Page 18Avancemos 3 – Lección Preliminar

Reflexive Verbs

• Reflexive pronouns work with a reflexive verb to Indicate that a person is performing the action toward or for him- or herself.

• These types of verbs are not very common in English, but are used frequently in Spanish.

• Many actions related to personal care or daily routines are reflexive, but other verbs can be reflexive as well.

What are reflexive verbs?

The subject is performing the action on him- or herself, making the object of the verb, the same as the subject. Compare two sentences in which one is reflexive and one is not.

I wash myself. (Me lavo.) - myself is the object of wash

I wash the dog. (Lavo el perro.) - the dog is the object of wash

What are reflexive verbs?

REFLEXIVE

NOT REFLEXIVE

Reflexive Pronouns

me (to or for myself)

te (to or for yourself)

se (to or for himself, herself, itself)

nos (to or for ourselves)

os (to or for you all)

se (to or for themselves, you all, or each

other)

Placement of reflexive pronouns

ReflexivePronouns, me, te, se, nos, os and se are placed either before a conjugated verb or attached to the end of an infinitive.

Before the conjugated verb

Te alegras de hablar español.

(It makes you happy to speak Spanish.)

Se aburre en la clase de matemáticas. (He gets bored in Math class.)

After & attached to the infinitive

Voy a acostarme a las 10.(I am going to bed at 10.)

Ellos quieren peinarse. (They want to brush their hair.)

Reflexive Verbs

Reflexive verbs have two parts: 1. a reflexive pronoun

(me, te, se, nos, os, se)

2. and a verb form.

Reflexive Verbs

LAVARSE(to wash oneself)

VerbForm

ReflexivePronoun

Reflexive Verbs

In English, we really don’t identify with reflexive verbs. So these will seem strange to you.

Think of it like a mirror

Reflexive Verbs

In English, a sentence using a “so called” reflexive verb might be…

Lauren brushes her hair. Scott bathes himself.

Reflexive Verbs

You must remember that these are actions being done to oneself, by oneself. For example:

I wash my (my own) hair.

TO WASH ONESELF

I wash myself You wash yourself He, She, It washes himself, etc. We wash ourselves Ya’ll wash yourselves They wash themselves

LAVARSE

me lavo

te lavas

se lava

nos lavamos

os laváis

se lavan

CEPILLARSE

me cepillo

te cepillas

se cepilla

nos cepillamos

os cepilláis

se cepillan

DUCHARSE

me ducho

te duchas

se ducha

nos duchamos

os ducháis

se duchan

DON’T USE IT WHEN…

You do not use a reflexive pronoun or reflexive verb when the action is not performed on one self. If you are bathing yourself… that’s reflexive. If you are bathing your friend… NOT REFLEXIVE

Reflexive Verbs

When using reflexive verbs to talk about parts of the body, use the definite article. (the el, la, los, las that mean “the”)

Reflexive Verbs

Nos lavamos el pelo. ¿Te cepillas los dientes?

Let’s practice

• Matt y Maria dry their hair together. • You brush your teeth in the morning. • I brush my dog’s teeth.• Sam and I wash our hands.• Ya’ll get dressed in the morning.• I dress my husband in the morning.

BE CAREFUL!