Personal Pronouns — Reflexive Pronouns

Personal Pronouns — Reflexive Pronouns

singular	plural
me myself	nos ourselves
te yourself	os yourselves
se himself; herself; yourself	se themselves; yourselves

The reflexive forms of the personal pronouns are those which are used together with so-called reflexive verbs. They are me (myself), te (yourself — fam. form), nos (ourselves), and se (yourself, himself, herself, yourselves, themselves). When conjugated, these reflexive pronouns are placed directly before the verb. The conjugation of a typical reflexive verb lavarse (to wash oneself) follows:

	LAVARSE	(to wash oneself)
me	lavo	(I wash myself)
te	lavas	(you wash yourself)
se	lava	(he / she / you wash(es) himself / herself / yourself)
nos	lavamos	(we wash ourselves)
os	laváis	(you wash yourselves)
se	lavan	(they / you wash themselves / yourselves)

Many verbs that are used reflexively in Spanish are not so used in English, consequently these do not "make sense" if an attempt is made to parallel them to the English usage. The only manner of approaching them is to commit them to memory. Following is a list of some of the most common verbs which are reflexive in Spanish but not in English:

acordarse de — to remember	hacerse — to become (plus noun)
acostarse — to go to bed	lavarse — to wash (oneself)
bajarse — to get out (of car, etc.)	levantarse — to get up
bañarse — to take a bath	llamarse — to be called
caerse — to fall	pararse — to stop, to stand up
callarse — to be quiet	ponerse — to put on (clothing)
cansarse — to get tired	quedarse — to stay, to remain
casarse (con) — to marry	quitarse — to take off (clothing)
dormirse — to fall asleep	sentarse — to sit down
escaparse — to escape	subirse — to climb, to get in (car)
esconderse — to hide	vestirse — to get dressed

Yo me levanto.

I get up.

Yo me quedo.

I remain.

a) One should also note that in Spanish, when we refer to some action associated with parts of the body or articles of clothing, we use the definite article after all reflexive pronouns rather than the possessive forms of the personal pronoun.

Yo me cepillo los (not mis) dientes tres veces al día.

I brush my teeth three times a day.

Elena se quitó los (not sus) guantes.

Helen took off her gloves.

b) The student should further note that reflexive pronouns, when attached to the infinitive of reflexive verbs, are not constant but change form in accordance with the person or persons to which they refer.

¿Vas a ducharte?

Are you going to take a shower?

Enrique no quiere quitarse el saco.

Henry doesn't want to take off his coat.

No puedo secarme las manos con esta toalla.

I can't dry my hands with this towel.

Quiero irme a casa.

I want to go home.