Beginning Spanish ¡Empecemos por aquí!

Module A: Habits and customs  • 283 Lengua 4.1: Reflexive verbs We have established that verbs in Spanish will end in either -ar , -er , or -ir . However, you may have noticed that sometimes an infinitive form also has -se at the end. This is the case with llamarse , for example, which we saw in chapter 1. Llamarse means “to call oneself,” and these are its conjugations in the present tense: Yo me llamo Tú te llamas Ella, él, usted se llama Nosotras, nosotros nos llamamos Ellas, ellos, ustedes se llaman You can see that the verb endings match what we already know about -ar verbs, because llamar (to call) is an -ar verb. The words me , te , se , and nos are reflexive pronouns. They are an important part of the conjugation of reflexive verbs. In this case, they are the difference between “to call” ( llamar ) and “to call oneself” ( llamarse ). There are many reflexive verbs in Spanish. They do not always correspond to action one does to oneself, but as we are just beginning to learn about reflexive verbs, that concept might be useful to you. You might consider that llamo means “I call,” and me means “myself,” which results in me llamo logically being “I call myself.” This is not an exact translation, but use the concept if it is helpful for now. We can tell that a verb is reflexive in its infinitive form if it ends in -se . To conjugate a reflexive verb, first remove the -se . Next, conjugate it following the rules we already know for -ar , -er , and -ir verbs. Finally, select the reflexive pronoun that corresponds with the subject. Lavarse (to wash oneself) Yo me lavo Tú te lavas Ella, él, usted se lava Nosotras, nosotros nos lavamos Ellas, ellos, ustedes se lavan Alternative forms Vos te lavás Vosotros os laváis It is important to note that the reflexive pronoun is not optional. If you are using a reflexive verb, the reflexive pronoun is required no matter how clear the context is. Note the difference in meaning: Llamé al director de la compañía, quien se llama Germán.