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Spanish 2 Unit 1: Daily Routine and Reflexive Verbs

This unit teaches you to describe your daily routine with reflexive verbs, the verbs where the subject does the action to itself.

Covers: Reflexive pronouns, Conjugating reflexive verbs, Stem-changing reflexive verbs, Pronoun placement with infinitives and gerunds, Body parts and clothing with articles, Verbs that change meaning when reflexive, Reciprocal actions

Study guide

A reflexive verb shows that the subject performs the action on itself. In the dictionary these verbs end in -se: lavarse (to wash oneself), levantarse (to get up), ducharse (to shower). To conjugate one, conjugate the verb as usual and place the matching reflexive pronoun before it: me lavo, te lavas, se lava, nos lavamos, os laváis, se lavan. The pronoun must match the subject, so yo always goes with me and nosotros always goes with nos. Third person singular and plural share se, which also covers usted and ustedes. A very common mistake is to keep the -se of the infinitive for every person, as in yo se lavo, which is wrong.

Many routine verbs are also stem-changing, and the stem change works exactly as it does in the regular present tense. Despertarse changes e→ie (me despierto), acostarse changes o→ue (me acuesto), and vestirse changes e→i (me visto). As always, the nosotros and vosotros forms keep the original vowel: nos despertamos, nos acostamos, nos vestimos. Other key routine verbs are bañarse (to bathe), afeitarse (to shave), cepillarse (to brush), peinarse (to comb), maquillarse (to put on makeup), secarse (to dry off), ponerse (to put on) and quitarse (to take off). Sequence words such as primero, luego, después, más tarde and por último help you string these actions into a routine.

Pronoun placement is the most tested skill in this unit. With a single conjugated verb, the pronoun goes directly before it: me ducho. When a conjugated verb is followed by an infinitive or a present participle, you have two choices. Put the pronoun before the conjugated verb (me voy a duchar, me estoy duchando) or attach it to the end of the infinitive or participle (voy a ducharme, estoy duchándome). When you attach a pronoun to a participle, add a written accent to keep the original stress. The pronoun appears only once, and it can never sit between the two verbs. After prepositions like antes de or después de, the infinitive carries the pronoun: antes de acostarme.

With reflexive verbs, Spanish uses the definite article, not a possessive, for body parts and clothing: me lavo las manos (I wash my hands), se pone el abrigo (she puts on her coat). The reflexive pronoun already tells whose hands or whose coat. Some verbs change meaning when they become reflexive: dormir (to sleep) and dormirse (to fall asleep), ir (to go) and irse (to leave), llamar (to call) and llamarse (to be named), poner (to put) and ponerse (to put on, or to become with an adjective). A verb is reflexive only if the subject acts on itself: me despierto means I wake up, but mi madre me despierta means my mother wakes me up.

Plural reflexive pronouns can also express reciprocal actions, meaning each other. Nos escribimos means we write to each other, and se abrazan means they hug each other. Sometimes a plural form could mean either themselves or each other: se miran can be they look at themselves or they look at each other. Context usually decides, and you can add el uno al otro to make the reciprocal meaning clear. On tests, expect to conjugate reflexive verbs in context, choose the right pronoun placement, and tell apart reflexive and non-reflexive uses of the same verb.

Key ideas

• A reflexive verb shows that the subject does the action to itself.
• Reflexive pronouns are me, te, se, nos, os, se and must match the subject.
• Stem changes in reflexive verbs follow normal present-tense rules, skipping nosotros and vosotros.
• The pronoun goes before a conjugated verb or attaches to an infinitive or gerund, never both.
• Use the definite article, not a possessive, with body parts and clothing.
• Some verbs change meaning when reflexive, such as dormir and dormirse.
• Plural reflexive pronouns can also mean each other.

Formulas and rules

Common mistakes

• Keeping se for every person, as in yo se levanto instead of yo me levanto.
• Using a possessive with body parts, as in me lavo mis manos instead of me lavo las manos.
• Applying the stem change to nosotros, as in nos acuestamos instead of nos acostamos.
• Using the pronoun twice or between verbs, as in me voy a ducharme or voy me a duchar.
• Forgetting the accent when attaching a pronoun to a gerund, as in duchandome instead of duchándome.

Before the test, make sure you can

• Conjugate any reflexive verb in the present tense with the correct pronoun.
• Apply e→ie, o→ue and e→i stem changes in reflexive verbs, skipping nosotros.
• Place reflexive pronouns correctly with infinitives and gerunds, adding accents where needed.
• Use definite articles with body parts and clothing.
• Explain the meaning difference between pairs like dormir and dormirse.
• Identify whether a verb is used reflexively or with a separate object.
• Describe a daily routine in order using sequence words.

Words to know

despertarse

to wake up

levantarse

to get up

ducharse

to shower

bañarse

to bathe

vestirse

to get dressed

peinarse

to comb one's hair

afeitarse

to shave

maquillarse

to put on makeup

acostarse

to go to bed

dormirse

to fall asleep

quitarse

to take off

cepillarse los dientes

to brush one's teeth

el cepillo de dientes

toothbrush

la pasta de dientes

toothpaste

el jabón

soap

el champú

shampoo

la toalla

towel

el espejo

mirror

el peine

comb

primero

first

luego

then

después

afterward

más tarde

later

por último

finally

Sample practice questions

30 more questions like these, from level 1 to 5, are in the practice set.