Reflexive Verbs

Something that throws many students of Spanish for a loop is the use of reflexive verbs and reflexive pronouns. These annoying
pronouns show up everywhere, and using them correctly can often make the difference between sounding like a native or a novice.
A reflexive verb is one in which the action both is carried out by and happens to the subject of the verb, i.e., it reflects upon the
subject. Such verbs are sometimes expressed in English by using words such as herself, themselves, and myself, i.e. I scratch myself.
Oftentimes, however, Spanish reflexive verbs dont seem intuitively reflexive to an English speaker. For instance, the verb vestirse
means to get dressed. Why not just say vestir and be done with it? Because the literal translation is to dress oneself. We say to get
dressed when we need a rough equivalent in English. Youll see that many Spanish reflexive verbs are translated into English with the
word get.
Probably the most familiar reflexive verb (whether youre aware of it or not) is llamarse (to be named). Literally translated, llamarse
means to call oneself.
Cmo te llamas? Whats your name?
(Literally: What do you call yourself?)
Me llamo Norma. My name is Norma. (Literally: I call myself Norma.)
The infinitive form of the verb llamarse ends with se. Se is a reflexive pronoun that is tacked on to the end of the infinitive to show it
is reflexive. All reflexive verb infinitives end with -se. As you can see in the previous example, a reflexive pronoun is also used when
the verb is conjugated. Here are the reflexive pronouns shown with llamarse. Notice how each reflexive matches up with the subject
pronoun that it reflects.

Subject
yo
t
l/ella/usted nosotros vosotros ellos/ella/ustedes
Reflexive pronoun and verb me llamo
te llamas
se llama
nos llamamos os llamis
se llaman

The reflexive pronouns can be translated as follows:

me myself
te yourself
se himself, herself, itself, yourself nos ourselves
os se
yourselves, each other themselves, yourselves, each other
Many reflexive verbs have to do with personal grooming.
afeitarse
baarse
cepillarse (el cabello, los dientes) ducharse
lavarse (la cara, las manos)
to shave (oneself)
to bathe (oneself)
to brush ones (hair, teeth)
to shower (oneself)
to wash oneself (ones face, hands)

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maquillarse peinarse ponerse quitarse vestirse (i)

to put on (ones) makeup
to comb ones hair
to put on (one s clothes)
to take off (an item of clothing) to get dressed
Other common reflexive verbs are:
acostarse (ue) despedirse (i) despertarse (ie) divertirse (ie) dormirse (ue) enojarse equivocarse fijarse (en) levantarse olvidarse (de)
quejarse sentarse (ie) sentirse (ie)
togotobed
to say good-bye
to wake up
to have fun
to fall asleep
to get angry
to be mistaken
to notice, to pay attention (to) to get up
to forget
to complain
to sit down
to feel
Youll see that many verbs can have a slight, but important, change of meaning when they become reflexive.
Not reflexive
dormir ir engaar llevar marchar poner quedar
to sleep
to go
to trick, fool
to take
to go, walk
to put
to be, be left (over)
Reflexive
dormirse irse engaarse llevarse marcharse ponerse quedarse
to fall asleep
to go away, leave
to be mistaken, deceive oneself to take away
to leave
to put on
to remain, stay
Here are some example sentences with reflexive verbs. Notice the placement of the reflexive pronoun before the conjugated verb.
Mara se acuesta a las diez. No me siento bien. Ustedes se quedan aqu?
Mara goes to bed at ten. I dont feel well.
Are you staying here?

Te duchas por la noche? Nos vamos.

Se marchan?
Me olvid de su cumpleaos.

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Do you shower at night? Were leaving.

Are you leaving?
I forgot her birthday.
Colloquially, Spanish speakers will sometimes use verbs reflexively with the same meaning as the non-reflexive form. Compare these
examples:
Vienes? Te vienes? Are you coming? Com todo. Me com todo. I ate everything.
NOTE: Possessive pronouns are not used when talking about parts of the body and items of clothing. Spanish prefers the definite
article in this construction. Compare the following sentences in English and Spanish.
Juan se lava la cara y se cepilla los dientes.
Me quito el abrigo.

Written Practice 4
Juan washes his face and brushes his teeth.
I take off my coat.

Complete the following sentences with the correct reflexive pronoun: me, te, se, or nos.
1. Raquel 

despierta a las siete de la maana. Raquel wakes up at seven in the morning.

2. Qu 

vas a poner? What are you going to wear?

3. ________ lavamos las manos antes de comer. We wash our hands before eating.
4.

Mis padres 

5.



fijan en todo. My parents notice everything.

estoy vistiendo para salir a las diez. Im getting dressed to go out at ten.

6. Por qu no 

sientas? Why dont you sit down?

7. Cuntas veces por da 

8. Orlando siempre 
9. A qu hora 
10. 

vamos o 

cepillas los dientes? How many times a day do you brush your teeth?
est quejando. Orlando is always complaining.

marchan? What time are you leaving?

quedamos? Shall we leave or shall we stay?

PLACEMENT OF REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS

When reflexive verbs are used in the present tense, or other simple tenses (tenses composed of a single word), the pronoun precedes
the verb. With present participles and infinitives, however, the placement of the pronoun is more flexible in Spanish. It can go before
the auxiliary helping verb, or be tacked on to the end of the infinitive or present participle.

Me voy a vestir.
Me tengo que ir.
Se estn divirtiendo.

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Written Practice 5
Voy a vestirme. Tengo que irme. Estn divirtindose.
Im going to get dressed. I have to go.
They are having fun.

Rewrite the following sentences, putting the pronoun in a different place than it appears.
1.

Pienso quedarme hasta el final. Im thinking of staying until the end.

____________________________________________________________________________________.

2.

Luis tiene que despertarse a las seis. Luis has to wake up at six.
____________________________________________________________________________________.

3.

Nos vamos a sentar aqu. We are going to sit here.

____________________________________________________________________________________.

4.

Silvia se est duchando. Silvia is taking a shower.

____________________________________________________________________________________.

5.

Manolo est engandose con esta relacin. Manolo is deceiving himself with this relationship.
____________________________________________________________________________________.

6.

Vas a ponerte un vestido o una falda? Are you going to put on a dress or a skirt?
____________________________________________________________________________________.

Written Practice 6
Now complete the conversation between two friends with the reflexive verbs in parentheses.
Silvia: Manolo, 

(1. venirse) a mi fiesta esta noche? Ma- nolo, are you coming to my party tonight?

Manolo: No creo. No 

parties.

(2. divertirse) mucho en las fiestas. I dont think so. I dont have a lot of fun at

Silvia: Siempre 

(3. quejarse) y luego
(4. alegrarse) de estar all. You always complain, but later youre glad to be there.
Manolo: Es que si voy, tengo que 

(5. ducharse) y (6. vestirse). No me apetece. But if I go I have to

shower and get dressed. I dont feel like it.

Silvia: Si no 
van a 

(7. venirse), Marta y Ana

(8. enojarse). If you dont come, Marta and Ana are going to get angry.

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Manolo: Ya habl con Marta. Ella 

to Marta. Shes staying at home tonight. Shes sick.

(9. quedarse) en casa esta noche. Est enferma. I already talked

Silvia: Y Ana? Sabes que 

you.

(10. fijarse) mucho en ti. And Ana? You know she really has her eye on

Manolo: S, lo s. Pero no 

That girl is weird.

(11. interesarse). Esa chica es rara. Yes, I know. But Im not interested.

Silvia: Bueno, como quieras. Vamos a 

to have fun without you.

(12. divertirse) mucho sin ti. Fine, as you wish. Were going

Reflexive Verbs with Multiple Meanings

Some reflexive verbs have a variety of meanings and uses, and its a good idea to try to get them under your belt. The
Spanish language is very rich in idiomatic expres- sions, and the combinations are endless. Here are just a few useful
common reflexive verbs with multiple meanings.

ENCONTRARSE
Encontrar means to find. The reflexive encontrarse is most often used in the sense to meet or to run into. In this case its used with
the preposition con (with).
Dnde nos encontramos? Where are we going to meet? Me encontr con Susana en la fiesta. I ran into Susana at the party.
Encontrarse is also used to talk about feelings. In this case it means to feel, but could literally be thought of as I find myself feeling.
Te encuentras bien, Carlos? Are you feeling O.K., Carlos? No, me encuentro muy solo. No, Im feeling very lonely.
Imagine youve gone out with friends and you suddenly feel sick or tired. See how this and other reflexive verbs can help you express
yourself.
No me encuentro bien. Me tengo Im not feeling well. I have to go que ir a casa. home.
Finally, encontrarse can also mean to be located. Again, this has the sense of to find itself.
Dnde se encuentran los baos? Se encuentran en el pasillo, a la derecha.

QUEDARSE
Where are the bathrooms?
They are in the hallway, on the right.
Incidentally, the verb quedar, non-reflexively, aside from meaning to be left also means to arrange to meet or to make plans as well
as to meet. (Youll see that que- dar, quedarse, encontrar, and encontrarse have a lot in common with each other.)
A qu hora quedamos? What time are we meeting? Quedamos a las ocho en Lets meet at 8:00 at the mall.
el centro comercial.
In its reflexive form, the verb quedarse can mean to stay.
Me quedo en casa. Im staying home.
Nos quedamos o nos vamos? Shall we stay or shall we go?
Quedarse also means to keep. In this case its used with the preposition con (with).

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Me quedo con ste. Ill take this one.

Te puedes quedar con el cambio. You can keep the change.
Quedarse is also used in way that is difficult to translate, but has the general meaning of to be left, suggesting how something or
someone ends up. These are often used in the past tense (preterit), which you will learn later.
Me qued sin trabajo. I lost my job.
Rodrigo se qued dormido en Rodrigo fell asleep on the couch.
el sof.
In this sense, quedarse can be used in numerous ways. Here are just a few more common expressions:
quedarse en blanco quedarse dormido quedarse helado quedarse atrs

PONERSE
to space out, blank out to fall asleep
to be scared stiff
to stay/get left behind
Finally, you learned above that poner means to put and ponerse means to put on or wear.
Te vas a poner una corbata? Are you going to put on a tie? Marisa nunca se pone falda. Marisa never wears a skirt.
In addition, ponerse can mean to get in the sense of to become.
Despus de comer en el restaurante After eating at the restaurant I got sick. me puse enfermo.
Here are a few common expressions that use ponerse in the sense of to become or to get.
ponerse mal/enfermo ponerse bien
ponerse de acuerdo ponerse en contacto
to get sick
to get better
to come to an agreement to get in touch
Ponerse is also used in the sense of to put oneself (in a certain position). ponerse de pie to stand up
ponerse de rodillas to kneel
Finally, ponerse a can be used to mean to start.
Me pongo a hablar y no puedo I start talking and I cant stop. parar.
Se puso a llover. It started to rain.

Written Practice 7
Circle the letter of the word or phrase that best completes each sentence.
1. No me 
bien. Me voy a sentar un rato. I dont feel well. Im going to sit down for a minute.
(a) quedo (b) encuentro (c) pongo
2. Nada ms llego a casa y se 

a llover. No sooner do I arrive home than it starts to rain.

(a) queda (b) encuentra (c) pone

3. Cundo veo una serpiente me 

helado. When I see a snake I get scared stiff.

(a) quedo (b) encuentro (c) pongo

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4.

Ustedes se 
aqu y yo voy a buscar a Orlando. You stay here, and Ill go look for Orlando.
(a) quedan (b) encuentran (c) ponen

5.

En dnde y a qu hora nos 

? Where and what time are we meeting?
(a) quedamos (b) encontramos (c) ponemos

6.

Se con la falda azul, seora? Are you going to take the blue skirt, maam?
(a) queda (b) encuentra (c) pone

7.

Cmo te , Paty? Tienes mal aspecto. How are you feeling, Paty? You dont look well.
(a) quedas (b) encuentras (c) pones

8.

Julia siempre se 

gafas oscuras. Julia always wears dark glasses.

(a) queda (b) encuentra (c) pone

9.

Cuando empieza la msica me 

(a) quedo (b) encuentro (c) pongo

10.

Las toallas se 

a bailar. When the music begins I start to dance.

en el armario. The towels are kept in the closet.

(a) quedan (b) encuentran (c) ponen

Reciprocal Verbs
As you have seen in some of the examples above, the personal pronouns se, nos, and os can also be used reciprocally
(with ustedes, nosotros, and vosotros), meaning that instead of the action reflecting on the speaker, the action passes
between or among two or more people. In this form, the personal pronouns have the sense of each other or one another.
Look at the following examples:
Ustedes se conocen? Do you know each other?
Claro que nos conocemos! Of course we know each other!
Los dos perros se estn mirando. The two dogs are looking at each other. Nosotros nos entendemos bien. We
understand each other well.



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QUIZ
Circle the letter of the word or phrase that best completes each sentence.
van vana quedamos en casa. vamos; nos

1.

Ustedes ______ salir maana?

(a) va

(b) va a

2.
(a)

(c) van

(d) van a

(Nosotros) no ______ salir maana? ________ quedamos en casa.

vamos;

(b) vamos a;

(c) vamos; nos

(d) vamos a; nos

3. Esta noche yo _______ la mesa.

pones

(a)

(b) pongo

(c) me pone

(d) me pongo

4. Ernesto va a comprar un anillo de compromiso que ______ cuatro mil dlares.

vale

(a)

(b) trae

(c) sale

(d) pone

5. Mara, estoy en casa enferma. Me_______ sopa de gallina?

(a) traes

(b) llevas

(c) sales

(d) vales

6. Matilde siempre ___________ antes de comer.

.

(a) lava las manos

(c) se lava las manos

(b) lava sus manos

(d) se lava sus manos ustedes por la noche?

7. A qu hora _________ ustedes por la noche?

.

(a) se acuesta

(b) se acuestan

8. Ya es tarde. Tengo que 

.

(a) ir

9. Mi madre y yo 
.

(a) me

(c) se despierta

(d) se despiertan

(c) me ir

(d) ir me

.
(b) irme

llamamos todos los das.

(b) te

(c) se

(d) nos

10. Espera un momento, Xavier 

(a) me

(c) se

est quedando atrs.

(b) te

(d) nos

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