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SpanishUnit 6 · Reflexive verbs and the daily routineStep 1 of 15

Reflexive means the action lands back on you

The -se on the infinitive is the clue. Your notes translate these over-literally on purpose, and it is the best way in for an English speaker:

levantarse = to make oneself get up · acostarse = to lay oneself down · ducharse = to shower oneself · llamarse = to call oneself.

Conjugating means two changes at once: the pronoun moves in front, and the verb takes its ending.

me levanto · te levantas · se levanta · nos levantamos · os levantais · se levantan

The trap: Me levantar is never a sentence. If there is no other verb, conjugate it: me levanto.

Rule one: after a preposition, do not conjugate

After de, antes de, despues de, sin, para and a, the verb stays in the infinitive.

Despues de ducharse, ella se acuesta. Antes de cenar, hago la cama.

The trap: English uses -ing there ("after showering"), and Spanish never does. And the pronoun still matches the subject: antes de vestirme when the subject is yo.

Rule two: two verbs, so the second one keeps the pronoun

When a conjugated verb comes first, the reflexive verb stays infinitive but its pronoun still changes. Your notes give the set:

Quiero ducharme. Quiere ducharse. Queremos ducharnos. Debo acostarme. Me gusta levantarme tarde.

The trap: Quiero ducharse means you want someone else to shower. The pronoun on the end has to be yours.

me the reflexive against me the indirect object

They look identical in the first and second person and split in the third.

Reflexive: me, te, se, nos, os, se. Used when the action comes back to the subject: se ducha.

Indirect object: me, te, le, nos, os, les. Used with gustar, encantar, interesar, doler: le gusta.

The trap: se gusta means she likes herself. Le gusta is what you almost always want.

Quick check

Tap a Spanish word, then its English partner