levantarse to get up
acostarse (ue) to go to bed
afeitarse to shave
peinarse to comb one’s hair
vestirse (i) to get dressed
ponerse to put on
Note: When referring to parts of the body or articles of clothing, a reflexive verb is often
used in Spanish to express possession in preference to the possessive adjective:
Se lava la cara.
He washes his face.Se rompe la pierna.
He breaks his leg.Me quito el abrigo.
I take off my coat.The reflexive passiveA reflexive form of the verb is often used in Spanish when we would use a passive in
English, for example:
Se habla ingles.
English is spoken.Se venden sellos.
Stamps are sold.Se cultivan manzanas.
Apples are grown.Note that the verb form is the third person singular or plural, depending on the subject.
This construction is normally only used when the subject of the verb refers to an
inanimate object. This is because in such cases there is little likelihood of confusion with
the reflexive meaning, since inanimate objects cannot perform the actions on themselves.
In the above examples, newspapers cannot sell themselves, neither can apples grow
themselves, so there is no possible confusion with the reflexive meaning.
Notice the word order of this construction – the verb is normally placed before the
subject.
Reflexive verbs 101