REFLEXIVE VERBS in Spanish

When the action “reflects” itself on the subject.

In Spanish we have something called Reflexive Verbs. We use them when the effect of the action is “reflected” on the subject, so, on the person, animal, or thing that is performing that action.

For example:

• Llamar > to call

• Llamarse > to be named

So…

• Hoy voy a llamar a mi amigo Carlos

• Today I’m going to call mi friend Carlos

but…

• Yo me llamo (llamarse) Claudio

• Mi name is Claudio

You can recognize them for the “SE” attached to the infinitive form. You can conjugate them as normal verbs…, plus the “Reflexive Pronoun” as you can see here:

LLAMARSE

yo ME llamo

tú TE llamas

el / ella / usted SE llama

nosotros/as NOS llamamos

vosotros/as OS llamáis

ellos / ellas / ustedes SE llaman

As you can notice, here in the Present Tense, I’m using the Reflexive Pronouns before the verb, with a space in between:

• Tú TE llamas Mark

• Your name is Mark

If you have more than one verb on your phrase, then we can put that “ME, TE, SE, NOS, OS, SE” attached to the end of the conjugated verb, just like this:

• Ella quiere (verb #1) llamarSE (verb #2) Monica

• She wants to be named Monica

So…, in a phrase like this one:

“Queremos encontrarNOS con Sara”.

The sense is that the action of “meeting up” is reflected on us all. We meet up with Sara, and Sara meet up with us at the same time: “Queremos encontrarnos con Sara”.

In case you wanted some extra guidance on how to study effectively, you can find the answer here, in our complete guide to learning Spanish online.

Qué tengas un día maravilloso!

Claudio