Reflexive Verbs

Reflexive verbs are used when talking about something you do to yourself.

The purpose of the reflexive object pronouns is to show that the action of the verb remains with the subject.


The reflexive pronouns are not subject pronouns; rather they are object pronouns.

me (myself)
te (yourself)
se (himself, herself, yourself)
nos (ourselves)os (yourselves)

se (themselves, yourselves)


To learn to conjugate reflexive verbs, you need to learn a different set of pronouns called "reflexive pronouns." These pronouns are positioned before the verb, while the ending "se" is dropped and the verb is conjugated normally.

lavarse
yo me lavo
I wash (myself)

tú te lavas
you wash (yourself) (informal)

él se lava
he washes (himself)

ella se lava
she washes (herself)

usted se lava
you wash (yourself) (formal)

nosotros nos lavamos
we wash (ourselves)

nosotras nos lavamos
we wash (ourselves) (feminine)

vosotros os laváis
you-all wash (yourselves) (informal)

vosotras os laváis
you-all wash (yourselves) (informal, feminine)

ustedes se lavan
you-all wash (yourselves)(formal)

ellos se lavan
they wash (themselves)

ellas se lavan
they wash (themselves) (feminine When using reflexive verbs you use the beginnings)


When a verb is reflexive, the infinitive ends in "se."
For examples:

lavarto wash (non-reflexive) lavarseto wash oneself (reflexive)
rascarto scratch (non-reflexive) rascarseto scratch oneself (reflexive)


Note that many, many verbs can be made reflexive.
All it means when a verb is reflexive is that the action remains with the subject.

wash the dog (non-reflexive)
wash your face (reflexive)
raise the book (non-reflexive)
raise your arm (reflexive)
put the baby to bed (non-reflexive)
go to bed (reflexive)
wake up your son (non-reflexive)
wake up yourself (reflexive)


You learned to conjugate reflexive verbs like this:

yo me lavo
I wash (myself)

tú te lavas
you wash (yourself) (informal)

él/ella se lava
he/she washes (him/herself)

usted se lava
you wash (yourself) (formal)

nosotros/as nos lavamos
we wash (ourselves)

vosotros/as os laváis
you-all wash (yourselves) (informal)

ustedes se lavan
you-all wash (yourselves) (formal)

ellos/as se lavan
they wash (themselves)


Here are some more helpful links:
http://spanish.about.com/od/sentencestructure/a/reflexive_verbs.htm
http://www.rocketlanguages.com/spanish/spanish_reflexive_verbs.php