Reflexive Pronouns in SpanishA2

Reflexive pronouns change according to the person of the verb. With I me is used: I wash myself. With you te is used: you comb your hair. With he, she and you formal se is used: he looks at himself and she sits down. With we masculine and we feminine nos is used: we shower. With you all masculine and you all feminine os is used: you all get up. With they masculine, they feminine and you all formal se is used: they get dressed and they put on makeup. The form does not change according to the person's gender, but according to the grammatical person of the verb.

Present tense of a common reflexive verb

Subject	Infinitive	Conjugation
yo	levantarse	me levanto
tú	levantarse	te levantas
él	levantarse	se levanta
nosotros	levantarse	nos levantamos
vosotros	levantarse	os levantáis
ellos	levantarse	se levantan

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A reflexive pronoun shows that the subject performs the action on itself. In Ana combs her hair, Ana performs the action and also receives it. If the pronoun is removed, the sentence no longer shows that direct relationship and the meaning may change completely. Carlos washes the car does not talk about Carlos, but about the car. Carlos washes himself does talk about Carlos and his own action on his body. The pronoun connects the subject with the result of the action.

Basic idea of reflexivity

Idea
The reflexive pronoun is used when the subject performs and receives the action at the same time.
With personal-care verbs, the pronoun shows that the action falls on the same person.
In everyday actions, the reflexive helps express routines done by oneself.

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Many verbs are used with a reflexive pronoun in daily life. To wash oneself appears in I wash my hands and she washes her face. To get dressed is used in he gets dressed quickly or we get dressed before leaving. To get up appears in I get up early and they get up at seven. To shower, to sit down, to go to bed, to stay and to put on are also frequent. In these verbs, the pronoun is part of normal usage and accompanies the verb in everyday situations.

Reflexive verbs used in everyday life

Word	Definition
lavarse	Means to clean oneself with water and soap.
vestirse	Means to put on clothes.
levantarse	Means to stand up or get out of bed.
sentarse	Means to take a seat.
ducharse	Means to bathe with a shower.
peinarse	Means to arrange one's hair with a comb or brush.
acostarse	Means to go to bed.
despertarse	Means to stop sleeping.
bañarse	Means to get into the water to clean oneself.
ponerse	Means to put something on oneself.

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With a conjugated verb, the pronoun goes before it: I wake up, you sit down, they fall. With an infinitive, it can go before it or be attached to the end: I am going to wash myself and I am going to wash myself. With a gerund, it can also go before it or at the end: she is combing her hair and she is combing her hair. When the pronoun is attached to the end, the verb keeps its meaning and the accent mark may change in some forms to preserve the correct pronunciation, as in combing her hair or getting me up.

Placement of the pronoun with different verbs

Usage	Explanation
Conjugated verb	With a conjugated verb, the pronoun goes before the verb.
Infinitive	With an infinitive, the pronoun can go attached to the end.
Gerund	With a gerund, the pronoun can go attached to the end or before the auxiliary verb.
Verb periphrasis	In a periphrasis, it is also normal to put the pronoun before the auxiliary verb.

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In affirmative commands, the pronoun is attached to the end of the verb: sit down, get up, let's go. In negative commands, the pronoun goes before the verb: don't sit down, don't get up, let's not leave. The affirmative form sounds compact because verb + pronoun form a single word. In the negative form, the negation breaks that connection and the pronoun remains before the verb. With you and you all, the placement changes clearly between calm down and don't calm down.

Pronouns with affirmative and negative commands

Usage	Explanation
Affirmative command	With an affirmative command, the pronoun attaches to the end of the verb.
Negative command	With a negative command, the pronoun goes before the verb.
Command with two pronouns	If two pronouns appear, the reflexive pronoun is placed next to the verb following the same rule.

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The form se does not always function as a reflexive pronoun. In one lives well here, the sentence is impersonal and does not present a specific subject. In fruit is sold, fruit receives the action and the sentence has a passive meaning. It also appears in constructions such as Spanish is spoken or help is needed, where se helps express a general action or a situation without identifying a specific person as the agent. In these cases, se does not mean that the subject performs the action on itself.

Values of se that are not reflexive

Idea
In impersonal constructions, se avoids mentioning who performs the action.
In the se-passive, se presents the action as something general or impersonal.
With non-reflexive pronominal verbs, se forms part of the verb and does not mean reciprocity or reflexivity.

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Some verbs change meaning when they take a reflexive pronoun. To go and to leave do not mean the same thing: I go to work indicates movement toward a place, while I am leaving expresses departure. To sleep and to fall asleep are also different: I sleep eight hours talks about the action of sleeping, and I fall asleep quickly indicates that I begin to sleep. To remain and to stay change in the same way: there is bread left means that bread remains, and I stay at home means that I remain there. The pronoun adds a new idea, not just a different form.

Verbs that change with a pronoun

Word	Definition
dormir	Means to rest or spend the night sleeping.
dormirse	Means to begin sleeping or fall asleep.
ir	Means to move from one place to another.
irse	Means to depart or leave a place.
quedar	Means to remain or arrange a date.
quedarse	Means to remain in a place or feel a certain way.
sentir	Means to perceive something with the senses or with emotion.
sentirse	Means to experience a physical or emotional state.
poner	Means to place something somewhere.
ponerse	Means to change state or put something on oneself.

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In Spain, nos corresponds to we and os corresponds to you all: we sit down, you all get up. In many countries in the Americas, you all is not used and ustedes takes its place in everyday conversation: you all sit down, you all get up. This substitution also affects the reflexive pronoun, because se is used with ustedes. Thus, nos remains for the first-person plural and os remains associated with the Peninsular use of the second-person plural.

Regional differences in forms of personal address

Region	Variant	Definition	Example
Spain	nos	Used as a first-person plural pronoun for we in reflexive constructions.	Nos lavamos antes de cenar.We wash before dinner.
Spain	os	Used as a second-person plural pronoun for you all in reflexive constructions.	Os sentáis aquí, por favor.You all sit here, please.
Mexico	ustedes se	Used for the second-person plural and replaces vosotros and os.	Ustedes se preparan muy rápido.You all get ready very quickly.
Argentina	ustedes se	Commonly used for the plural and vosotros does not appear in everyday speech.	Ustedes se reúnen más tarde.You all meet later.

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