Reflexive Verbs

[livingdeb]

One thing that is handled much better in Spanish than English is reflexive verbs. We learned a bunch back in the chapter on waking up and getting ready and are now learning more in the chapter on well-being. These are words for describing actions you take that are focussed on yourself, in other words, when the subject and object of a action are the same person.

The Spanish way to express these concepts makes good sense. They add a reflexive handle to regular verbs. For example:
llamar = to call
llamarse = to call oneself

So in English we can ask, "what do you call yourself?" This is so long that we usually ask instead, "What is your name?" (Or just say our name and hope they get the hint.) Fewer words are needed in Spanish: "¿Cómo se llama [usted]?" And the words for self are shorter than in English:
* me = myself
* te = yourself
* se = himself, herself, itself, or themselves
* nos = ourselves
* os = y'all's selves

Often, the English ways are wacky and random feeling. For example, sometimes we just add random prepositions to the verbs.
* to sit down = sentarse (to sit oneself)
* to lie down = acostarse (to lie oneself)
* to cool down or cool off = enfriarse (to cool oneself)
* to get up = levantarse (to raise oneself)
* to wash up = lavarse (to wash oneself)
* to warm up (before exercise) = calentarse (to warm oneself)
* to hurry up = apurarse (to hurry oneself) or darse prisa (to give oneself haste)
* to put on = ponerse (to put oneself)
* to try on = probarse (to try oneself)
* to dry off = secarse (to dry oneself)
* to go away = irse (to go oneself)

Sometimes we use the verb "to get" with a related adjective.
* to get ready = arreglarse (to fix up oneself)
* to get dressed = vestirse (to dress oneself)
* to get bored = aburrirse (to bore oneself)
* to get angry = enojarse (to anger oneself)
* to get sick = enfermarse (to sicken oneself)
* to get hurt = lastimarse (to hurt oneself)
* to get engaged = comprometerse (to commit oneself)

Sometimes we use some other kind of phrase.
* to go to bed = acostarse (to put oneself to bed)
* to go to sleep or to fall asleep = dormirse (to sleep oneself)
* to take a bath = bañarse (to bathe oneself)
* to take a shower = ducharse (to shower oneself)
* to put on makeup = maquillarse (to make oneself up)
* to be happy = alegrarse (to make oneself happy)

Or we just have a whole different word.
* to remember = acordarse (to remind oneself)
* to become = ponerse (to put oneself)
* to practice = entrenarse (to train oneself)

Or sometimes we just assume it's reflexive unless another object is indicated.
* to shave = afeitarse (to shave oneself)
* to stay, to remain = quedarse (to leave oneself)
* to stay in shape = mantenerse en forma (to maintain oneself in shape)
* to graduate = graduarse (to confer a degree on oneself)
* to retire = jubilarse (to put oneself into retirement)
To bathe and shower also fit in this category.

There's also another interesting difference when the object of the action is just a part of you. In English we say we do something to our body part as if the body part is something outside of us that we own. But in Spanish we say we do something to ourselves and then mention which body part is affected. Examples:
* to brush one's teeth = cepillarse los dientes (to brush the teeth [of] ourselves or to self-brush the teeth)
* to brush one's hair = cepillarse el pelo (to self-brush the hair)
* to wash one's hands = lavarse las manos (to self-wash the hands)
* to hurt one's foot = lastimarse el pie (to self-hurt the foot, to hurt oneself [in] the foot)
* to sprain one's ankle = torcerse el tobillo (to self-twist the ankle)

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

This is a great explanation of reflexive verbs - much better than anything I've ever seen in a text book. I especially love your explanation of the body parts thing.

The other piece of the reflexive verb puzzle that used to totally mystify me, is that they are used to express the passive voice.

The most common example of this is "se habla español" which does not mean that one is speaking Spanish to oneself, it means "Spanish is spoken." Other examples would be things like "se usa" to mean something is used (you'll see that one on signs warning that a surveillance camera is in use or something like that.) Once I understood that use of reflexive verbs, things became much more clear.
:-)
Cat

More uses

[livingdeb.livejournal.com]

Thank-you.

My text has a section called "Constructions with se." It's calling the passive voice "impersonal constructions." Weird.

Then they also talk about "unplanned events." I think I wrote about this before because it amuses me greatly. This is where you say things like something broke or fell down or got lost. Yes, maybe you did it, but not on purpose. Examples from my book:
* Se me perdió el teléfono de la farmacia = I lost the pharmacy’s phone number. (Or as I like to say, the number lost itself on me.)
* Se nos olvidaron los pasajes = We forgot the tickets. (Or the tickets lost themselves on us.)
* A mí se me cayeron los cuadernos = I dropped the notebooks.
* Al paciente se le perdió la receta = The patient lost his prescription.

I suddenly wanted to go around saying that the homework cheated itself and the money stole itself. (The same way I want to run around complimenting everyone's clothing after sexual harrassment trainings.)

I guess that's like the "get" construction above: the phone number got lost, the tickets got forgotten, the notebooks got dropped, (the money got stolen).

There's also a thing called "reciprocal reflexives" which you use to talk about when people do things to each other. In this case, English uses "each other" or "one another" instead of "ourselves," "yourselves," "themselves." Examples from my book:
* Cuando nos vimos en la calle, nos abrazamos = When we saw each other on the street, we hugged [one another].
* Nos ayudamos cuando usamos la computadora = We help each other when we use the computer.
* Ustedes se van a encontrar en el cibercafé, ¿no? = Y’all are meeting [each other] at the cybercafé, right?
* Las amigas se saludaron y se besaron = the friends greeted each other and kissed [each other].

Re: More uses

[(Anonymous)]

Oooooo! The unexpected events thing is brilliant! I've always been perplexed by "se me olvidó" but now it makes perfect sense - or at least more sense than it did before. I'll have to just recite "The phone number lost itself on me" several times and maybe it will stick. Or maybe "the phone number got lost on me?" Hmmm... Well either way... it's having both the se and the me (or nos or le or whatever) that confuses me... I think "got lost on me" or "got forgotten on me" is probably my best bet for making sense of it! Oy! -Cat

Re: More uses

[livingdeb.livejournal.com]

Perhaps "was lost to me"?

Or you can just go with thinking of it as passive - "was lost by me," "was forgotten by me," though we generally translate it into active voice.

Yeah, glad to help!