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In this video we work on reflexive verbs.
Many students, when they first hear of reflexive verbs, have no idea what this is, either in English or in Spanish.
Even when we do learn English grammar as we are going to school, we rarely hear of this term.
The best way to describe reflexive verbs is to say that they describe actions that are done to one-self.
In fact, that element of ‘–self’ is used in English to denote reflexive verbs.
In this video, we will look at how reflexive verbs are constructed in Spanish, and how we use them appropriately.
Instead of diving straight into the grammar, let’s take a second to tell a story.
Now, when you look at that paragraph, and when you listen to me tell the story, you probably understand most of the verbs.
But many of them have weird pronouns stuck before them, or after them.
Do they mean something?
Are they meant to go there?
Every verb that is bolded and underlined is a reflexive verb, meaning that they all have a reflexive pronoun that goes with them,
and that it is related to the subject in some way.
In fact, a ‘reflexive verb’ is really just a combination of a reflexive pronoun and a verb; in this case we will use bañar.
You see that with the pronouns, there are different forms, that they ‘decline’ like we saw with subject pronouns.
But there is a big difference.
Reflexive pronouns are a type of object pronouns, and object pronouns all have a different relationship to the verb.
So, a reflexive verb is really a combination of a reflexive pronoun and a verb.
And with reflexive pronouns, the subject is the same person or thing as the direct object.
What does that mean?
Well, it is that same concept of ‘-self’ that we talked about earlier:
that with a reflexive verb, the subject and the direct object are the same, meaning that the subject is doing something to itself.
In the case of bañarse, the subject is going to bathe itself:
me baño ‘I bathe myself’;
te bañas ‘you bathe yourself’; et cetera.
With reflexive verbs, we say that there is agreement between the subject, the verb, and the reflexive pronoun.
Oh, and as far as where these pronouns go, remember that object pronouns go before conjugated verbs.
If the reflexive verb is kept in the infinitive or gerund, we can leave it at the end, but otherwise it is in front of the conjugated verb.
When we talk about ‘reflexive verbs’, there are really two types.
The first group is the more obvious reflexive verbs,
in that the meaning of these verbs includes an action that the subject does to itself.
In fact, many instructors call these ‘true’ reflexives, because all of these verbs are transitive verbs; they all take direct objects.
For example, I can wash the plates, and the plates undergo the action.
Or, I can wash myself, and I am the one that undergoes the action.
That is the literal definition of a reflexive verb.
Any transitive verb in Spanish can be made into a reflexive verb; the list you see here is by no means exhaustive.
So, how do you know if a verb is reflexive, as you learn it and look it up in the dictionary?
Simple. All verbs that are meant to be reflexive in use have ‘se’ at the end of the infinitive.
When it is time to conjugate the verb, just separate the pronoun from the infinitive, and conjugate accordingly.
It should be noted that there is a second group of verbs that are technically reflexive.
As you can see, there is no ‘-self’ in the translations of these verbs.
Rather, they all have ‘become’ in their meanings.
And in fact, frequently these are called by instructors ‘become’ reflexive verbs, since they all imply a change of state.
You can still see the ‘se’ at the end of each one, right?
It should also be noted that many of these verbs are not transitive; they cannot take a direct object.
Ir is a great example; you cannot ‘go someone’. That makes no sense.
Same thing with dormirse; how can someone sleep themselves?
The reason that these verbs are also lumped into the reflexive category is a bit complicated,
but it has to do with how Latin evolved into Spanish.
Suffice it to say for now that you just have to remember these verbs as being special, and to treat them like any other reflexive verb.
There are a couple of things to remember when it comes to reflexive verbs and their non-reflexive counterparts.
For the vast majority, there is no difference between the meaning of the reflexive verbs and non-reflexive verbs.
This is certainly accurate for the so-called ‘true’ reflexive verbs.
Lavar and lavarse both have to do with washing,
comprar and comprarse both have to do with buying, and the like.
However, there are a few exceptions.
You remember what dormir means, right?
Well, dormirse does not mean ‘to sleep oneself’; it means, to become sleepy’, and that is a big difference.
Same thing with ir and irse, that there is a big difference between the two.
Finally, note that we do not normally use the possessive adjective with these constructions.
‘Me lavo mi cara’ just plain sounds weird.
It is obvious that I am washing my own face; the reflexive pronoun makes that abundantly clear.
So to say ‘mi cara’ is weird. Instead, we use the article; la cara.
¡Mucho mejor!
And with that, we conclude this video on reflexive verbs in Spanish.
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