Reflexive Verbs: Daily Routines

What are Reflexive Verbs?

Reflexive verbs describe an action that the subject of the sentence does to themself. Think of the action 'reflecting' back on the person, like in a mirror. In English, we use words like 'myself', 'yourself', etc. In Spanish, we use special pronouns.

For example, instead of saying 'I wash the car', you say 'Yo me lavo' (I wash myself).

The Reflexive Pronouns

Each subject has its own reflexive pronoun. The pronoun always goes before the conjugated verb.

• yo -> me
• tú -> te
• él / ella / usted -> se
• nosotros / nosotras -> nos
• vosotros / vosotras -> os
• ellos / ellas / ustedes -> se

Example with levantarse (to get up):

• Yo me levanto. (I get up.)
• Tú te levantas. (You get up.)
• Él se levanta. (He gets up.)
• Nosotros nos levantamos. (We get up.)
• Vosotros os levantáis. (You all get up.)
• Ellos se levantan. (They get up.)

That's the main pattern! You'll see it constantly with daily routine verbs like ducharse (to shower oneself), vestirse (to dress oneself), and acostarse (to put oneself to bed).

Heads up for your reading:

Occasionally, you might see the pronoun attached to the end of a verb, like in 'Voy a ducharme' (I am going to shower myself). Don't worry about this for now, just be aware that it's another way to structure the same idea. We'll focus on the main rule.