What is a reflexive verb?
This lesson will teach you general information about the reflexive verbs. Reflexive verbs describe actions when the subject of the sentence performs an action on him or herself.
For example; "Yo limpio la mesa", means ."I clean the table", it is not reflexive because the action is performed upon the table. "Yo me limpio las manos", means, "I clean my hands". This is a case of reflexive verb use (cleaning my hands). In the reflexive case we use "me limpio" where me is the reflexive pronoun.
Spanish has a large type of verbs called reflexive verbs.
A reflexive verb shows a moment when the person or subject doing the
action, receives the action as well.
In other words, a reflexive verb is carried out when the subject of
the sentence performs an action on itself.
Therefore, the subject and the object of the sentence are the same.
These types of verbs always have a reflexive pronoun in front, (me,
te, se, nos, os, se), that refer to the same person or thing as the
subject.
Despertarse e>ie to wake up
| Yo | me | despierto | (I wake up) |
| Tú | te | despiertas | (you informal- wake up) |
| Él | se | despierta | (he wakes up) |
| Ella | se | despierta | (she wakes up) |
| Usted | se | despierta | (you-formal- wake up) |
| Nosotros | nos | despertamos | (we wake up) |
| Vosotros | os | depertáis | (all of you-informal-wake up) |
| Ellos | se | despiertan | (they wake up) |
| Ellas | se | despiertan | (they feminine- wake up) |
| Ustedes | se | despiertan | (all of you wake up) |
Some common reflexive verbs are the following:
| Levantarse | To get up |
| Bañarse | to bathe, to take a bath |
| Despertarse e>ie | to wake up |
| Acostarse o>ue | to go to bed |
| Cepillarse | to brush oneself |
| Vestirse e>i | to get dress |
| Ponerse | to put on |
| Quitarse | to take off |
| Lavarse | to wash (a part of the body) |
| Afeitarse | to shave |

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