —No. Tú te la tomaste. (Is there lemonade? No. You drank it all
up.)
In English, many verbs can be used transitively (with a direct object) or intransitively
(without a direct object). But in Spanish, these intransitive constructions often involve the
use of a reflexive pronoun.
• Transitive
• El fuego secó nuestros zapatos. (The fire dried our shoes.)
• Intransitive
• Nuestros zapatos se secaron al fuego. (Our shoes dried in front of the fire.)
© 2008 powerspeaK12. All rights reserved. This material is intended for the exclusive use of registered users only.
No portion of these materials may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the express permission of
powerspeaK12.