According to Wikipedia:
In grammar, a reflexive verb is, loosely, a verb whose direct object is the same as its subject, for example, “I wash myself”. More generally, a reflexive verb has the same semantic agent and patient (typically represented syntactically by the subject and the direct object).
I don’t know about you, but I hate these kinds of technical descriptions that make you think you are dealing with rocket science when in reality, it’s a pretty simple process. The following notes and videos will explain this to you in plain English, instead of just technical jargon.
A reflexive verb is a verb in which the person doing the action is the same that received the outcome of that action.
For example, “if I get dressed”, I am doing the action and at the end of that action, I am dressed, so I received the outcome of that action. But if instead, I dress my baby girl, then the same verb cannot be reflexive because I do the action of dressing, but the baby is the one receiving the outcome of my work.
The following video will show you step by step how reflexive verbs and reflexive particles work, and you will know when to use reflexive verbs and when not to.
If you were intrigued by the word SE in the previous examples, let me tell you that that is known as “reflexive particle” or “reflexive pronoun” and it signals that the verb is reflexive. Here’s a chart with all the reflexive particles you need to know.
In the next video you will learn how to conjugate reflexive verbs.
For a list of the most Common Spanish Reflexive Verbs, click here. If instead you need to learn how to conjugate reflexive verbs, click here. For some grammar practice, click here.
