Spanish reflexive verbs, from me levanto to se llama
A reflexive verb is a verb that comes with a pronoun matching the subject: me levanto, te duchas, se llama. In the dictionary you find it with -se on the end of the infinitive, as in levantarse or llamarse. Below: when to use one, how to form every person, where the pronoun goes, and the common verbs whose meaning changes when you add se.
When to use a reflexive verb
Use a reflexive verb when the person doing the action is also the person it happens to. Lavo el coche is “I wash the car”. Me lavo is “I wash myself”, or more naturally “I have a wash”.
Use one for most of your daily routine. Getting up, showering, getting dressed and going to bed are all reflexive in Spanish, even though in English you usually drop the “myself”: me levanto, me ducho, me visto, me acuesto.
Use one for verbs that are simply reflexive in form. Llamarse is the normal way to give your name: Me llamo Laura, literally “I call myself Laura”. Quejarse (to complain), acordarse de (to remember), darse cuenta de (to realise) and arrepentirse de (to regret) always have the pronoun. In English there is no “myself” here, so you have to learn these with se attached.
Use one when someone changes state, especially feelings. Enfadarse and enojarse (to get angry), ponerse nervioso (to get nervous), aburrirse (to get bored), casarse (to get married) and cansarse (to get tired). Many English sentences with “get” or “become” are reflexive in Spanish.
Use the plural forms for actions people do to each other. Nos vemos mañana is “see you tomorrow”, literally “we see each other tomorrow”. Se quieren mucho is “they love each other very much”.
How to form reflexive verbs
Conjugate the verb as normal and put the matching pronoun in front.
| Person | Pronoun | levantarse (to get up) | vestirse (to get dressed) |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | me | me levanto | me visto |
| tú | te | te levantas | te vistes |
| vos | te | te levantás | te vestís |
| él, ella, usted | se | se levanta | se viste |
| nosotros, nosotras | nos | nos levantamos | nos vestimos |
| vosotros, vosotras | os | os levantáis | os vestís |
| ellos, ellas, ustedes | se | se levantan | se visten |
The pronoun matches the subject. With nosotros you always say nos, so nos levantamos, never se levantamos.
Stem changes happen exactly as they do without the pronoun. Despertarse gives me despierto, acostarse gives me acuesto, sentirse gives me siento and vestirse gives me visto.
The same pronoun appears in every tense.
| Tense | levantarse, yo form | English |
|---|---|---|
| Present | me levanto | I get up |
| Preterite | me levanté | I got up |
| Imperfect | me levantaba | I used to get up |
| Present perfect | me he levantado | I have got up |
| Future | me levantaré | I will get up |
| Conditional | me levantaría | I would get up |
| Present subjunctive | (que) me levante | (that) I get up |
In compound tenses the pronoun goes before haber: me he levantado, se había ido.
Where the pronoun goes
With a single conjugated verb, the pronoun goes before it: Me ducho por la mañana.
With an infinitive or a gerund, you have two options. Put the pronoun before the conjugated verb, or attach it to the end of the infinitive or gerund. Both are correct and both are common.
| Before | Attached | English |
|---|---|---|
| Me voy a duchar. | Voy a ducharme. | I’m going to have a shower. |
| Te tienes que ir. | Tienes que irte. | You have to go. |
| Se está vistiendo. | Está vistiéndose. | She is getting dressed. |
Use one position or the other, never both. Me voy a ducharme has the pronoun twice.
When you attach a pronoun to a gerund, add a written accent to keep the stress where it was: vistiendo becomes vistiéndose, duchando becomes duchándome.
With commands, the pronoun is attached to an affirmative command and goes before a negative one: Levántate (get up), No te levantes (don’t get up), Siéntese (sit down, usted). See Spanish commands for the full set.
Verbs that change meaning with se
Some verbs mean one thing on their own and something related, but different, with the pronoun.
| Without se | Meaning | With se | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| ir | to go | irse | to leave, to go away |
| dormir | to sleep | dormirse | to fall asleep |
| llamar | to call | llamarse | to be called |
| quedar | to arrange to meet, to be left | quedarse | to stay |
| poner | to put | ponerse | to put on (clothes), to become |
| llevar | to carry, to take | llevarse | to take away, to get on (with someone) |
| parecer | to seem | parecerse a | to look like |
| acordar | to agree | acordarse de | to remember |
| despedir | to dismiss, to fire | despedirse | to say goodbye |
| comer | to eat | comerse | to eat up, to eat all of |
Me voy is “I’m leaving”. With ir, say where you are going: Voy al trabajo. Me quedo en casa is “I’m staying at home”, and in Spain ¿Quedamos a las ocho? is “Shall we meet at eight?”
With comerse you add the idea of eating the whole thing. Me comí la pizza means I ate the whole pizza. With comí pizza I only say what I ate.
Body parts and clothes
When you do something to your own body or put on your own clothes, use the reflexive pronoun and the article el, la, los, las. From the pronoun it is already clear whose hands they are.
Me lavo las manos is “I wash my hands”. Se pone la chaqueta is “She puts on her jacket”. Me corté el dedo is “I cut my finger”.
Worked examples
- Me llamo Andrés. My name is Andrés.
- ¿Cómo te llamas? What’s your name?
- Me levanto a las siete. I get up at seven.
- Nos acostamos tarde los sábados. We go to bed late on Saturdays.
- Se ducha antes de desayunar. He has a shower before breakfast.
- Me lavo los dientes después de comer. I brush my teeth after eating.
- Ya me voy, que es tarde. I’m off now, it’s late.
- Mis padres se casaron en 1990. My parents got married in 1990.
- No me acuerdo de su nombre. I can’t remember her name.
- Me quedé dormido y llegué tarde. I overslept and arrived late.
- Se parece mucho a su madre. She looks a lot like her mother.
- Se dio cuenta de que había perdido las llaves. He realised he had lost his keys.
Common mistakes English speakers make
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Levanto a las siete. | Me levanto a las siete. | Without me, levanto means you lift something: levanto la caja, I lift the box. |
| Me lavo mis manos. | Me lavo las manos. | Use the article with your own body. |
| Me voy a ducharme. | Me voy a duchar. or Voy a ducharme. | The pronoun appears once. |
| Nosotros se levantamos. | Nosotros nos levantamos. | The pronoun matches the subject. |
| Me recuerdo de ti. | Me acuerdo de ti. or Te recuerdo. | Acordarse de is reflexive. Use recordar with a direct object and no de. |
| Estoy duchandome. | Estoy duchándome. | Attaching the pronoun adds a written accent. |
| Voy. (meaning “I’m leaving”) | Me voy. | Use ir with a destination. Irse is leaving. |
Sentarse and sentirse deserve a second look. The yo present is me siento for both. The tú commands differ: siéntate is “sit down”, and siéntete como en casa is “make yourself at home”.
Regional notes
Vosotros and ustedes. In Spain, a group of friends is vosotros, so ¿A qué hora os levantáis? In Mexico, Colombia and Argentina the same question to friends is ¿A qué hora se levantan? because people use ustedes for every group.
Vos. In Argentina, the pronoun with vos is te, the same as with tú: ¿Cómo te llamás? and vos te levantás. The command is levantate, with no written accent, because the stress falls on ta.
Getting angry. In Spain people mostly say enfadarse: Se enfadó conmigo. In Mexico, Colombia and Argentina people say enojarse: Se enojó conmigo.
Extra reflexives in Mexico. In Mexican speech you will hear some verbs used reflexively where people in Spain do not use the pronoun. Me tardé for “I took a long time” and me regresé for “I went back” are normal in Mexico. In Spain people would say tardé and volví.
Practise it
The Vozelu grammar course has a lesson called “Reflexive verbs”. To take it, create an account. In the lesson you read about the pronouns and where they go, then you type reflexive verbs into full sentences and are told what you got wrong, including a missing or doubled pronoun.
Questions people ask
How do I know if a Spanish verb is reflexive? A dictionary lists it with -se on the infinitive, such as levantarse. Many verbs have both forms, so check whether the meaning you want is listed under the plain verb or the -se form.
What is the difference between ir and irse? Ir is “to go”, and you say where: Voy a la playa. Irse is “to leave”: Me voy means “I’m going”, in the sense of leaving where you are.
Why do you say me lavo las manos and not mis manos? With the pronoun me it is already clear the hands are yours. With body parts and clothes, use the article when the owner is clear. Mis manos is possible when you contrast them with someone else’s.
Is se always reflexive? No. Se is also the impersonal “one” or “you” in Aquí se habla inglés and the replacement for le in se lo di. It also appears in accidental events such as Se me olvidó, “I forgot”. Look at the whole sentence.
Can I put the pronoun at the end of the verb? Only on an infinitive, a gerund or an affirmative command: ducharme, duchándome, dúchate. With a conjugated verb it goes before: me ducho.
Is “me llamo” the same as “mi nombre es”? Both are correct. Me llamo is what most people say when they introduce themselves. Mi nombre es is more common on forms, on the phone and in formal settings.
Do all Spanish routine verbs have to be reflexive? The common ones are: levantarse, ducharse, vestirse, peinarse, acostarse. If you wash the dishes or dress a child, the verb is not reflexive because the action goes to something else: Visto a mi hijo.