English-Spanish Helpful Handouts For English Speakers Who Want To Learn Spanish

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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.
Te despiertas a las ocho.
Se despierta a las ocho.
Nos despertamos a las ocho.
Os despertis a las ocho.
Se despiertan a las ocho.

I wake up at 8:00.
You (familiar) wake up at 8:00.
You (formal) wake up at 8:00.
He/She wakes up at 8:00.
We wake up at 8:00.
You (familiar, plural) wake up at 8:00.
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 cort.
(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.

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English-Spanish Helpful Handouts For English Speakers Who Want To Learn Spanish

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Daily Personal Routines

acostarse (ue)
afeitarse
baarse
cepillarse los dientes

levantarse
maquillarse
peinarse
pintarse

to
to
to
to

cuidarse

to go to bed
to shave
to take a bath
to brush ones
teeth
to care of oneself

get up
put on makeup
comb ones hair
put on makeup

ponerse la ropa

despertarse (ie)

to wake up

quitarse la ropa

dormirse (ue)
ducharse
lavarse

to fall asleep
to take a shower
to wash oneself

secarse
vestirse

to put on ones
clothes
to take off ones
clothes
to dry off
to get dressed

Sentences that use reflexive verbs are constructed differently in Spanish as compared to English.

l se lava.
(He washes himself.)

l se lava la cara.
(He washes his face.)

Look at this sentence: l 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:
Whom is he washing? The answer is: himself.
Now look at this sentence: l 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: What is he washing? The answer is:
the face. 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: For whom is he
washing the face? The answer is: for himself.
Note that in this case, the definite article is used before the direct object (the). 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 cort la manzana por la mitad.

(She cut the apple in half.)
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English-Spanish Helpful Handouts For English Speakers Who Want To Learn Spanish

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Rals Morning Routine

Ral
Ral
se despierta
a las seis.
(Ral wakes
up at 6:00.)

Primero,
se baa.

Entonces,
se seca.

Luego,
se peina.

(First, he
takes a bath.)

(Then, he
dries himself
off.)

(Next, he
combs his
hair.)

Ms 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,

Ms 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 sbados, Carlos y Juan _______________ a las ocho. Toms _______________ 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 Toms _______________ de jeans. Carlos _______________ elegantemente.
Yo _________________________________________________________________________________________.
5. (afeitarse) Carlos y Toms no _______________ los sbados.
Yo _________________________________________________________________________________________.
6. (maquillarse) Olivia _______________ . Isabel no ________________ los sbados.
Yo _________________________________________________________________________________________.
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English-Spanish Helpful Handouts For English Speakers Who Want To Learn Spanish

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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. Sofa /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 qu hora te despiertas diariamente? ____________________________________________________
2. Prefieres ducharte o baarte? ____________________________________________________________
3. A qu hora te acuestas todos los das? ___________________________________________________
4. Cuntas veces al da te peinas? _________________________________________________________

Cuntas veces al da te peinas?

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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 _______________(baar/baarse) al perro. (Julia bathes the dog.)
2. Elsa ________________(acostar/acostarse) el nio 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). (The boy shaves carefully so he wont cut himself.)
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.

1. ____________________________________________________________________________________________

2. ____________________________________________________________________________________________

3. ____________________________________________________________________________________________

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