Los Verbos Reflexivos en Español

Reflexive Verbs are tricky, but essential in expressing your daily routine.

With reflexive verbs like levantarse, acostarse, dormirse, and vestirse, we can begin to address questions such as:

• ¿Qué haces todos los días?
  (What do you do everyday?)
• ¿Cómo es tu rutina diaria?
  (What is your daily routine like?)
• ¿Te levantas temprano?
  (Do you wake up early?)
• ¿A qué hora te acuestas?
  (What time do you go to bed?)
• ¿Cuánto tiempo dura para dormirte después de acostarte?
  (How long does it take for you to fall asleep after you lie down?)

Before doing explicit practice with the conjugation of reflexive verbs, let's hear some more examples:

Now it's time to look at the structure of and process for conjugating reflexive verbs...

Here are some examples of reflexive and non-reflexive verbs:

(When a verb is reflexive, the infinitive ends in "se.")

• lavar = to wash (non-reflexive)
• lavarse = to wash oneself (reflexive)
• rascar = to scratch (non-reflexive)
• rascarse = to scratch oneself (reflexive)

---

The reflexive verb we are probably most familiar with is:

• llamarse = to be called / to call oneself (reflexive)
• Note that llamar is a non-reflexive verb meaning "to call (someone)".

Llamarse conjugates in the following manner:

• yo me llamo = I call myself / I am called
• tú te llamas = You call yourself / You are called
• él se llama = He calls himself / He is called
• ella se llama = She calls herself / She is called
• usted se llama = You call yourself (formal) / You are called (formal)
• nosotros nos llamamos = We call ourselves / We are called
• nosotras nos llamamos = We call ourselves (feminine) / We are called (feminine)
• vosotros os llamáis = You-all call yourselves (informal) / You-all are called (informal)
• vosotras os llamáis = You-all call yoursevles (informal, feminine) / You-all are called (informal, feminine) 
•  ustedes se llaman = You-all call yourselves (formal) / You-all are called
• ellos se llaman = They call themselves / They are called
• ellas se llaman = They call themselves (feminine) / They are called (feminine)

---

Here is how lavarse works:

• yo me lavo = I wash (myself)
• tú te lavas = you wash (yourself) (informal)
• él se lava = he washes (himself)
• ella se lava = she washes (herself)
• usted se lava = you wash (yourself) (formal)
• nosotros nos lavamos = we wash (ourselves)
• nosotras nos lavamos = we wash (ourselves) (feminine)
• vosotros os laváis = you-all wash (yourselves) (informal)
• vosotras os laváis = you-all wash (yourselves) (informal, feminine)
• ustedes se lavan = you-all wash (yourselves)(formal)
• ellos se lavan = they wash (themselves)
• ellas se lavan = they wash (themselves) (feminine) 

---

See more examples at studyspanish.com/lessons/reflexive1.htm.