A reflexive verb is one whose action loops back onto its subject — me lavo las manos ("I wash my hands"), te despiertas temprano ("you wake up early"). In Spanish, the loop is marked by a reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) that always matches the subject. The verb itself is conjugated normally; the pronoun is the giveaway.
This page covers the full peninsular paradigm with levantarse as the model, the four placement rules for the reflexive pronoun, the unique Spain-only vosotros forms (os levantáis, levantaos, no os levantéis), and the famous trap that catches every learner sooner or later: the disappearing -d in the affirmative vosotros imperative.
The paradigm: levantarse in the present indicative
Reflexive infinitives end in -se (levantarse, ducharse, acostarse). When you conjugate the verb, you detach the -se, conjugate the verb body normally, and add the correct reflexive pronoun for the subject.
| Subject | Pronoun | Verb form | Full |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | me | levanto | me levanto |
| tú | te | levantas | te levantas |
| él / ella / usted | se | levanta | se levanta |
| nosotros / nosotras | nos | levantamos | nos levantamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | os | levantáis | os levantáis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | se | levantan | se levantan |
Me levanto a las siete todos los días entre semana.
I get up at seven every weekday.
¿A qué hora os levantáis vosotros los fines de semana?
What time do you guys get up on weekends?
Mis padres se levantan muy temprano para ir al trabajo.
My parents get up really early to go to work.
Pronoun placement: four rules
The reflexive pronoun does not stay glued to the verb. Where it lands depends on the verb form. There are four cases.
Rule 1: Before a conjugated verb
With finite verbs (any conjugated indicative, subjunctive, or compound tense), the pronoun goes immediately before the verb. It cannot attach to a conjugated form.
Me ducho por la mañana, no por la noche.
I shower in the morning, not at night.
¿Te has acordado de comprar el pan?
Did you remember to buy bread?
Os habéis equivocado de calle.
You guys went down the wrong street.
In compound tenses (haber + participle), the pronoun goes before haber, never between haber and the participle: me he duchado, never he me duchado.
Rule 2: Attached to infinitives
When the verb is in the infinitive — including infinitives following another verb like querer, poder, ir a — the pronoun attaches to the end of the infinitive as a single word.
Quiero ducharme antes de salir.
I want to shower before leaving.
No podéis levantaros tan tarde si tenéis clase.
You guys can't get up so late if you have class.
Vamos a sentarnos en la terraza, hace buen tiempo.
Let's sit on the terrace — the weather is nice.
With these "verb + infinitive" structures, you have a choice: attach the pronoun to the infinitive (quiero ducharme) or float it forward to before the conjugated verb (me quiero duchar). Both are correct and equally common in Spain.
Rule 3: Attached to gerunds
The same attachment rule applies to gerunds (-ndo forms). When the pronoun attaches, you must add a written accent to preserve the original stress.
Está duchándose ahora, llámale en diez minutos.
He's showering right now — call him in ten minutes.
Estoy preparándome para la entrevista de mañana.
I'm getting ready for tomorrow's interview.
Like with infinitives, you can also float the pronoun to before the auxiliary: se está duchando, me estoy preparando. Both work.
Rule 4: Attached to affirmative imperatives, before negative imperatives
This is where it gets interesting — and where the famous trap lives.
Affirmative imperative: the pronoun attaches to the end of the verb.
¡Levántate, que vamos a llegar tarde!
Get up — we're going to be late!
Acuéstate temprano esta noche, mañana madrugamos.
Go to bed early tonight — we're getting up early tomorrow.
Negative imperative: the pronoun goes before the verb (treating the negative imperative like any other conjugated form).
No te acuestes tan tarde, te sentará mal.
Don't go to bed so late — it'll do you no good.
No os preocupéis, todo va a salir bien.
Don't worry, it's all going to be fine.
The os imperative trap
This is the single most famous peninsular Spanish trap in the entire reflexive system. Here are the rules:
The affirmative vosotros imperative of any verb drops its final -d when reflexive
The non-reflexive vosotros imperative ends in -d: ¡hablad!, ¡comed!, ¡venid!, ¡levantad! But when the verb is reflexive and you attach os, the -d disappears:
| Non-reflexive imperative | Reflexive imperative | Wrong (very common error) |
|---|---|---|
| ¡Levantad! | ¡Levantaos! | *¡Levantados! |
| ¡Duchad! | ¡Duchaos! | *¡Duchados! |
| ¡Sentad! | ¡Sentaos! | *¡Sentados! |
| ¡Callad! | ¡Callaos! | *¡Callados! |
| ¡Acostad! | ¡Acostaos! | *¡Acostados! |
¡Levantaos ya, que el desayuno está en la mesa!
Get up already — breakfast is on the table!
¡Sentaos donde queráis, hay sitio de sobra!
Sit wherever you like — there's plenty of room!
¡Callaos un momento, no oigo nada!
Quiet down a moment — I can't hear anything!
The one exception: irse
The verb irse ("to leave, to go away") breaks the rule. Its affirmative vosotros imperative keeps the -d: ¡idos! This is the only verb in Spanish where the final -d survives before os. There is also a colloquial form ¡iros! that is now accepted by the Real Academia in informal use, though idos is the traditionally correct form.
¡Idos ya, que es muy tarde!
Off with you already — it's really late! (formally correct)
¡Iros a casa, mañana hay cole!
Go home, there's school tomorrow! (informal — now accepted)
Why does the -d disappear?
The historical reason: the cluster -dos with the reflexive pronoun was awkward to pronounce in fast speech, and over centuries the d simply dropped. There is no logic to memorize — it is just a historical sound change that became fixed in the grammar.
True reflexive vs other uses of se
Not every verb that takes se is "truly" reflexive (action looping back). Spanish uses the reflexive pronouns for several distinct functions; only one of them is the "I wash myself" reflexive. The conjugation paradigm above is identical for all of them, but the meaning differs:
| Use | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| True reflexive | Me lavo las manos. | I wash my (own) hands. |
| Reciprocal | Se escriben todas las semanas. | They write to each other every week. |
| Inherently reflexive | Me arrepiento de lo que dije. | I regret what I said. (no non-reflexive arrepentir exists) |
| Change of state | Se puso muy nervioso. | He got really nervous. |
| Passive se | Se vende esta casa. | This house is for sale. |
| Impersonal se | Se vive bien aquí. | One lives well here. |
For the moment, treat them all as taking the same me-te-se-nos-os-se paradigm and the same placement rules. The semantic distinctions are covered in Reflexive Pronouns: Overview.
Common reflexive verbs to memorize
These are the daily-routine reflexives every learner should know cold. They are all regular (-ar or -ir) in the present indicative.
| Verb | Meaning | Yo form | Vosotros form |
|---|---|---|---|
| levantarse | to get up | me levanto | os levantáis |
| ducharse | to shower | me ducho | os ducháis |
| vestirse | to get dressed | me visto | os vestís |
| peinarse | to comb one's hair | me peino | os peináis |
| cepillarse (los dientes) | to brush (teeth) | me cepillo | os cepilláis |
| afeitarse | to shave | me afeito | os afeitáis |
| maquillarse | to put on makeup | me maquillo | os maquilláis |
| acostarse | to go to bed | me acuesto | os acostáis |
| dormirse | to fall asleep | me duermo | os dormís |
| despertarse | to wake up | me despierto | os despertáis |
Me ducho, me visto, me tomo un café y salgo corriendo.
I shower, get dressed, have a coffee, and run out the door.
Mis hijos se cepillan los dientes antes de acostarse.
My kids brush their teeth before going to bed.
Common Mistakes
❌ Yo levanto a las ocho cada mañana.
Incorrect — without me, levantar means 'to lift' (a transitive verb). Need the reflexive pronoun.
✅ Me levanto a las ocho cada mañana.
I get up at eight every morning.
❌ Vosotros se ducháis muy pronto.
Incorrect — vosotros takes os, not se. Se is for ellos/ustedes.
✅ Vosotros os ducháis muy pronto.
You guys shower really early.
❌ ¡Levantados ya, que es tarde!
Incorrect — the -d drops before os in the affirmative vosotros imperative.
✅ ¡Levantaos ya, que es tarde!
Get up already, it's late!
❌ He me duchado esta mañana.
Incorrect — the reflexive pronoun goes before haber in compound tenses, not between haber and the participle.
✅ Me he duchado esta mañana.
I showered this morning.
❌ No levantaros tan tarde los domingos.
Incorrect — negative imperatives take the pronoun before, not attached, and use the subjunctive form.
✅ No os levantéis tan tarde los domingos.
Don't get up so late on Sundays.
Key Takeaways
- A reflexive verb takes one of the pronouns me, te, se, nos, *os, se*, matched to the subject. The verb itself conjugates normally.
- Os is the Spain-only reflexive for vosotros. Master it — it appears constantly in everyday speech.
- Placement: before any conjugated verb (including auxiliaries), attached to infinitives, gerunds, and affirmative imperatives; before in negative imperatives.
- The affirmative vosotros imperative drops its final -d before os: ¡levantaos!, ¡sentaos!, ¡callaos! — never ¡levantados! The only exception is ¡idos! (from irse).
- The same paradigm covers true reflexives, reciprocals, inherently reflexive verbs, change-of-state verbs, and passive/impersonal se. Conjugation is identical; meaning differs.
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