When the person doing an action is also the one receiving it, Spanish marks that with a little pronoun: me, te, se, nos, os, se. You already use these to say your daily routine — "I wake up," "I get dressed." In this lesson we'll sort true reflexives from reciprocals, and meet the verbs that quietly change meaning once a pronoun joins them.
A reflexive verb loops the action back onto the subject. Compare: Lavo el coche. (I wash the car.) with Me lavo. (I wash myself.). The dictionary lists these verbs with -se attached: lavarse, levantarse, vestirse.
| Subject | Pronoun | levantarse (to get up) |
|---|---|---|
| yo | me | me levanto |
| tú | te | te levantas |
| él/ella/usted | se | se levanta |
| nosotros | nos | nos levantamos |
| vosotros | os | os levantáis |
| ellos/ustedes | se | se levantan |
Reflexives are the backbone of describing your morning. Notice how the pronoun sits before the conjugated verb, or attaches to an infinitive.
Me despierto a las siete y me levanto enseguida. — I wake up at seven and get up right away.
Voy a ducharme antes de desayunar. — I'm going to shower before having breakfast.
In the plural, the same pronoun can mean the people act on one another. Context tells you whether it's reflexive ("themselves") or reciprocal ("each other").
Nos vemos mañana. — We'll see each other tomorrow.
Los amigos se abrazaron. — The friends hugged each other.
Se escriben todas las semanas. — They write to each other every week.
This is the most rewarding part. Adding the reflexive pronoun can shift a verb's meaning in ways that make Spanish wonderfully expressive.
| Plain verb | Reflexive form |
|---|---|
| ir — to go | irse — to leave / go away |
| dormir — to sleep | dormirse — to fall asleep |
| poner — to put | ponerse — to put on / become |
| acordar — to agree | acordarse — to remember |
| quedar — to arrange to meet | quedarse — to stay / remain |
| volver — to return | volverse — to become / turn around |
Spanish has several "to become" verbs. Ponerse marks a sudden mood or state: Se puso triste. (She became sad.) Volverse marks a deeper, often involuntary change: Se volvió famoso. (He became famous.) And hacerse marks an achieved change through effort: Se hizo médico. (She became a doctor.)
The reflexive pronoun behaves like any object pronoun: before a conjugated verb, or attached to an infinitive, a gerund, or an affirmative command.
| Structure | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| Conjugated | Me acuesto tarde. | I go to bed late. |
| Infinitive | Quiero acostarme. | I want to go to bed. |
| Gerund | Estoy vistiéndome. | I'm getting dressed. |
| Command | ¡Cálmate! | Calm down! |
Answers: me; nos; se; te.
Spanish sometimes adds a reflexive pronoun just to signal that the subject is personally invested or that an action is complete. Compare Comí la pizza. (I ate the pizza.) with the more emphatic Me comí toda la pizza. (I ate up the whole pizza.). The extra me adds a satisfying sense of "the whole thing, and I enjoyed it." You'll hear this everywhere once you notice it.