Breakdown of Siempre me lavo las manos.
las
the (feminine plural)
la mano
the hand
siempre
always
lavarse
to wash oneself
Questions & Answers about Siempre me lavo las manos.
Where does siempre normally go in a sentence?
Adverbs of frequency like siempre (always) and nunca (never) usually go right before the verb. Since this sentence has the reflexive pronoun me, siempre goes before the pronoun: Siempre me lavo.... You can also put it at the end of the sentence for emphasis (Me lavo las manos siempre), but putting it at the beginning is the most common.
Can I put siempre between me and lavo, like in English "I always wash"?
No. In Spanish, you can never separate a reflexive pronoun (like me) and the conjugated verb (lavo). They are a package deal! Siempre must go before the me or after the verb phrase, but never in between.
Why do we need the me here? Doesn't lavo already mean "I wash"?
Yes, lavo means "I wash", but in Spanish, actions you perform on yourself—especially daily routines and personal hygiene—use reflexive verbs. Without me, lavo sounds like you are washing an object, like a car or the dishes. The me clarifies that you are washing a part of yourself.
Why does it say las manos (the hands) instead of mis manos (my hands)?
In Spanish, you don't use possessive words (like mis, tus, or sus) for body parts or clothing when it's already obvious whose body it is. Because you already used the reflexive pronoun me, we know you are washing your own hands. So, you just use the definite article las (the) instead.
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