Los reflexivos

A. USE OF REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS / USO DE LOS PRONOMBRES REFLEXIVOS

singular: plural:

me nos

te os

se se

Me encontré en un problema.	I found myself in trouble.
Ella se cuida.	She takes care of herself.
Nos estamos vistiendo. Estamos vistiéndonos.	} We are dressing (ourselves).
No se quisieron ver. No quisieron verse.	} They refused to see each other (or themselves).

Reflexives are placed in the same position as other object pronouns: immediately before a conjugated verb, or joined to the end of a gerund or infinitive.

The plural reflexive pronouns may mean either themselves or each other. Logic will normally indicate which is intended; a sentence such as Se escriben is more likely to mean "they write to each other" than "they write to themselves".  If it is important to make clear which is meant, insert the adverb mutuamente or variations of entre sí, entre vosotros, entre nosotros, uno al otro, una a la otra, unas a las otras, etc.:

Se recuerdan a sí mismos. Se recuerdan uno al otro. Se recuerdan entre sí.

They remind themselves. They remember one another. They remember/remind each other.

Spanish uses reflexive pronouns more frequently than English does.  Whereas, for example, English says "I dressed," Spanish must say "I dressed myself" making it clear that the action is directed back at the subject. Here is a list of some common verbs used frequently with a reflexive pronoun. Nearly all of these verbs may be used as transitive verbswith other direct objects such as "I dressed the children", "I woke them up", etc., obviously without a reflexive pronoun.

acostarse (ue) casarse (con) despertarse (ie) divertirse (ie) levantarse sentarse (ie) vestirse (i)

to go to bed, to lie down to get married (to) to wake up to have fun, enjoy oneself to get up to sit down to get dressed

Me levanté temprano. Acosté a los niños a las diez y yo me acosté más tarde. Divirtió mucho a sus compañeros; todos se divirtieron. Se bañó y también bañó al perro.

I got up early. I put the children to bed at ten and I went to bed later. He amused his classmates a lot; they all enjoyed themselves. She bathed (herself.) and she bathed the dog, too.

Verbs with a reflexive pronoun are not to be confused with verbs like gustar,which take indirect object pronouns (See §39):
Verbs like gustar (indirect object pronoun):	Verbs using reflexive pronouns:
Me gustó la fiesta. Le fascinaban las estrellas. Nos encanta la mañana. Les interesa la astronomía.	Me divertí en la fiesta. Se acostaba bajo las estrellas. Nos levantamos por la mañana. Se interesan en la astronomía.

 B. VERBS USED REFLEXIVELY / VERBOS PRONOMINALES

There are a considerable number of verbs whose meanings change when used reflexively, although many can be used as transitive verbs, too. An interesting case is sentir, to feel, which takes a reflexive pronoun with adjectives andadverbs (se siente alegre, se siente bien), but not otherwise (siente alegría). Here are some other verbs (see alsoAppendix C):

comunicarse (con) dormirse (ue) enamorarse (de) esforzarse (por) (ue) irse llevarse preocuparse (por) quedarse quejarse (de) reunirse (con)

to communicate (with) (comunicar: to communicate something) to go to sleep (dormir: to sleep) to fall in love (with) (enamorar: to seduce) to make an effort to (only used reflexively) to go away, leave (ir: to go somewhere) to carry off something (llevar: to carry somewhere) to be worried (about) (preocupar: to worry someone) to stay (quedar: to remain, to be or have left). to complain (about) (only used reflexively) to get together in a meeting (reunir: to gather something)

Se quieren comunicar contigo. ¿Vas a irte sin quejarte? Se enamoraron del perrito. Nos esforzábamos por entender. Dormí poco esta semana.	They want to get in touch with you. Are you leaving without complaining? They fell in love with the little dog. We were making an effort to understand. I didn’t sleep much this week.
Se van a quedar en San José porque no les queda tiempo.
They are going to stay in San José because they don’t have any time left.  C. TO BECOME: HACERSE, PONERSE, VOLVERSE... verb used with suggests hacerse mostly nouns effort for status or gradual transformation ponerse adjectives only temporary change in emotional or physical state volverse adjectives or nouns a more lasting change in emotional or physical state convertirse (ie) en transformarse en nouns only a lasting, objective transformation Se hizo abogado. Su vida se hizo intensa. Se pusieron pálidos y furiosos. Me puse triste. El tema se puso / se volvió difícil. La vida se volvió una pesadilla. Su casa se convirtió en un hotel. Los problemas se convierten en oportunidades. “Hispania” se transformó en “España”. He became a lawyer. His life got intense. They got pale and angry. I got sad. The topic became difficult. Life turned into a nightmare. Their house became a hotel. Problems become opportunities. “Hispania” became “Spain”. The Spanish equivalent of to become or to get + adjective is often a reflexive verb. Some common examples (see also quedarse): alegrarse cansarse darse cuenta de enojarse enfermar(se) independizarse prepararse volverse loco to become glad, happy to get tired to realize (become aware of) to get angry to get sick to become (get) independent to get prepared, get ready to go mad  D. REFLEXIVE FOR POSSESSION Spanish avoids the use of possessive adjectives with parts of the body, clothing, and personal items. Just use the definite article. Also, indirect object pronouns are often used to point in the direction of the person concerned: Va a traer el carro. Lo va a traer. Le quitaron la bolsa (a Carmen). Le duele la cabeza. Le duele. She is bringing her car. She's bringing it. They took her (Carmen's) purse away. Her head hurts. It hurts. When the action is directed toward oneself, a reflexive pronoun is used: Me lavé las manos.   Me las lavé hace rato. Se golpeó la pierna.   Se la golpeó al entrar. ¿Te quitaste los lentes? I washed my hands. I washed them a while ago. She hit her leg. She hit it while entering. Did you take off your eyeglasses/lenses?

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