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### Reflexive Verbs and Pronouns

Many daily routines, like getting ready in the morning, use **reflexive verbs**. These describe actions you do to yourself. Since the action happens directly to the subject, German uses **accusative reflexive pronouns**.

| Subject | Reflexive Pronoun (Accusative) | English Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ich | **mich** | myself |
| du | **dich** | yourself |
| er / sie / es | **sich** | himself / herself / itself |
| wir | **uns** | ourselves |
| ihr | **euch** | yourselves (plural) |
| sie / Sie | **sich** | themselves / yourself (formal) |

Most match the regular accusative pronouns (*mich*, *dich*, *uns*, *euch*). The only new form is **sich**, used for all third-person subjects and the formal *Sie*.

### Sentence Structure

The reflexive pronoun typically sits immediately after the conjugated verb.

{{item:868032}}

{{item:868034}}

For *er*, *sie*, *es*, *sie* (they), and *Sie* (formal), the pronoun is always **sich**.

{{item:868036}}

{{item:868041}}

### Modal Verbs and Commands

When you use a modal verb like *müssen* (must / have to), the main reflexive verb goes to the end of the sentence as an infinitive. The reflexive pronoun stays near the conjugated modal verb.

{{item:868038}}

{{item:868045}}

{{item:868046}}

In commands, the reflexive pronoun directly follows the imperative verb.

{{item:868044}}

Accusative reflexive pronouns (mich, dich, sich)

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and gender (der, die, das)

Indefinite articles (ein, eine)

Regular verbs and statement word order (ich -e, er -t)

The second person (du -st, Sie -en)

Yes/No questions

The verb 'to have' (habe, hast, hat)

Plural pronouns and regular verbs (wir, ihr, sie)

Plural 'to be' and 'to have' (sind, haben)

Plural nouns and the plural article (die)

Sentence negation (nicht)

Noun negation (kein, keine)

Question words (wer, was, wo, wie)

Numbers 0 to 12 (null, eins, zwei)

The accusative case (den, die, das)

Indefinite accusative articles (einen, keinen)

Direct object pronouns (mich, dich, ihn)

There is / there are (es gibt)

Vowel changes: e to i/ie (er spricht, sie liest)

Vowel changes: a to ä (er fährt)

Weather and conditions (es regnet)

First- and second-person possessives in the nominative (mein, dein, Ihr)

First- and second-person possessives in the accusative (meinen, deinen, Ihren)

Third-person and plural possessives (sein, ihr, unser, euer)

Possession with names (Annas Auto)

Demonstrative pronouns (dieser, diese, dieses)

Expressing preference (gern, lieber)

Asking about direction and origin (woher, wohin)

Expressing ability (können)

Polite requests (möchten)

Expressing intention (wollen)

Modal verbs of obligation and permission (müssen, dürfen)

Separable prefix verbs

Adverbs of frequency (immer, oft, manchmal, nie)

The Dative case and definite articles (dem, der, den)

Dative indefinite and negative articles (einem, einer, keinem)

Dative personal pronouns (mir, dir, ihm, ihr...)

Dative verbs (helfen, danken, gefallen, schmecken)

Dative prepositions (aus, bei, mit, nach...)

Accusative prepositions (für, ohne, gegen)

Two-way prepositions for location (in, an, auf...)

Informal singular imperative (mach, komm)

Plural and formal imperative (macht, machen Sie)

Coordinating conjunctions (und, oder, aber, denn)

Simple past of sein and haben (war, hatte)

The perfect tense: regular verbs (gemacht, gespielt)

Past tense: irregular verbs (ge-...-en)

The perfect tense: mixed verbs (gebracht, gekannt)

The perfect tense with sein (ist gegangen)

The perfect tense: separable verbs (eingekauft)

The perfect tense: inseparable and -ieren verbs (besucht, studiert)

Informal singular commands (mach, lern)

Numbers 13 to 20 (dreizehn to zwanzig)

Counting by tens to 100 (dreißig, vierzig)

Telling time (Uhr, halb, Viertel, vor, nach)

Numbers 21 to 99 (einundzwanzig, zweiunddreißig)

Greetings and farewells

Thank you, sorry and good wishes

Everyday replies

Numbers 100 to 1,000,000 (hundert, tausend...)

Becoming and getting (werden)

The impersonal pronoun (man)

Indefinite pronouns (jemand, niemand...)

Time sequence prepositions (vor, nach, bei)

Time span prepositions (von... bis, seit, für)

Adverbs of sequence (zuerst, dann, danach)

Two-way prepositions for direction (in, auf, an...)

Directional adverbs (hin, her)

Placement verbs (setzen, stellen, legen)

Months of the year (Januar, Februar)

The four seasons (Frühling, Sommer)

Time prepositions and indefinite pronouns (an, in, um)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 19th (am ersten)

Ordinals 20th and beyond (-ste, -sten)

Placement vs. location verbs (stellen vs. stehen)

Accusative reflexive verbs (sich freuen)

Dative reflexive pronouns (mir, dir, sich)

Dative reflexive verbs (sich etwas merken)

Ordinal numbers 11th to 19th (-te)

Temporal prepositions (an, in, um)

Double objects with nouns

Double objects with pronouns

The modal verb for advice (sollen)

Simple past of modal verbs (musste, wollte...)

Simple past of common irregulars (wurde, wusste, es gab)

Adverbial connectors of consequence (deshalb, darum...)

Subordinate clauses for statements (dass)

Subordinate clauses for reasons (weil)

Question	Answer
the soap	die Seife
First, I wash myself with the soap.	Zuerst wasche ich mich mit der Seife.
to dry oneself	sich abtrocknen
After that, I dry myself.	Danach trockne ich mich ab.
to shave	sich rasieren
The man shaves in the morning.	Der Mann rasiert sich morgens.
to comb one's hair	sich kämmen
You have to comb your hair!	Du musst dich kämmen!
The girl is combing her hair now.	Das Mädchen kämmt sich jetzt.
to put on makeup	sich schminken
Anna puts on makeup in front of the mirror.	Anna schminkt sich vor dem Spiegel.
Finally, they put on makeup for the party.	Schließlich schminken sie sich für die Party.
to hurry	sich beeilen
Hurry up, we have to leave!	Beeil dich, wir müssen abfahren!
We have to hurry, it is late.	Wir müssen uns beeilen, es ist spät.
You have to wash yourselves with the soap!	Ihr müsst euch mit der Seife waschen!
Why doesn't he shave?	Warum rasiert er sich nicht?
You have to dry yourselves immediately!	Ihr müsst euch sofort abtrocknen!
oneself, myself (emphatic); even	selbst
I am doing that myself.	Ich mache das selbst.
He cooks himself.	Er kocht selbst.
to sit down	sich setzen
I am sitting down.	Ich setze mich.
Sit down, please!	Setz dich bitte!

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