¡Sí puedo! Can-Do Statements
Recognize reflexive verbs that refer to a daily routine or habitual actions.
Use the correct reflexive pronouns.
Reflexive verbs are special in Spanish because they indicate actions that are done by the subject to him/her/themselves. In other words, the subject and the object of the sentence are doing and receiving the action at the same time.
You can recognize reflexive verbs by the “se” attached to the infinitive.
Los verbos reflexivos
despertarse (to wake up)
levantarse (to get up)
arreglarse (to get ready/ready oneself)
bañarse (to bathe)
ducharse (to shower)
lavarse (to wash)
limpiarse (to clean/get clean)
cepillarse los dientes (to brush one’s teeth)
cepillarse el pelo (to brush one’s hair)
peinarse (to comb one’s hair)
afeitarse (to shave)
vestirse (to get dressed) ponerse (to put on) probarse (to try on)
maquillarse (to put on make up)
Otros verbos reflexivos
acostarse (to lie down/to go to bed) relajarse (to relax)
caerse (to fall down)
cansarse (to get tired)
irse (to go away, to leave)
lastimarse (to hurt oneself)
olvidarse (to forget)
quitarse (to remove, to take away)
sentarse (to sit down)
The following are some more common reflexive verbs and their non-reflexive equivalents:
| Forma reflexiva | Forma no reflexiva |
| afeitarse (to shave oneself) |
afeitar (to shave someone or something) |
| arreglarse (to get ready/ready oneself) |
arreglar (to arrange someone or something) |
| caerse (to fall) |
caer (to fall, go down) |
| cansarse (to get tired) | cansar (to tire out) |
| cepillarse el pelo o los dientes(to brush one’s hair or teeth) | cepillar (to brush someone or something) |
| ducharse (to shower oneself/take a shower) |
duchar (to shower/give someone a shower) |
| irse (to go away, to leave) |
ir (to go) |
| lastimarse (to hurt oneself) |
lastimar (to hurt someone or something) |
| lavarse (to get washed) |
lavar (to wash someone or something) |
| levantarse (to get up) |
levantar (to lift someone or something) |
| llamarse (to be called, named) |
llamar (to call someone or something) |
| maquillarse (to put make-up on oneself) |
maquillar (to put make-up on someone else) |
| ponerse (to put on) |
poner (to put) |
| probarse (to try on) |
probar (to try, to taste) |
| quemarse (to burn oneself) |
quemar (to burn someone or something) |
| quitarse (to take off, e.g. clothing, shoes) |
quitar (to take away from someone or something) |
| relajarse (to relax oneself) |
relajar (to relax someone or something) |
Note: The meaning changes when the verb is reflexive or not.
¿Cómo se conjugan los verbos reflexivos? (How does one conjugate reflexive verbs?)
To conjugate reflexive verbs, the reflexive pronouns are used that match the verb ending; as usual in Spanish, you may specify the subject pronoun, especially for clarification, but subject pronouns may be left out of these sentences because the reflexive pronoun and verb ending should be clarification enough.
You probably noticed in the vocabulary list above that all reflexive infinitives end with the pronoun “se”. This ending is called a reflexive pronoun and is placed *before* a conjugated verb. This “se” indicates that the subject of the sentence is doing the action to him/herself. The ending of the verb matches the subject (and the reflexive pronoun) according to the tense, which for now is the present tense.
See the table that follows:
| Subject Pronoun | Reflexive Pronoun | bañarse |
vestirse | cepillarse |
dormirse |
| yo | me | me baño |
me visto |
me cepillo |
me duermo |
| tú | te | te bañas |
te vistes |
te cepillas |
te duermes |
| él, ella, usted | se | se baña |
se viste |
se cepilla |
se duerme |
| nosotros, nosotras | nos | nos bañamos |
nos vestimos |
nos cepillamos |
nos dormimos |
| vosotros, vosotras | os | os bañáis |
os vestís |
os cepilláis |
os dormís |
| ellos, ellas, ustedes | se | se bañan |
se visten |
se cepillan |
se duermen |
Note: The reflexive pronoun “nos” and the subject pronoun “nosotros” are two different words, with different functions. “Nos” is not an abbreviation of “nosotros”.
Summary: In reflexive verbs, the subject is acting on itself: this is the most common use of the reflexive, though there are others. Essentially, reflexives are verbs where the subject and object are the same because they always refer to the same person or thing. Here’s a summary table with the reflexive pronouns:
| Singular | Plural | |
| 1a persona | me (myself) | nos (ourselves) |
| 2a persona | te (yourself – informal) | os (yourselves – informal; only in Spain) |
| 3a persona | se (himself, herself, itself) | se (themselves, yourselves-formal/informal; except in Spain) |
Why is this so complicated for English speakers? Because there is no exact translation of the reflexive verbs into English. The reflexive usage is often translated in a non-reflexive way, as you have seen since the start of this course: “Ella se llama Carmen” literally translates to “She calls herself Carmen”, but it is translated into English as “Her name is Carmen.”
Pronoun Placement
To make the reflexive form complete you must add the appropriate reflexive pronoun and put it in the appropriate place. When the reflexive verb is conjugated, the reflexive pronoun must agree with the subject and it precedes the conjugated verb.
- Ella se levanta temprano. (She gets up early.)
As pointed out above, the reflexive pronoun precedes a conjugated verb. However, when the infinitive follows a conjugated verb or is part of a construct, there are two options:
- Place the reflexive pronoun before the conjugated verb.
- Attach the reflexive pronoun to the infinitive.
- Ella se tiene que levantar temprano. (She has to get up early.)
- Ella tiene que levantarse temprano. (She has to get up early.)
Similarly, in the present progressive there are also two options:
- Place the reflexive pronoun before the conjugated verb “estar.”
- Attach the reflexive pronoun to the gerund. (When attaching to the end of the gerund, make sure that any required written accents are added.)
- Ella se está levantando temprano. (She is getting up early.)
- Ella está levantándose temprano. (She is getting up early.)
