Reflexive verbs, and the whole daily routine
A reflexive verb carries a pronoun matching its subject — me, te, se, nos, se — because the action comes back to the doer: me levanto, I get myself up. Many verbs exist in both forms with different meanings, and almost the whole morning routine is reflexive.
Draft copy. Every claim needs a native-speaker check before publishing — the byline is what makes this citable, so it has to be earned.
The pronoun matches the subject
That is the whole mechanic. The action loops back to whoever is doing it.
| levantarse (to get up) | |
|---|---|
| yo | me levanto |
| tú | te levantas |
| usted / él / ella | se levanta |
| nosotros | nos levantamos |
| ustedes / ellos | se levantan |
The verb conjugates normally. The pronoun is the only new thing, and its position follows the same rules as any object pronoun — before a conjugated verb, attached to an infinitive or a gerund. See Lo, la, le.
- Me levanto a las siete.
- Voy a levantarme temprano. or Me voy a levantar temprano.
- Estoy duchándome.
The infinitive is listed with -se on the end — levantarse, ducharse — and that -se is a placeholder you replace with the right pronoun.
The routine, in order
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| despertarse | to wake up |
| levantarse | to get up |
| ducharse / bañarse | to shower / bathe |
| lavarse (el pelo, los dientes) | to wash (one’s hair, teeth) |
| secarse | to dry off |
| peinarse | to comb one’s hair |
| afeitarse | to shave |
| vestirse | to get dressed |
| ponerse (la ropa) | to put on |
| maquillarse | to put on make-up |
| irse | to leave |
| acostarse | to go to bed |
| dormirse | to fall asleep |
Note the article, not the possessive: me lavo las manos, me pongo el abrigo. The reflexive already says whose.
Several are stem-changing: me despierto, me visto, me acuesto, me duermo — with nosotros keeping the original vowel, as always.
A paragraph you can say after one read:
Me despierto a las seis, me levanto, me ducho y me visto. Desayuno rápido y me voy a las siete y media.
Same verb, two meanings
This is where reflexives stop being mechanical and start being vocabulary.
| Non-reflexive | Reflexive |
|---|---|
| levantar — to lift something | levantarse — to get up |
| ir — to go (somewhere) | irse — to leave |
| dormir — to sleep | dormirse — to fall asleep |
| poner — to put | ponerse — to put on, or to become |
| quedar — to remain, to suit | quedarse — to stay |
| llevar — to carry | llevarse — to take away, to get along |
| acordar — to agree | acordarse (de) — to remember |
| sentir — to feel (something) | sentirse — to feel (a way) |
- Me voy. — I’m off. Against voy a Lima — I’m going to Lima.
- Me duermo en el bus. — I fall asleep. Against duermo ocho horas.
- Me pongo nervioso. — I get nervous. Ponerse + adjective is a very common way to say “become”.
- ¿Cómo te sientes? — how do you feel? Not ¿cómo sientes?
Reciprocal: each other
Plural reflexives double as “each other”, and context sorts it out.
- Nos vemos mañana. — see you tomorrow. Literally “we see each other”.
- Se conocen. — they know each other.
- Nos escribimos. — we write to each other.
Nos vemos is how nearly every casual goodbye ends in Peru.
Impersonal se
The same pronoun, a different job: no particular subject.
- ¿Cómo se dice…? — how do you say…?
- Acá se habla español.
- No se puede entrar. — you can’t go in.
- Se vende. — for sale.
¿Cómo se dice? is the most useful sentence a learner owns, and it is this construction.
In Peru
Me voy nomás. — the nomás softens the departure.
¿Nos vemos el sábado? — the standard way to propose a plan, and a softer one than stating it.
Jalarse — to fail a course, reflexive and very Peruvian. See jalarse.
Paltearse — to get embarrassed or rattled, from palta, avocado. Me palteé. See paltearse.
Practise
- ___ (yo, levantarse) a las seis.
- Ella ___ (ponerse) nerviosa.
- ___ (nosotros, verse) mañana.
- ¿Cómo ___ dice “combi” en inglés?
- Me ___ (dormir) en el bus.
→ 1 Me levanto · 2 se pone · 3 Nos vemos · 4 se · 5 duermo (me duermo).
Next
→ Comparatives and superlatives
Topics PronounsThe present
Me levanto, me ducho, me voy
What the extra pronoun is doing, the verbs that change meaning when it appears, and the two other jobs se does.
-
1*___ (yo, levantarse) a las seis.*
Answer
Me levanto — The pronoun matches the subject and goes in front of a conjugated verb. *Me levanto* — I get myself up.
-
2“I wash my hands.”
Answer
Me lavo las manos. — The article, not the possessive — the *me* has already said whose hands they are. *Me lavo mis manos* doubles up and marks you out.
-
3Which one means “I fall asleep on the bus”?
Answer
Me duermo en el bus. — *Dormirse* is to fall asleep, *dormir* is to sleep. *Duermo en el bus* says you sleep there, which is a different claim about your commute.
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4*Ella ___ nerviosa antes del examen.* — she gets nervous.
Answer
se pone — *Ponerse* + adjective is the everyday way to say “become”: *me pongo nervioso*, *se puso rojo*. Plain *poner* is to put something somewhere.
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5*Nos vemos mañana* literally means “we see each other tomorrow”. What is it used for?
Answer
saying goodbye — Plural reflexives double as “each other”, and *nos vemos* is how nearly every casual goodbye ends in Peru — no arrangement implied.
-
6“How do you say ‘combi’ in English?”
Answer
¿Cómo se dice combi en inglés? — That is the impersonal *se* — no particular subject, the same construction as *acá se habla español* and *se vende*. It is the most useful sentence a learner owns.
-
7Which pair of sentences is both correct?
Answer
Voy a levantarme / Me voy a levantar — With an infinitive the pronoun either attaches to the end or moves in front of the whole verb group. Those are the only two positions.