Spanish Reflexive Verbs and Daily Routines

Transcription

1 English- Spanish Helpful Handouts For English Speakers Who Want To Learn Spanish Page 1 of 5 Spanish Reflexive Verbs and Daily Routines Reflexive constructions consist of a reflexive pronoun and a verb. An example is: Me despierto. (I wake up). In English, reflexive pronouns end in -self or -selves;; for example, myself, yourself, ourselves, etc. In Spanish, the reflexive pronouns are: me, te, se, nos, os, se. A Spanish reflexive verb in the infinitive has se attached to the end of it, such as, despertarse. Me despierto a las ocho. (I wake up at 8:00.) To conjugate a reflexive verb, use the reflexive pronoun that corresponds with both the subject and the verb form. It goes in front of the verb: (Yo) me despierto a las ocho. Me despierto a las ocho. I wake up at 8:00. Te despiertas a las ocho. You (familiar) wake up at 8:00. Se despierta a las ocho. You (formal) wake up at 8:00. He/She wakes up at 8:00. Nos despertamos a las ocho. We wake up at 8:00. Os despertáis a las ocho. You (familiar, plural) wake up at 8:00. Se despiertan a las ocho. You (formal, plural) wake up at 8:00. They wake up at 8:00. In a sentence with a reflexive construction, the subject not only performs the action, but also receives the action. Look at this example of the use of the reflexive verb cortarse. Ayer, me corté. (Yesterday, I cut myself.) The subject did the cutting, that is, the subject performed the action. Also, the subject got cut, that is, the subject received the action. One way that reflexive verbs are used is with daily personal routines. You will find a list of reflexives verbs on page 2.

2 English- Spanish Helpful Handouts For English Speakers Who Want To Learn Spanish Page 2 of 5 Daily Personal Routines acostarse (ue) to go to bed levantarse to get up afeitarse to shave maquillarse to put on makeup bañarse to take a bath peinarse cepillarse los dientes t pintarse to put on makeup teeth cuidarse to care of oneself ponerse la ropa clothes despertarse (ie) to wake up quitarse la ropa t clothes dormirse (ue) to fall asleep secarse to dry off ducharse to take a shower vestirse to get dressed lavarse to wash oneself Sentences that use reflexive verbs are constructed differently in Spanish as compared to English. Él se lava. (He washes himself.) Él se lava la cara. (He washes his face.) Look at this sentence: Él se lava. In this sentence, the reflexive pronoun se acts as a direct object. To determine the direct object, find out whom or what is the subject acting upon. In this case, ask this question: The answer is: im. Now look at this sentence: Él se lava la cara. In this sentence, the reflexive pronoun se acts as an indirect object. It may be easier to find the direct object of this sentence first. Ask the question: The answer is: the. Now, you need to find the indirect object. To determine an indirect object, find out to whom or for whom a subject is acting. In this case, ask the question: The answer is: im Note that in this case, the definite article is used before the direct object. In Spanish, the definite article is used when the direct object is a body part or an article of clothing. In English, we use the possessive pronoun my, your, his, her, etc.: He washes his face. Reflexive versus Nonflexive Verbs When an action is performed on another person, a reflexive pronoun is not used. Despierto a mi hermano a las ocho. (I wake my brother up at 8:00.) Ella cortó la manzana por la mitad. (She cut the apple in half.)

3 English- Spanish Helpful Handouts For English Speakers Who Want To Learn Spanish Page 3 of 5 Raúl Raúl se despierta a las seis. (Raúl wakes up at 6:00.) Primero, se baña. (First, he takes a bath.) Entonces, se seca. (Then, he dries himself off.) Luego, se peina. (Next, he combs his hair.) Más tarde, se cepilla los dientes. (Later, he brushes his teeth.) Finalmente, se viste. (Finally, he gets dressed.) Write your morning routine here. Me despierto a las. Primero, Entonces, Luego, Más tarde, Finalmente, Saturdays Fill in the blank using the correct form of the verb in parenthesis. Include your own Saturday morning routine. 1. (levantarse) Los sábados, Carlos y Juan a las ocho. Tomás a las diez. Yo a las. 2. (cepillarse) (ducharse) Olivia siempre los dientes antes de. 3. (ducharse) (cepillarse) Carlos y Juan siempre antes de los dientes. Yo antes de. 4. (vestirse) Olivia y Tomás de jeans. Carlos elegantemente. 5. (afeitarse) Carlos y Tomás no los sábados. 6. (maquillarse) Olivia. Isabel no los sábados.

4 English- Spanish Helpful Handouts For English Speakers Who Want To Learn Spanish Page 4 of 5 Write the sentence using the verb as a reflexive verb. Example: Yo/despertar /a las siete y media (I wake up at 7:30.) Yo me despierto a las siete y media. 1. Sofía /cuidar/ bien (Sofia takes good care of herself.) 2. Arturo/vestir/antes de desayunar (Arthur gets dressed before he eats breakfast.) 3. Nosotros/lavar/ las manos antes de comer. (We wash our hands before eating.) 4. Yo/quitar/la gorra. (I take off my hat.) 5. Juan/acostar/a las nueve y media todas las noches. (John goes to bed at 9:30 every night.) 6. Juan/dormir/a las diez todos los noches. (John falls asleep at 10:00 every night.) 7. Yo/poner/ la chaqueta y salgo para la escuela. (I put on my jacket before I leave for school.) Answer these questions. 1. A qué hora te despiertas diariamente? 2. Prefieres ducharte o bañarte? 3. A qué hora te acuestas todos los días? 4. Cuántas veces al día te peinas? Cuántas veces al día te peinas?

5 English- Spanish Helpful Handouts For English Speakers Who Want To Learn Spanish Page 5 of 5 Decide whether to use a reflexive or nonreflexive verb in these sentences. 1. Julia (bañar/bañarse) al perro. (Julia bathes the dog.) 2. Elsa (acostar/acostarse) el niño a las ocho. (Elsa puts the boy to bed at 8:00.) 3. Yo (lavar/lavarse) los platos. (I wash the plates.) 4. Yo (lavar/lavarse) las manos. (I wash my hands.) 5. El muchacho (afeitar/afeitarse) con cuidado para no (cortar/cortase). 6. Vosotros (vestir/vestirse) muy elegantemente. (All of you dress very elegantly.) 7. Ellas (levantar/levantarse) temprano para ir al trabajo. (They get up early to go to work.) 8. Matilde (vestir/vestirse) a su hermanita. (Matilde dresses her little sister.) 9. Laura (cepillar/cepillarse) el pelo. (Laura brushes her hair.) Create a sentence to describe what is happening in each photo