Reflexive verbs
When you do an action to yourself, Spanish uses a reflexive verb. These are very common when talking about daily routines, like getting up or taking a shower.
You can spot a reflexive verb in its dictionary form because it ends in -se.
To conjugate these verbs, you drop the -se, conjugate the verb normally, and add a reflexive pronoun before the verb.
| Subject | Reflexive Pronoun | Example |
|---|
| yo | me | me levanto |
| tú | te | te levantas |
| él / ella / usted | se | se levanta |
| nosotros / nosotras | nos | nos levantamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | os | os levantáis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | se | se levantan |
Body parts and routines
In English, we use possessive words when talking about our bodies (e.g., "I wash my face" or "they brush their teeth").
In Spanish, the reflexive pronoun already shows whose body receives the action. Instead of using words like mi or tu, you simply use the definite article (el, la, los, las) before the body part.
More daily routines
Other common routine verbs include peinarse (to comb one's hair) and acostarse (to go to bed).
Keep in mind that some reflexive verbs are also stem-changing verbs. For example, acostarse changes its o to ue in most forms.
