Breakdown of Los niños se lavan los brazos y las orejas.
el niño
the boy / the child
y
and
lavarse
to wash oneself
el brazo
the arm
la oreja
the ear
se
himself / herself / themselves (reflexive)
Questions & Answers about Los niños se lavan los brazos y las orejas.
Why is there a se before lavan?
The verb here is lavarse, which means to wash oneself. In Spanish, when people wash their own bodies, we use a reflexive pronoun. Here, se shows that the boys are washing themselves.
Why does it say los brazos (the arms) instead of sus brazos (their arms)?
In English, we say they wash THEIR arms. But in Spanish, when you talk about your own body parts, you use the definite article (el, la, los, las) instead of a possessive word like sus. The se earlier in the sentence already tells us whose arms they are!
Is there a difference between orejas and another word for ears, like oídos?
Yes! Orejas refers to the outer, visible parts of the ears, which are the parts you wash with soap. Oídos refers to the inner ear canal, which is the part you use for hearing.
Can los niños also mean the children?
Yes. In Spanish, a mixed group of boys and girls is referred to with the masculine plural los niños. So this sentence could mean The boys wash... or The children wash... depending on the group we are talking about.
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