Different Uses and Functions of Reflexive Pronouns
Spanish like English has different types of pronouns depending on their function.
Reflexive pronouns have multiple uses and meanings. They are used to express
reflexive meanings, reciprocal meanings, unexpected or accidental occurrence
and the incomplete passive voice.
Sources of confusion—
Spanish has many types of pronouns. The problem is that some pronouns are
the same for more than one grammatical category. For me, te and nos these 3
pronouns are all identical in appearance as direct object pronouns, indirect object
pronouns and reflexive pronouns. In each of these grammatical categories they
function differently and cause differences in their meanings.
As a review, this chart compares the differences and similarities of the subject
pronouns, direct object pronouns, indirect object pronouns and reflexive
pronouns. (Forms of pronouns linked to vosotros are not shown.)
Subject Pronoun
yo
tú
él
ella
usted
nosotros
ellos
ellas
ustedes
Direct object
pronoun
me
te
lo
la
lo/la
nos
los
las
los/las
Indirect Object
Pronoun
me
te
le
le
le
nos
les
les
les
Reflexive Pronoun
me
te
se
se
se
nos
se
se
se
Most Spanish verbs have the option of being used in reflexive or non-reflexive
constructions.
Most people think if they can accurately find a reflexive pronoun in a sentence
that the meaning “must” be reflexive. That is not 100% true. Reflexive pronouns
are used when verbs have a reflexive meaning, reciprocal meaning, idiomatic
meaning, accidental meaning and used in the passive voice.
All these types of constructions above must use a reflexive pronoun with
the verb.
The reflexive pronoun used must always agree with the subject of the
sentence.
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If there is any confusion, the statement above is the “acid test” for determining if
the pronoun is a reflexive pronoun. It will also answer the question which
reflexive pronoun should be used.
Reflexive meaning—
A verb indicates reflexive meaning when the subject performs the action on itself.
The reflexive pronoun below is in bold print and will always agree with the
subject.
Me veo.
Te lavas el pelo todos los días.
(Él) se afeita cada manaña.
(Ella) se llama Alice.
I see myself.
You wash your hair every day
He shaves every morning.
Her name is Alice. (She calls herself
Alice.)
You (singular) wake up at seven
o’clock
We brush our teeth.
They sit down around the table.
(Usted) se despierta a las siete.
Nos cepillamos los dientes.
(Ellos/ellas) se sientan alredador la
mesa.
Se despiertan (ustedes) antes del
amanecer.
You wake up before dawn.
Note— In reflexive sentences when referring to body parts, the definitive article is
usually used in Spanish but translated in English with the possessive adjective
that must match the subject. This is shown above by—
El pelo is translated as “your” hair (the subject is “you”.)
Los dientes is translated as “our” teeth. (the subject is “we”)
This is the general rule, but one might see some authors use the possessive
adjective in Spanish.
Most Spanish verbs that express reflexive action can also be used without a
reflexive meaning if the recipient is not the subject.
If the speaker wants to make someone else or something else (other than the
subject) receive the action, the reflexive pronoun is changed to a direct object,
indirect object pronoun or is completely removed. Each of the reflexive
sentences above has been changed making the recipient of the action someone
or something else other than the subject.
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Examples—
La veo.
Lavas el pelo de tu hija todos los días.
I see her.
You wash your daughter’s hair every
day.
He shaves his customers in his barber
shop.
She calls me every day.
You (plural) wake him up at seven.
We brush the children’s teeth.
They seat the children in their seats
around the table.
Él afeita a su clientes en su barbaría
para hombres.
Ella me llama todos los días.
Lo despiertan (ustedes) a las siete.
Cepillamos los dientes de los niños.
Ellos sientan a los niños en sus sillas
alredador la mesa.
In the examples above the meaning of the verb didn’t change very much when
the action was received by someone other than the subject. That isn’t always
true.
Idiomatic Meanings—
There are many verbs that have one meaning when used without the reflexive
pronoun, and a completely different meaning when used with the reflexive
pronoun. Sometimes the reflexive “nature” of the meaning can be understood
and sometimes not when the reflexive pronoun is used.
Here are some examples of verbs that fall into this category. It is not a complete
list of all verbs meanings that change in this manner.
Dictionaries show the verb translations when used with reflexive pronouns by
attaching the “se” to the infinitive as shown below.
abrir - to open
acabar - to finish
acordar - to agree, decide
arreglar - to repair, fix
caer - to fall
dormir - to sleep
enojar - to anger
hacer - to do, make
ir - to go
levantar - to lift, raise
llamar - to call
llevar - to carry
probar - to test, prove
sorprender - to surprise
sorprender - to surprise
volver - to (re)turn
abrirse - to open up, confide in
acabarse - to run out of
acordarse - to remember
arreglarse - to get ready
caerse - to drop
dormirse - to fall asleep
enojarse - to get angry
hacerse - to become
irse - to leave, go away
levantarse - to get up
llamarse - to be called/named
llevarse - to take away
probarse - to try on
sorprenderse - to be surprised
sorprenderse - to be surprised
volverse - to turn around, to become
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Reciprocal Meanings—
When there is reciprocal action between 2 or more people, the reflexive
pronouns are used. Some text books define these as “reciprocal pronouns”, but
most don’t because there is no change in the Spanish word itself.
Since this situation requires 2 or more people, only 3 possible conjugated verb
options exist— nosotros, ustedes, and ellos/ellas. Since the reflexive pronoun
must always agree with the subject, there are only 2 possible reflexive pronouns
used in the reciprocal constructions, but there are 3 different meanings.
Subject pronoun
Nosotros
Ustedes
Ellos/ellas
Reflexive (reciprocal) pronoun
nos
se
se
The English translation usually will be “each other”.
Examples of reflexive pronouns with a reciprocal meaning—
Nosotros nos escribimos cada día.
We write each day to each other.
¿Se entienden ustedes?
Do you understand each other?
Los estudiantes se ayudan
The students help each other.
Confusion between reflexive meanings and reciprocal meanings—
There are some verbs that cause confusion between their reflexive meaning and
reciprocal meaning. Most of the time context is the solution to understand if the
verb meaning is reflexive or reciprocal.
The problem is that in the plural forms of some verbs, the sentences are identical
in the reflexive and reciprocal construction. The reader or listener has to choose
the correct meaning.
This reflexive/reciprocal confusion never occurs in the singular conjugated verbs
forms (yo, tú, él/ella/usted). With only one person involved there is no confusion,
the verb can only be reflexive. There’s no one else with whom to be reciprocal!!
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Examples of identical sentences that can have both reciprocal and reflexive
meanings—
Reciprocal meaning
Reflexive meaning
Nos odiamos
We hate each other.
We hate ourselves.
Nos amamos.
We love each other.
We love ourselves.
¿Se odian ustedes?
Do you hate each
Do you hate yourselves?
other?
Se pueden ver (ellos).
They can see each
They can see themselves.
Pueden verse (ellos).
other.
In these cases, the writer or speaker has an option to add some phrases that will
eliminate any confusion.
To express a reciprocal meaning, the phrase “el uno al otro” or “uno a otro”
means “each other”. The gender and number of these 2 nouns needs to
change accordingly with the subject.
To express reflexive meaning, the phrase “a nosotros mismos” means “to
ourselves” or “a sí mismos” means, ‘to yourselves” or “to themselves”.
Examples—
Nos entendemos el uno
a la otro.
Nos entendemos a
nosotros mismos.
Solo se piensan
(ustedes) uno a otro.
Solo se piensan
(ustedes) en sí mismos.
Ellas se mataron una a
otra. (2 female subjects)
Ellas se mataron a sí
mismas.
(2 female subjects)
Se cuidan los unos a los
otros. (3 or more in the
subject)
Se cuidan a sí mismos
Reciprocal meaning
We understand each
other.
None
You only think of each
other.
None
Reflexive meaning
None
We understand
ourselves.
None
They killed each other.
You only think of
yourselves.
None
None
They killed themselves.
They take care of each
other.
None
None
They take care of
themselves.
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Accidental or unintentional occurrence—
The accidental or unintentional occurrence uses all the reflexive pronouns.
If there is a person or object that receives the accidental action the word order
is—
Reflexive pronoun + conjugated verb.
Examples—
I fall
You (tú) fell.
The tree fell.
We fell in love.
You (Uds.) got burned.
The cars crashed.
Me caigo
Te caíste
El albol se cayó.
Nos enamoramos.
Se quemaron.
Los coches se chocaron
If there is a accidental action that involves a person, the subject of the English
translation is converted to a Spanish indirect object pronoun, this construction
gives the sense that the English subject is not to blame - he or she had nothing
to do with the accident!
In Spanish, the object acted completely by itself, thus the required use of “se”.
The accident just happen to the person (the indirect object). In this way it was
accidental and unintentional!
All Spanish verbs of accidental meaning involving things will only be conjugated
in the 3rd person singular or plural.
It is impossible to have a verb in the 1st or 2nd person, because all the subjects of
these accidents are always “things” that are being lost, dropped or left behind.
Third person singular or plural conjugation of the Spanish verb will be determined
by the subject of the Spanish sentence (la llave or las llaves).
Most of the time, the format of accidental sentences will be—
se + indirect object + conjugated verb + subject.
This word order is not always a 100% rule, and some Spanish speakers will put
the Spanish subject before the verb.
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Examples—
Se le perdió la llave
Se le perdieron las llaves
Se te cayó el plato.
Se te cayeron los platos.
A mi hermana se le
quedó la llave.
Spanish literal meaning
The key misplaced itself
on him/her.
The keys misplaced
themselves on him/her.
The plate dropped from
you.
The plates dropped from
you.
The key got left behind
on my sister.
English Translation
He/she lost the key.
He/she lost the keys.
You dropped the plate.
You dropped the plates.
My sister left the key
behind.
If there is no specific subject in the Spanish sentence, a singular or plural
Spanish verb will be the only indication if the English translation will be “it” or
“them”.
Se me perdió (él/ella)
Se me perdieron
(ellos/ellas)
Se nos cayó (él/ella)
Se nos cayeron
(ellos/ellas)
Spanish literal meaning
It misplaced itself on me.
They misplaced
themselves on me.
It dropped from us.
They dropped from us.
English Translation
I lost it.
I lost them.
We dropped it.
We dropped them.
Incomplete Passive voice—
As background, English and Spanish both have 2 “voices”— the “active voice”
and the ‘passive voice”. Most of the time people use the active voice.
The passive voice is divided into the “incomplete passive voice” and the
“complete passive voice”. The reflexive pronoun “se” is required when using only
the “incomplete passive voice”. It is not used for the complete passive voice.
The incomplete “passive voice” also might be called impersonal statements. It is
incomplete or impersonal because we don’t know and don’t care “who” the agent
is or who is doing the action.
In the English translation if there is anyone mentioned, it is the ubiquitous “one”,
“you” or “they”. We still don’t “know” and don’t “care” who it is.
Examples are—
“One should never…”
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“You need to…”
“They say…”
Examples of Active voice and incomplete passive voice—
Active Voice (the agent is Incomplete passive voice Spanish incomplete
known.)
English (the agent is
passive voice
unknown)
The sales people speak
Spanish is spoken.
Se habla español.
Spanish.
or
They (impersonal) speak
Spanish.
How do Spanish speakers How does one
¿Cómo se dice
say “hello”?
(impersonal) say “hello”?
“hello”?
or
How do you (impersonal)
say “hello”?
or
How do they (impersonal)
say “hello”?
The first owner built the
The house was built in
Se construyó la casa
house in 2000.
2000.
en 2000.
or
They (impersonal) built the
house in 2000.
Mary sells clothing at the
Clothing is sold at the
Se vende ropa en la
shop.
shop.
tienda.
or
They (impersonal) sell
clothing in the shop.
There are only 2 possible verb options in the incomplete passive voice— 3rd
person singular or plural. The reflexive pronoun “se” is the only reflexive
pronoun that can be used and it is required.
The Spanish word order is usually—
se + conjugated verb + a noun/ nouns or an infinitive/ infinitives.
This construction format is used throughout all tenses.
If there is a noun, the noun is the subject of the Spanish sentence; it will be the
determining factor if the verb is conjugated in the singular or plural.
The English use of the ubiquitous “one”, “you” or “they” has no effect on which
Spanish verb conjugation is used. These are just English translations to express
an impersonal or unknown agent.
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If there is an infinitive or multiple infinitives following the verb, the conjugated
Spanish verb will ways be singular.
Examples of passive voice with nouns—
Incomplete passive voice with a
Incomplete passive voice with plural
Spanish noun and a singular verb
Spanish nouns and a plural verb
Se habla español en España.
Se hablan muchos idiomas en
España.
Spanish is spoken in Spain.
or
Many languages are spoken in Spain.
One (impersonal) speaks Spanish in
or
Spain.
One (impersonal) speaks many
or
languages in Spain.
You (impersonal) speak Spanish in
or
Spain.
You (impersonal) speak many
or
languages in Spain.
They (impersonal) speak Spanish in
or
Spain.
They (impersonal) speak many
languages in Spain.
Se vende pan en la panadería.
Se venden pan y pasteles en la
panadería.
Bread is sold in the bakery.
or
Bread and cakes are sold in the
One sells bread in the bakery.
bakery.
or
or
They sell bread in the bakery.
One sells bread and cakes in the
bakery.
or
They sell bread and cakes in the
bakery.
Se vendió el vestido.
Se vendieron los vestidos.
The dress was sold.
or
They sold the dress.
The dresses were sold.
or
They sold the dresses.
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Use of incomplete passive voice with infinitives—
The singular conjugated verb will be the only option, regardless of whether it is
followed by one verb or multiple verbs.
Incomplete passive voice with 1
Spanish infinitive
Se debe comer en la manaña.
Incomplete passive voice with more
than 1 Spanish verb
Se debe comer y beber en la manaña.
One must eat in the morning.
or
You must eat in the morning.
No se puede jugar afuera cuando
llueve.
One must eat and drink in the morning.
or
You must eat and drink in the morning.
No se puede jugar y correr afuera
cuando llueve.
One can’t play outside when it rains.
or
You can’t play outside when it rains.
or
They can’t play outside when it rains.
One can’t play and run outside when it
rains.
or
You can’t play and run outside when it
rains.
or
They can’t play and run outside when it
rains.
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Exercises—
Complete the English sentence in Spanish with the verb provided—
Reflexive meanings—
1. I am taking a shower. (ducharse)
________________________________
2. Marco is putting a shirt on. (ponerse)
______________________________
3. You (tú) are washing your face. (lavarse) ____________________________
4. We are staying here. (quedarse)
______________________________
5. I need to sit down. (sentarse)
______________________________
6. We got married. (casarse)
______________________________
7. I had to leave. (irse)
______________________________
Answers—
1. Me ducho.
2. Marco se pone una camisa.
3. Te lavas la cara.
4. Nos quedamos aquí.
5. Nos quedamos aquí.
6. Tengo que sentarme.
7. Nos casemos.
8. Tuve que irme.
Reciprocal meanings—
Complete the English sentence in Spanish with the verb provided—
1. They said good-by to each other. (despedirse) _____________________
2. We hugged each other (abrazarse) _____________________________
3. You kissed each other. (besarse) _______________________________
4. They met each other. (conocerse) ________________________________
5. We shook hands with each other. (Darse la mano) ____________________
6. You divorced each other. _________________________________
7. They greeted each other. (saludarse) _______________________________
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Answers—
1. Se despidieron.
2. Nos abrazamos.
3. Se besaron (Uds.).
4. Se conocieron.
5. Nos dimos la mano.
6. Se divorciaron
7. Se saludaron
Accidental occurance—
1. I found 10 dollars yesterday. (encontrarse)
______________________________
2. We broke the plate. (romperse)
_______________________________________
3. The plane crashed. (estrellarse)
______________________________________
4. He crashed the car. (chocarse) _________________________________
5. I forgot the workbooks at home. (olvidarse) ___________________________
1. Me encontré 10 dólares ayer. or Se me encontraron 10 dólares.
2. Nos rompió el plato.
3. El avión se estrelló.
4. Se le chocó el coche.
5. Se me olvidaron los cuadernos en casa.
Incomplete passive voice—
1. If they (impersonal) exercise more, they (impersonal) will lose weight.
(hacerse más ejercicio / adelgazarse)
__________________________________________
2. Where do you (impersonal) go in order to find good food? (irse)
____________________________
3. One works many years in order to get a bachelor’s degree. (trabajarse)
_________________________________________
4. They win the lottery every day.
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5. One plays football and rugby in all types of weather. (jugarse)
__________________________________________________
6. One must eat and drink every 3 hours. (deberse)
_____________________________________________
Answers—
1. Si se hace más ejercicio, se adelgazará.
2 .¿Adónde se va para encontrar buena comida?
3. Se trabajan muchos años para conseguir una licenciatura.
4. Se gana el lotería todos los días.
5. Se juegan fútbol y rugby en todos tipos de tiempo.
6. Se debe comer y beber cada 3 horas.
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