Reflexive Object Pronouns
By - Alex Irizarry, Zane Erickson, Austin Sharkey
What are Reflexive Object Pronouns? What are they used for?
The principal function of the reflexive object pronoun is to indicate the action being preformed is not going anywhere. When you preform an action on someone else the action extends to them, but when you do something to yourself the action doesn't go anywhere. It stops with you; becoming reflexive.
Most of the standard reflexive verbs refer to daily actions and things you are used to doing, ie brushing your teeth or hair and eating breakfast.
Conjugations
te (yourself)
se (himself, herself, yourself)
nos (ourselves)
os (yourselves)
se (themselves, yourselves)
What makes a verb reflexive?
A verb is reflexive when the subject and the object are the same, or simply, a person is doing something to oneself.
For example, saying "I watch myself" is reflexive because the subject and the object are the same. Saying "I wash the car" would not be reflexive because the subject and the object are different. Another way to spot if a verb is reflexive is looking for if it has 'se' at the end.
By saying "me llamo Andrew," you're saying, "I call myself Andrew"What do you do with two Reflexive Verbs back to back?
In sentences with two verbs that act upon each other, you conjugate the first verb and leave the second in infinitive form. However when the second verb is reflexive you attach the correct reflexive pronoun directly to the infinitive. MAKE SURE YOU DONT CHANGE THE SECOND VERB!
I have to take a bath. Tener que= to have too. To take a bath = bañarse. So that should be Yo tengo que yo me baño? Right? No. The correct answer is Yo tengo que bañarme! Make sure you remembre to change the end and dont answer Yo tengo que bañarse! The answer can be written one other way, Yo tengo que banarme OR Yo me tengo que bañar, BOTH are PERFECTLY FINE!
Reflexive Prepositions
The prepositional reflexive pronouns of Spanish are those that serve as the object of a preposition and reflect back to the subject of the verb. They are the equivalent of the English pronouns ending in "-self" and "-selves" that have the same function.
- mí — myself
- ti — yourself
- sí — himself, herself, itself, themselves, yourself
- nosotros — ourselves
- vosotros — yourselves