In Spanish, verbs are called reflexive when a subject both carries out and receives an action. These verbs equate to the -self and -selves verbs in English. Reflexive verbs in Spanish are often used for daily routines.
How to form Spanish Reflexive verbs
The following example uses a reflexive verb. In this sentence, the “me” is called a reflexive pronoun and means “to myself”.
- Yo me lavo. I wash myself.
Hence, the infinitive of the verb is larvarse, meaning “to wash youself” or “to wash oneself”. In sentences with the infinitive, the se may come before laravar or the verb may appear as lavarse.
- Yo voy a lavarme. I’m going to wash myself.
- Me voy a lavar. I’m going to wash myself.
When using the present participle, an accent appears over the stressed vowel when attached to a reflexive pronoun.
- Yo estoy lavándome. I’m washing myself.
- Me estoy lavando. I’m washing myself.
Reflexive verb pronouns
The following table shows an example of a Spanish reflexive verb, larvarse (to wash yourself). The reflexive pronouns are written in white.
Reflexive verbs and daily routines
As mentioned, reflexive verbs are often used to express daily routines. Here’s a list of commonly used reflexive verbs in Spanish in the infinitive from. We’ll follow these verbs with some example sentences.
Here are some example sentences of daily routine verbs.
- Marco se cepilla los dientes. Marco brushes his teeth.
- Yo me ducho antes de desayunar. I take a shower before having breakfast.
- Claudia se leventa antes de ducharse. Claudia gets up before taking a shower.
- Juan se peina antes de salir de la casa. Juan combs his hair before leaving the house.
Conclusion
Congratulations! You now know how reflexive verbs in Spanish work! Now check our our lesson covering the Spanish preterite tense!
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