Reflexive verbs A verb is reflexive when the Subject and the Direct Object are the same. The action of the verb is reflected back onto the subject of the sentence. I see you. This verb is not reflexive because I and you are not the same person. I see myself This verb is reflexive because I and in the mirror. myself are the same person. Reflexive verbs indicate that the subject of the sentence is doing something to himself / herself. In English, the object is usually one of the following: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, or themselves.

In Spanish, reflexive verbs have [se] attached to the infinitive in the dictionary. Reflexive verbs have a Reflexive Pronoun in front of the conjugated verb. Adding a Reflexive Pronoun will change the meaning of the verb slightly. DESPERTAR [ie] to wake up someone [else] DESPERTARSE [ie] to wake up [yourself] NOTE that despertar is a stem-changing [“shoe”] verb !!

Reflexive verbs are conjugated normally in whichever tense is called for, then add the appropriate Reflexive Pronoun: Yo me despierto nosotros nos despertamos tú te despiertas vosotros os despertáis Él / ella / Ud se despierta ellos / Uds se despiertan

Yo despierto a mi hermano a las cinco. I wake up my brother at five o’clock. Yo me despierto a las cinco. I wake [myself] up at five o’clock. Bañar(se) to bathe (oneself) Luisa baña el perro cada día. Luisa bathes the dog every day. Luisa se baña cada día. Luisa bathes (herself) every day.