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Reflexive Verbs

A "reflexive" sentence is one in which the subject and the object of the sentence refer to the same person (or people).

I wash myself.

Here "I" is the subject, "wash" is the verb, and "myself" is the object. Since "I" and "myself" refer to the same person ("me"), the sentence is reflexive.

So what is a reflexive verb?

There is a whole class of verbs in the Spanish language known as "reflexive verbs." They are verbs where, in addition to changing the verb endings, we also add what's called a "reflexive pronoun." This type of conjugation carries with it the idea that the subject does the action to him/herself.

In their infinitive form reflexive verbs end in a "-se" after the usual "-ar," "-er," or "-ir." For example "afeitarse" means "to shave" and you can see from its "-se" ending that it is a reflexive verb:

Yo me afeito.
I shave. (I shave myself).

In English when someone says "I shave" it's understood that they're talking about shaving themselves. Rarely does anyone say, "I shave myself." But in Spanish we're a bit more explicit.

This "extra" reflexive pronoun can be frustrating for students who are already busy enough trying to remember the verb endings and as a result it often gets ignored, but we can't just ignore the things we find difficult.

So what are the reflexive pronouns we need to add? Here's the list:

Therefore a full set of sentences with "afeitarse" as the verb would look like this:

Two things to be aware of before we get any further:

• Reflexive pronouns are not optional. You cannot ignore them and hope they'll go away.
• Reflexive pronouns do not replace the subject. "Nos" is not the same as "nosotros."

Let's look at the pronouns again this time with direct and indirect object pronouns included for comparison:

As you can see, the pronouns are all exactly the same until you get to the bottom line (the "él/ella/Ud." and "ellos/ellas/Uds." forms). At that point it's important that we remember to use "se" instead of "lo," "la," "los," "las," "le," or "les."

Remember when conjugating that the object you choose for a reflexive verbs is always going to agree with the subject. The object usually comes between the subject and the verb.

Tú te bañas.
You take baths. (You bathe yourself.)

Nosotros nos bañamos.
We take baths. (We bathe ourselves.)

Ella se sentó en el sofá.
She sat on the couch. (She sat herself on the couch.)

So how do you know if a verb is reflexive or not? Well, the idea that reflexive verbs are where the subject does the action to him/herself is a good starting place, but the truth is you really need to memorize which verbs are reflexive and which ones aren't. You won't be able to tell from context whether you need to add a reflexive pronoun or not. For some reflexive verbs it's quite obvious why they are reflexive but other reflexive verbs may make no sense to you whatsoever.

Here's a list of commonly used reflexive verbs.

A few things to note from the list above:

• As mentioned before it's not obvious why some of these verbs are reflexive; they just are. The sooner you accept that, the better off you'll be.
• Many reflexive verbs have to do with daily routine: washing, combing, drying, etc. and many have to do with emotions.
• Some of the verbs listed are inherently reflexive and can't be conjugated any other way. Some also have non-reflexive forms that convey different meanings.

Notes

Sometimes we can add a reflexive pronoun to a verb that isn't normally reflexive to "intensify" its meaning or convey the sense of "getting" or "becoming":

When using reflexive verbs we frequently omit possessive adjectives (and use definite articles instead). The reflexive pronoun does the job of the possessive adjective.

Like other pronouns, reflexive pronouns are placed before a "normal" conjugated verb, attached to commands, and can come either before or after present participles and infinitives.

Other Uses of "Se"

The word "se" in addition to being a reflexive pronoun pops up in a number of other situations in the Spanish language and it can be difficult to understand what it's being used for.

Reciprocal Reflexives

Sometimes the reflexive idea isn't that somebody does something to his/herself, so much as that people do something to each other. This is known as a "reciprocal reflexive" situation and also involves the word "se."

Ellos se abrazaron.
They hugged. (They hugged each other.)

Ellas se dieron la mano.
They shook hands. (They shook each other's hands.)

The Impersonal "Se"

Frequently in Spanish you'll see an impersonal "se" used to express a passive voice construction where the subject is omitted.

Indirect Object Pronoun Replacement

In certain sentences containing both indirect and direct object pronouns, the indirect object pronoun is replaced with "se."

Click here for more on the DOPs and IOPs.

No-fault "Se"

Sometimes in order to avoid blame or to really emphasize the accidental nature of something, we'll say things like "My book got lost." Spanish has a really great way to deny responsibility using the word "se":

Se me perdieron los libros.
Se me olvidó.

The first sentence literally translates to something like "The books lost themselves on me," giving the idea that, "Yes, I lost my books, but it wasn't really my fault. They just got lost." The second is similar; "It was forgotten on me," giving the idea that "No, I can't remember. It just slipped my mind."