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Taking the general formation rules used to formulate reflexive verbs as illustrated with the present simple tense in 'Reflexive verbs part 1' and applying them to other tenses. |
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How reflexive pronouns may be positioned differently when used with gerunds, tenses such as the infinitive and other verb constructions. |
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When reflexive verbs are commonly used in conversation. Certain descriptions, passive sentences, impersonal expressions and how they can be used to mean 'each other'. |
| What you can learn from this lesson | |
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Being able to formulate reflexive verb constructions in multiple tenses. |
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Understanding how reflexive pronouns in certain verb constructions can be placed either before or after the verb that they relate to. Sometimes there is no choice! |
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To build knowledge of when reflexive verbs are used in conversation. Recognising common sentence structures and knowing which types of sentences in English are formed using reflexive verbs in Spanish. |
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A sound understanding of the reflexive pronoun 'se'. How it can be used to alter meaning, depending on the structure of the sentence it is used with. |
Affiliates |
LEARNING SPANISH LIKE CRAZY |
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LEARN SPANISH TODAY |
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PART 1
The previous lesson entitled Reflexive Verbs part 1 explained what reflexive verbs are and how they are formed and used in the present simple tense. This lesson looks at how reflexive verbs are used with other tenses and how they are used in common sentence structures.
This part of the lesson looks specifically at how reflexive verbs are used in other more usual tenses.
Using reflexive verbs in the same way as they are used
with the present simple tense
The majority of tenses with reflexive verbs are formed in the same way as they are formed with the present simple tense.
1 - The verbs are formed in the same way as if they were non reflexive. They take the same stem and ending changes.
2 - The reflexive pronoun are normally placed BEFORE the reflexive verb formation.
Past simple (preterite), tense
| levantarse | to get up |
| afeitarse | to shave |
| irse | to leave |
Me levanté, me
afeité y me salí de la casa. - I got up, shaved and left
the house.
Imperfect tense
| llamarse | to be called |
| casarse | to marry |
(Tú) te llamabas un
campeón. - You used to
call yourself a champion.
Ellos se casaron por iglesia. - They got married in a church.
Future
tense
| enojarse | to get angry |
| acostarse | to go to bed |
Me enojaré si me
dicen no. - I will get angry if
they tell me no.
Vamos a casa y
entonces nos acostaremos -Lets go home and
then we will
go to bed.
Conditional tense with would
| arreglarse | to get ready |
(Yo) me
arreglaría si fuera tú. - I would get ready if
I were you.
Subjunctive tenses
| reírse | to laugh |
| sentarse | to sit down |
(Yo) quiero que
(tú) te rías. - I want you to laugh.
Si (tú) te sentaras estarías más cómodo. - If you were to sit down you would be more comfortable.
PART 2
The second part of this lesson looks at those tenses where reflexive verbs might be formed differently to the way they are formed with the present simple tense and the other tenses as described in part one of the lesson. These differences occur when forming the imperative tense, the conditional tenses with could and should, the gerund and tenses with ‘haber’. The main difference normally occurs with the position of the reflexive pronoun. In many constructions an accent mark or tilde is also added.
The imperative tense
1 - The reflexive pronoun is placed before the verb in
NEGATIVE imperative tense formations.
| preocuparse (to worry oneself) | No te preocupes. | Don’t worry. - you
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| asustarse (to get scared) | No se asusten. | Don’t be scared.
– you all polite
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2 - The reflexive pronoun is added, to the verb in POSITIVE imperative tense formations.
| apurarse (to hurry up) | Apúrate. | Hurry up. - you
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| vestirse (to get dress) | Vístanse. | Get dressed. – you all polite |
3 - Imperative tense verbs are formed in the same way as if they were non reflexive except in positive nosotros/as and vosotros/as formations. In these cases the final s or d is dropped.
| irse (to leave) | Vámonos. | Let’s leave. |
| callarse (to be quite) | Callaos. | Shut up. – you all |
The conditional tenses with could and should
1 - The reflexive verb is always used in its infinitive form.
2 - The reflexive pronoun can either be placed before the verbs ‘poder’ or ‘deber’ or it can be added to the infinitive reflexive verb.
3 - The infinitive reflexive verb is always placed after the conditional verb ‘could’ or should’
| secarse (to dry oneself) | (Tú) deberías secarte. | You should dry yourself. |
| (Tú) te deberías secar. | You should dry yourself. |
When forming the ‘gerund’ and infinitives 1 - If the infinitive or gerund follows another verb (verb
construction, or verb + preposition), then the reflexive pronoun can come either
before or after the infinitive or gerund. Note: If a direct object pronoun is also used (in this case lo),
then it will always come after the reflexive pronoun (in this case te). The direct object
pronoun can also come before or after the verb. Take a look at the lesson on
direct and indirect object pronouns to learn more. 2 - If the infinitive or gerund does not follow another verb
then the reflexive pronoun must come directly after the infinitive or gerund. = No es necesario maquillarme mas. (Its not
necessary for me to put on any
more makeup.)
When forming sentences with ‘haber’ 1 - Normally in perfect tenses with ‘haber’
the reflexive pronoun should come before ‘haber’ and the past participle. = (Yo)
me había quemado . (I had burnt myself.)
2 - In more complex sentences with ‘haber’
where another verb precedes ‘haber’ such as in conditional
sentences with ‘could’ and ‘should’ the reflexive pronoun can come before the
entire verb construction or can be added to the infinitive form of ‘haber’. = (You
shouldn’t have interfered with it.)
= (Tú)
no deberías haberte metido con esto.
= (You shouldn’t have
interfered with it.)
PART 3 The last part of the lesson looks at in what other ways
reflexive verbs can be used in speech. 1 - Using reflexive pronouns to mean each other or one
another. These types of verb constructions
are formed in the same way as normal reflexive verbs as follows: 2 - In certain expressions that refer to ‘you’ or ‘they’ but
which don’t actually refer to anyone in particular. 3 - As an alternative to forming passive sentences.
For more information on the passive tense take a look at the separate lesson on
the passive tense. That concludes this lesson on reflexive verbs part 2. If you
have not done so already watch the actual video for this lesson and then try
one of the associated quizzes to test your understanding.
jubilarse (to retire)
Ellos podrían jubilarse temprano.
They could retire early.
Ellos se podrían jubilar temprano.
They could retire early.
probarse (to try on)
Me estoy probando los zapatos.
I am trying on the shoes.
Estoy
probándome los zapatos.
I am trying on the shoes.
¿(Tú)
vas a probártelo?
Are you going to try it on?
¿Te vas a probarlo?
Are you going to try it on?
maquillarse
to put on makeup
= Ella está maquillándose. (She’s putting on
her makeup.)
quemarse
to burn oneself
= (Yo) me he quemado. (I’ve burnt myself.)
meterse
to interfere / get into
= (Tú) no te deberías haber metido con esto.
Nos molestamos.
We annoy each other or we annoy one another.
Se quieren.
They love each other or they love one another.
Os odiáis.
They (all) hate each other or they (all) hate one another.
¡Se dice que el
mundo es plano!
They say the world is flat!
¿Cómo se escríbe?
How do you spell it?
¡No se permite!
Its not allowed!
passive
Son fabricados en India.
They’re made in India.
reflexive verb
Se fabrican en India.
They’re
made in India.
passive
Español es hablado en España.
Spanish is spoken in Spain
reflexive verb
Se habla Español en España.
Spanish is spoken in Spain
passive
Muchos coches son vendidos aquí.
Lots of cars are sold here.
reflexive verb
Se venden muchos coches aquí.
Lots of cars are sold here.
