Reflexive Verbs Explained
What are Reflexive Verbs?
Ever wanted to know what a verb that is reflexive does?
It's a verb where one does something to oneself.
A good reminder is to think of the things you do when you get out of bed in the morning and prepare yourself for the new day.
You get up.
Brush your teeth.
Take a shower.
Dry yourself off.
Comb you hair (if you have some).
Brush your hair (if you have some).
Or if you want a definition from one of those grammar books that are packed with great information but kill the ordinary learner's enthusiasm for learning languages - "reflexive verbs are verbs whose direct or indirect object is the same as their subject."**
I kick myself.
She sat herself down etc.
In European languages the word 'oneself' is called the 'reflexive pronoun'.
e.g. myself, yourself, himself, ourselves gets replaced by another word or pronoun.
In Spanish the infinitive of the reflexive ends in -se.
- to remember (literally to agree with oneself).
- to comb one's hair.
- to be called, named, to call oneself.
Lots and lots of verbs can be used as reflexives. By adding the -se
at the end of a verb it becomes reflexive, and it often changes the meaning of the word.
The verb acordar means to agree in Spanish
The verb acordarse
means to remember - literally to agree with oneself!
The Reflexive Pronouns
in Spanish are:
- yourself (familiar)
- yourselves (familiar)
There is a lot more to learn about conjugating reflexive verbs in Spanish and more detail on how they work click the link.
In French the infinitive of the reflexive verb begins with se
s'appeler - to be called, named, to call oneself.
se laver - to wash oneself.
se blesser - to injure oneself.
Check out the Memory Trigger cartoon for s'appeler with our practice French sentences course.
German Reflexive Verb
In German these infinitives begin with sich
For these verbs in our German vocabulary courses
we remind you of them with the picture of a Sikh man.
sich trocknen - to dry yourself.
sich erbarmen - to take pity on (easy to remember - you take pity on the SICK ER... BARMEN...)
sich erinnern - to remember.
So, there it is in a nutshell. They are very common in European languages.
**Source: French Grammar
, W. Rowlinson, Oxford University Press, 2000.
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