When pronouns change the meaning
When you add a reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, etc.) to a Spanish verb, it doesn’t always mean you are doing the action to yourself. Often, it completely changes the verb's meaning!
Take the verb fiar, which means "to sell on credit".
However, when made pronominal as fiarse, it means "to trust". Notice that it is usually followed by the preposition de.
Experiencing emotions
Verbs related to feelings often shift their focus when made pronominal. For example, animar means "to encourage" someone else, and emocionar means "to move" someone emotionally.
When you make them pronominal (animarse and emocionarse), the action happens internally. The meaning shifts to experiencing the emotion yourself: "to cheer up" and "to get emotional".
Figurative actions and attitudes
Many common verbs take on a more figurative, personal meaning when a pronoun is added. While negar means "to deny", negarse a means "to refuse to" do something.
You might already know saltar (to jump) and pasar (to pass). As pronominal verbs, they also become figurative. Saltarse means "to skip" (like skipping a meal or breaking a rule), while pasarse means "to go too far" or overdo something.
Finally, creer simply means "to believe", but creerse is often used when someone swallows a lie or has an inflated opinion of themselves.
