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Spanish (Latin America)

### What are Reflexive Verbs?

Reflexive verbs indicate that the person doing the action is also the one receiving it—in other words, doing something to yourself. They are commonly used for daily routines like waking up, washing, or going to bed.

You can spot a reflexive verb in its dictionary form because it ends with the pronoun **-se**:

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### Reflexive Pronouns

To conjugate these verbs, use a reflexive pronoun that matches the subject. These pronouns usually go directly *before* the conjugated verb.

| Subject | Reflexive Pronoun |
|---|---|
| yo | me |
| tú | te |
| él / ella / usted | se |
| nosotros / nosotras | nos |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | se |

Notice that **se** is used for both singular and plural third-person subjects, as well as the formal "you" (**usted** and **ustedes**).

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### Body Parts and Routine Items

In English, we say "I wash *my* face." In Spanish, because the reflexive pronoun already shows that you are performing the action on yourself, you simply use the definite article (**el**, **la**, **los**, **las**) for body parts instead of a possessive word (like *mi* or *tu*).

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### Reflexives with Infinitives

When a reflexive verb is used with another conjugated verb (like *tener que*, meaning "to have to"), you have two choices for where the reflexive pronoun goes:
- Placed *before* the first conjugated verb.
- Attached directly to the *end* of the infinitive.

Attaching the pronoun to the infinitive is very common and natural:

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Reflexive pronouns and verbs (me, te, se, nos)

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

expression

interjection

noun

numeral

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and 'to be' (el, la, soy)

Masculine and feminine pairs (el hermano, la hermana)

Basic sentences and negation (no)

Indefinite articles (un, una)

Formal and informal you (tú vs. usted)

Plural pronouns and the verb to be (somos, son)

Making nouns plural (-s, -es)

Plural articles (los, las, unos, unas)

Noun gender exceptions

Adjective agreement

Invariable adjectives

State and location (estar)

Ser vs. estar

There is / there are (hay)

Hay vs. estar

To have (tener)

Possession (de)

Possessive adjectives (mi, tu, su)

Regular -ar verbs

Yes/No questions

What and who (qué, quién)

Regular -er verbs

Regular -ir verbs

Asking where (dónde, adónde)

How, when, and why (cómo, cuándo, por qué)

How much and how many (cuánto)

Days of the week

Going to a place (ir a)

Preposition contractions (al, del)

In and by (en)

With me and with you (conmigo, contigo)

Prepositional pronouns (mí, ti)

Conjunctions (y, o, pero)

Giving reasons (porque)

Stem-changing verbs (e to ie)

Stem-changing verbs (o to ue)

Stem-changing verbs (e to i)

Irregular yo forms (hago, salgo)

To know (saber vs. conocer)

Weather expressions (hace, está)

Desires and plans (querer)

Ability and requests (poder)

Obligations (tener que)

Expressing likes (me gusta)

Plural likes (me gustan)

Verbs like gustar (encantar, doler)

Very vs. a lot (muy, mucho)

Numbers 0 to 15 (cero, uno, dos…)

Numbers 16 to 31 (dieciséis, veinte…)

Numbers 30 to 1000 (treinta, cien, mil)

Months of the year (enero, febrero, marzo)

Seasons and dates (el dos de mayo)

Telling time (es la..., son las...)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primero, segundo, tercero)

Direct object pronouns (lo, la, los, las)

The near future (ir a)

The present continuous (estar + -ando, -iendo)

Near demonstrative adjectives (este, esta, estos, estas)

Medium demonstrative adjectives (ese, esa, esos, esas)

Comparatives of inequality (más / menos ... que)

Comparatives of equality (tan ... como)

Indefinite and negative pronouns (algo, nada, alguien, nadie)

Affirmative commands

Far demonstratives (aquel, aquella)

Possessive pronouns (el mío, el tuyo)

Shortened indefinite adjectives (algún, ningún)

Adverbs of quantity (demasiado, bastante)

Adverbs of frequency (a menudo, a veces)

Adverb formation (-mente)

Exclamations (¡Qué...!)

Irregular comparatives (mejor, peor, mayor, menor)

Relative superlatives (el más... de)

Adjective intensification (-ísimo)

Indirect object pronouns

Pronoun placement with infinitives

Double object pronouns (me lo, te la)

The 'se lo' rule (se lo, se la)

Impersonal statements (se)

Impersonal obligation (hay que)

Personal obligation (deber)

Starting actions (empezar a)

Finishing and quitting actions (terminar de, dejar de)

Repeating actions (volver a)

Continuing actions (seguir + gerundio)

Complex prepositions of place (encima de, debajo de...)

Question	Answer
to get up	levantarse
I get up at seven in the morning.	Me levanto a las siete de la mañana.
We do not get up early today.	Hoy no nos levantamos temprano.
to wake up	despertarse
What time do you wake up?	¿A qué hora te despiertas?
It is eight o'clock and my sister wakes up.	Son las ocho y mi hermana se despierta.
to bathe	bañarse
The boy has to bathe now.	El niño tiene que bañarse ahora.
My children bathe at night.	Mis hijos se bañan en la noche.
to wash oneself	lavarse
the face	la cara
I always wash my face.	Siempre me lavo la cara.
the hair	el pelo
My brother does not wash his hair.	Mi hermano no se lava el pelo.
The girl washes her face and hands.	La niña se lava la cara y las manos.
to brush oneself	cepillarse
the tooth	el diente
You (plural) have to brush your teeth.	Ustedes tienen que cepillarse los dientes.
The man brushes his teeth in the bathroom.	El hombre se cepilla los dientes en el baño.
to comb one's hair	peinarse
My sister combs her hair in the bedroom.	Mi hermana se peina en el cuarto.
You have to comb your hair now.	Tienes que peinarte ahora.
to go to bed	acostarse
We go to bed at ten.	Nos acostamos a las diez.
Why do you go to bed early?	¿Por qué te acuestas temprano?
She always combs her hair in the morning.	Ella siempre se peina el pelo en la mañana.
to sit down	sentarse
I sit down on the chair.	Me siento en la silla.
We sit down near the door.	Nos sentamos cerca de la puerta.
to get dressed (e→i)	vestirse
I get dressed in my bedroom.	Me visto en mi dormitorio.
She dresses in pretty clothes.	Ella se viste con ropa bonita.
to shave (oneself)	afeitarse
I shave in the bathroom.	Me afeito en el baño.
My father shaves in the morning.	Mi padre se afeita en la mañana.
to stand up (LatAm)	pararse
The boy stands up from the chair.	El niño se para de la silla.
I stand up and walk to the kitchen.	Me paro y camino a la cocina.
the pajamas	el pijama
The boy wears yellow pajamas.	El niño usa un pijama amarillo.
My pajamas are blue.	Mi pijama es azul.