before moving any further. You can access that blog posting here.
I explained how we use reflexive verbs in English. I described how simple they are to use in Spanish and I provided you with some sample sentences to practice. How did you do on them?First, let's do a quick review of reflexive verbs. Infinitive verbs ending with -se are identified as reflexive. All you have to do is (1) drop that -se ending. (2) Move that ending to the front of the verb. Then (3) conjugate it according to how the verb is conjugated using the following: me, te, se, nos, os, or se. Simple as 1-2-3, right!
Here are the sample sentences and their answers:
1. I get up at 8. Me levanto a las 8.
2. We are getting married in Las Vegas. Nos casamos en Las Vegas.
3. My sister puts on a lot of makeup. Mi hermana se maquilla mucho.
4. My dog and cat always clean themselves. Mi perro y gato siempre se lavan.
5. He cuts himself with a knife. El se corta con un cuchillo.
6. I brush my teeth twice a day. Me cepillo los dientes dos veces por día. Or: Me lavo los dientes dos veces por día.
7. I abstain from chocolate during Lent. Me abstengo de chocolate durante la Cuaresma.
8. We go to bed early. Nos acostamos temprano.
9. After swimming, the team dry themselves off. Después de nadar, el equipo se seca.
10. My mom cleans the house once a week. Mi mamá se limpia la casa cada semana.
11. I am falling in love with you. Me enamoro de ti.
12. I feel sick. Me siento enfermo.
13. My parents never get angry. Mis padres nunca se enojan.
14. You smile a lot in pictures. Se sonríe mucho en las fotos.
15. The kids are getting bored. Los niños se aburren.
16. Do you talk to yourself often? ¿Se habla a sí mismo mucho?
Many verbs in Spanish that wouldn't normally be reflexive may have a reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, or se) added. But be careful! In doing so, you could alter the meaning of the sentence. Here are quite a few examples of what I mean:
dormir
|
to
sleep
|
dormirse
|
to fall
asleep
|
ir
|
to go
|
irse
|
to go
away
|
llevar
|
to
carry
|
llevarse
|
to take
away
|
abonar
|
to pay
money
|
abonarse
|
to
subscribe to (a magazine, newspaper, etc.)
|
acusar
|
to
accuse
|
acusarse
|
to
confess
|
combinar
|
to
combine
|
combinarse
|
to take
turns
|
acordar
|
to
agree/to decide
|
acordarse
|
to
remember
|
poner
|
to put
|
ponerse
|
to put
on/to wear
|
abrir
|
to open
|
abrirse
|
to open
up (confide in someone)
|
callar
|
to be
quiet
|
callarse
|
to
become quiet
|
salir
|
to
leave
|
salirse
|
to
leave unexpectedly/to leak
|
poner
|
to put
|
ponerse
|
to put
on/to wear
|
aparecer
|
to
appear
|
aparecerse
|
to
appear, often said of a supernatural event
|
ocurrir
|
to
occur or happen
|
ocurrirse
|
to have
a sudden idea
|
parecer
|
to seem
like
|
parecerse
|
to look
physically like
|
saltar
|
to jump
|
saltarse
|
to jump
over, to skip an event or avoid an obligation
|
volver
|
to
return
|
volverse
|
to turn
around, to make an unexpected return
|
aburrir
|
to bore
|
aburrirse
|
to get/be
bored
|
acordar
|
to
agree
|
acordarse
de
|
to
remember
|
casar
|
to
perform a marriage ceremony
|
casarse
con
|
to get
married to someone
|
acostar
|
to put
to bed
|
acostarse
|
to go
to bed
|
despedir
|
to fire
|
despedirse
|
to say
goodbye
|
morir
|
to die
(all of a sudden; by accident, war, etc.)
|
morirse
|
to die
(natural causes and “figuratively”)
|
negar
|
to deny
|
negarse
|
to
refuse
|
probar
|
to try,
to taste
|
probarse
|
to try
on
|
quitar
|
to take
away
|
quitarse
|
to take
off
|
Isn't it amazing that something so simple can change the meaning of an entire sentence, much less a verb?
The reflexive pronoun (the me, te, se, nos, os, and se part of the verb) in a lot of the above examples could be thought of as emphasis. One example is negar and negarse. Negar is simply to deny something or someone, but negarse is providing emphasis by out right refusing something or someone. Another example can be found in ocurrir and ocurrirse. Ocurrir means to occur or to happen and makes it seem quite ordinary, but when you add that reflexive pronoun to it, you transform the verb to a sudden idea. How unexpected!
Emphasis is one way to help you remember the altered meanings when using these verbs in the reflexive. Another way is to think of their reflexive counterparts as the next step or a deeper meaning of the non-reflexive verb. For example, aparecer and aparecerse both mean to appear; however, the reflexive verb takes on a deeper meaning or understanding of something supernatural perhaps? Another example is morir and morirse. Even though they both mean to die, the difference is when and how. The non-reflexive has more of a sudden occurrence of death whereas the reflexive verb makes it more drawn out -- the "next" logical step for someone dying of natural causes or when speaking figuratively about the act of dying.
Take a few moments to go over both the non-reflexive and their reflexive verb meanings. Imagine how much deeper or emphasized the reflexive verbs take on through their meaning. It's almost as if the reflexive is going that one step further.
¡Hasta luego!
~Keith
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