Reflexive & Reciprocal Verbs

REFLEXIVE & RECIPROCAL VERBS

Beginner Spanish Grammar Lesson

Reflexive and reciprocal verbs in Spanish

Verbos reflexivos y recíprocos en español.

Reflexive verbs in Spanish are used to indicate actions that are performed on oneself. For example: "Me lavo", - I wash myself. Thus the verb "lavar" means "to wash" and the verb "lavarse" means "to wash oneself".

The form of the reflexive verb in Spanish is the personal pronoun + reflexive pronoun + verb in its correct conjugation. For example:

Personal Pronoun	Reflexive Pronoun	Verb Form	Meaning
Yo	me	lavo	I wash myself
Tú	te	lavas	You wash yourself.
Él/ Usted	se	lava	He washes himself.
Nosotros	nos	lavamos
Vosotros	os	lavaís
Ellos/Ustedes	se	lavan

Reflexive pronouns in the infinitive

The reflexive verb in Spanish also has a different form when used in the infinitive. For example: "Voy a acostarME" - I am going to lie down. "Vamos a acostarNOS" - We are going to lie down.
In this situation the reflexive pronoun is attached to the end of the verb.

There can be two ways of saying the same thing using the reflexive form of a verb.

Me puedo vestir	Puedo vestirme	I can dress myself
¿Te quieres bañar?	¿Quieres bañarte?	Do you want to bathe?

Reflexive pronouns in the imperative

With the imperative form, the reflexive pronoun is added to the end of the conjugated reflexive verb. For example:

¡Acuéstate!	Lie down! (familiar form)
¡Vamonos!	Let's go!
¡Vírense!	Turn around! (plural form)

The most common reflexive verbs

Verb	Meaning	Verb	Meaning
Aburrirse	to be bored	Reirse	to laugh
Despertarse	to wake up	Afeitarse	to shave
Callarse	to be quiet	Dedicarse	to dedicate oneself
Enojarse	to be annoyed	Quitarse	to take off
Acostarse	to lie down	Acordarse	to remember
Despedirse	to say goodbye	Maquillarse	to put on makeup
Bañarse	to bathe	Olvidarse	to forget (about)
Taparse	to cover oneself up	Probarse	to try (something) on
Ducharse	to shower	Ponerse	to put on
Volverse	to become	Enfermarse	to become ill
Peinarse	to comb one's hair	Mirarse	to look at oneself
Colocarse	to place oneself	Presentarse	to present oneself
Preguntarse	to ask oneself	Comprarse	to buy (for oneself)
Subirse	to go up	Alegrarse	to be happy about
Levantarse	to get up	Morirse	to die
Sentirse	to feel	Conformarse	to put up with

Some more examples of reflexive verbs in Spanish in use

Me llamo Miguel	I am Miguel (literally "I call myself Miguel")
Me despierto a las 7 am.	I wake up at 7 am.
Ellos se sienten incomodos.	They feel uncomfortable.
Nos aburrimos esperando tanto tiempo.	We get bored waiting for so long.
Se enojan por la demora	They get annoyed because of the delay.
¿Ustedes no se acuerdan de mi?	Don't you remember me?
Me alegro que estás aquí	I am happy you are here.

Reciprocal Verbs in Spanish

The same form of verb construction is used for reciprocal verbs in Spanish. Reciprocal verbs imply a sharing or doing something together, with or for someone. Thus it is used in the plural forms "nosotros" "vosotros" "ellos/ellas". For example:

Nos vemos cada día en el colegio	We see each other every day in college.
Ellos se llaman los fines de semana	They call each other every weekend
La pareja se quiere mucho.	The couple loves each other very much.
Vosotros dos se parecen mucho.	You two look a lot like each other

Interactive Exercise 1

Ejercicio. Completa las oraciones con la forma correcta del verbo reflexivo.

1. Las muchachas (ponerse) de acuerdo para salir en la noche.

2. El gato (limpiarse) con su lengua.

3. ¡(Callarse - familiar form) mientras habla el profesor!

4. Yo estoy seguro que no (sentirse) enfermo hoy.

5. ¿Tú (acordarse) del nombre del señor alto?

Interactive Exercise 2

Complete the sentences with the correct form of the reflexive or reciprocal verb.

Note: Try to use the correct written accents if you can e.g.: á, é, í, ó, ú, ñ, ü.

If you don't know the correct answer, type '?' to reveal it.

1. Yo (irse) al gimnasio esta noche.

2. ¿Tú (sentirse) bien hoy?

3. Él siempre (colocarse) en el primer puesto cada día.

4. Ella dice que (bañarse) dos veces por día.

5. Nosotras (mirarse) siempre en estos espejos.

6. Al estar listos para salir siempre decimos " ". (irse)

7. Vosotros (vestirse) siempre de la misma forma.

8. Ellas (despedirse) con un beso cada día.

9. Ellos (preguntarse) ¿por qué no hay clases hoy?

10. Por favor, ¡ (quitarse) este sombrero ridiculo!

Topics covered in this lesson

Reflexive verbs in Spanish, reciprocal verbs in Spanish - common usage.

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