Verbos reflexivos en español (videolección)

A verb is reflexive when the person who does the action also receives it: Me lavo las manos. This lesson explains how these verbs work and where their pronouns go.

Learn to express actions using reflective verbs with this free Spanish lesson brought to you by Tilde Madrid Spanish school in Madrid.

Key points

Reflexive verbs end in -se in the infinitive: lavarse, levantarse, ducharse.
They need reflexive pronouns: me, te, se, nos, os, se.
The pronoun goes before the conjugated verb: Me lavo las manos. Nos levantamos a las siete.
With an infinitive, a gerund or an affirmative imperative it is attached: Voy a ducharme, estoy duchándome, dúchate.

Frequent doubts

Why me lavo las manos and not me lavo mis manos?

With parts of the body and clothes, Spanish uses the article, because the reflexive pronoun already shows whose they are.

Is ir the same as irse?

No. Ir is to go somewhere; irse is to leave: Me voy a casa. Many verbs change their meaning with se: dormir and dormirse, llamar and llamarse.

Are all verbs with se reflexive?

No. Some verbs always go with se, such as quejarse or arrepentirse, and se also has impersonal uses: Se habla español.

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Key points

Frequent doubts

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