- •Ser & estar/ to be
- •Idiomatic expressions
- •Irregular/ irregular
- •Irregular conditional forms
- •Past tense
- •Prefixes des-, in-, and re-
- •Disminutivo/ diminutive
- •Conocer & Saber/ to know
- •Gerundio/ gerund
- •Verbos irregulares / Irregular Verbs
- •Reflexivo/ reflexive
- •Preposiciones/ prepositions
- •Dif. Between pedir & preguntar
- •Hay / there is (are)
- •Imperfecto/ imperfect tense
- •Verbos irregulares/ irregular verbs
- •Subjuntivo/ subjunctive
- •Voz pasiva/ passive voice
- •Hacer/ to do, make
- •To have
- •2. The simplest way of expressing possession is by using tener/ to have.
- •3. In Spanish, tener is used for indicating age. On the other hand, in English the verb to be is used for telling age.
- •Gustar / to like
- •4. Other verbs in the same category are following:
Reflexivo/ reflexive
Reflexive verbs express that the subject of the sentence does the action to himself/herself (e.g., I introduced myself to the class.) In Spanish, -se at the end of an infinitive indicates that the verb is reflexive (levantarse/ to get up). When conjugated, the verb is followed by a reflexive pronoun.
Note that each subject of the verb has a corresponding reflexive pronoun as follows:
VESTIRSE/ TO GET DRESSED |
Yo me visto./I get dressed, I dress myself. |
Tú te vistes./ You get dressed, you dress yourself. |
Usted se viste./ You get dressed, you dress yourself. |
Él se viste./ He gets dressed, he dresses himself. |
Ella se viste./ She gets dressed, she dresses herself. |
Nosotros nos vestimos./ We get dressed, we dress ourselves. |
Vosotros os vestís./ You get dressed, you dress yourselves. |
Ellos se visten./ They get dressed, they dress themselves. |
Uds. se visten./ You get dressed, you dress yourselves. |
I. Reflexive pronouns are positioned in a sentence in the following manners; keep in mind that in English, many verbs have reflexive meanings that are not expressed, but understood:
1. Before a conjugated verb
Juan se queda en la reunión./ Juan stays in the meeting.
2. Before a verb in negative command
No te quedes en la reunión./ Don't stay in the meeting.
3. After a gerund or before the verb estar
Juan está comiéndose una manzana./ Juan is eating an apple.
Juan se está comiendo una manzana./ Juan is eating an apple.
4. After an infinitive or before the main verb
No quería levantarme esta mañana./ I didn't want to get up this morning.
No me quería levantar esta mañana./ I didn't want to get up this morning.
5. At the end of the verb in an affirmative command
Siéntense, niños./ Children, sit down.
NOTE: In commands addressed to nosotros, the final -s is omitted and -nos is added.
Alegrémonos./ Let's rejoice.
No nos alegremos./ Let's not rejoice.
6. Before a direct object pronoun:
Te lavaste las manos? Sí, me las lavé./ Did you wash your hands? Yes, I did wash them.
II. In a reflexive construction, since the reflexive pronoun identifies who does the action, possession is understood; therefore, the definitive article is used rather than the possessive adjective, which is the case in English.
EXAMPLES
Tienes que cortarte el pelo./ You need to get cut your hair (You need a haircut).
Mi esposo se baña y se lave la cara./ My husband bathes (himself) and washes his face.
III. Sentir (se)/ to feel is reflexive when used with an adjective and non-reflexive when used with a noun.
EXAMPLES
Mi madre se siente aburrida./ My mother feels bored.
Mi madre siente aburrimiento./ My mother feel boredom.
IV. The following verbs are typically used in a reflexive construction:
REFLEXIVE |
Acostarse/ to go to bed |
Afeitarse o rasurarse/ to shave |
Bañarse/ to bathe |
Callarse/ to stop talking |
Despertarse/ to wake up |
Ducharse/ to take a shower |
Levantarse/ to get up |
Peinarse/ to comb one's hair |
Ponerse/ to put on |
Probarse/ to try on |
Quedarse/ to remain, to stay |
Quitarse o sacarse/ to take off |
Sentarse/ to sit down |
V. The following verbs have slightly different meanings when used in their reflexive form:
NON-REFLEXIVE |
REFLEXIVE |
Abonar/ to pay |
abonarse/to subscribe |
Acordar/ to agree to |
acordarse/ to remember |
Acostar/ to put, to bed |
acostarse/ to go to bed |
Alegrar/ to cheer up |
alegrarse/ to be glad, to rejoice |
Burlar/ to deceive |
burlarse/ to make fun of |
Casar/ to marry |
casarse/ to get married |
Conducir/ to drive |
conducirse/ to behave |
Despedir/ to dismiss |
despedirse/ to say goodbye |
Detener/ to detain |
detenerse/ to stop |
Dirigir/ to direct |
dirigirse/ to address |
Dormir/ to sleep |
dormirse/ to fall asleep |
Encontrar/ to find |
encontrarse/ to be located, to meet |
Hacer/ to make |
hacerse/ to be |
Ir/ to go |
irse/ to leave |
Levantar/ to lift |
levantarse/ to get up |
Llamar/ to call |
llamarse/ to be named |
Llevar/ to carry, take |
llevarse/ to take away |
Negar/ to deny |
negarse/ to refuse |
Parecer/ to seem, appear |
parecerse/ to look like |
Poner/ to place, to put |
ponerse/ to wear, to put on, to become |
Probar/ to taste |
probarse/ to try on |
Quitar/ to take away |
quitarse/ to take off |
Volver/ to return |
volverse/ to become, to turn around |
VI. The following verbs are used with a reflexive pronoun but do not have a reflexive meaning:
NON-REFLEXIVE MEANING |
Arrepentirse (de)/ to repent |
Asomarse / to look out of |
Atreverse (a)/ to dare |
Darse cuenta (de)/ to realize |
Empeñarse (en)/ to insist on |
Enterarse (de)/ to find out (about) |
Equivocarse/ to make a mistake |
Portarse bien/ to behave |
Portarse mal/ to misbehave |
Quejarse (de)/ to complain |
Tratarse (de)/ to be related to an issue (This is only for the 3rd person) |
Resignarse/ to resign |
VII. In Spanish there are 3 different ways of expressing the English to become or to be.
1. Volverse/ to become is used to refer to a change in physical or emotional state, but it denotes a sudden change.
EXAMPLES
La madre se volvió loca cuando el hijo fue asesinado./ The mother (became) went crazy when her son was killed.
El cielo se volvió negro antes de llover./ The sky (became dark) darkened before raining.
2. Ponerse / to be, to become is used refer to physical or emotional changes.
EXAMPLES
Nos pusimos contentos cuando ganamos el partido./ We (became) were happy when we won the game.
Sofía se puso triste cuando el novio se fue a la Argentina./ Sofía (became) was sad when her boyfriend left to Argentina.
3. Hacerse/ to be, become is used to indicate personal effort.
EXAMPLES
Me haré famoso después de esta película./ I'll become famous after this movie.
Liliana se hará doctora después de tanto estudiar./ Liliana will (become) be a doctor after so much studying.