When to Use Reflexive Verbs in Spanish?
Let’s learn how and when to use reflexive verbs in the Spanish language.

Using Me, Te, Se, Nos, Os in Spanish
Note: A reflexive verb in Spanish is when the subject and the object are the same.
I clean myself.
subject: I
verb: clean
object: myself
Since the subject and object are the same, the verb is reflexive.
I clean the car.
subject: I
verb: clean
object: car
Since the subject and object are different, the verb is not reflexive.
Note: When a verb is reflexive, the infinitive ends in “se”
limpiar
to clean (non-reflexive)
limpiarse
to clean oneself (reflexive)
oler
to smell (non-reflexive)
olerse
to smell oneself (reflexive)
Note: When you learned to conjugate regular verbs, you needed to learn a set of pronouns called “subject pronouns.”
Limpiar (to clean) (Present Tense)
yo limpio
tú limpias
él, ella, usted limpia
nosotros(as) limpiamos
vosotros(as) limpiáis
ellos(as), ustedes limpian
Note: To learn to conjugate reflexive verbs, you need to learn a different set of pronouns called “reflexive pronouns.”
These pronouns are positioned before the verb, while the ending “se” is dropped and the verb is conjugated normally.
e.g.
limpiarse
yo me limpio – I clean (myself)
tú te limpias – you clean (yourself) (informal)
él se limpia – he cleans (himself)
ella se limpia – she cleans (herself)
usted se limpia – you clean (yourself) (formal)
nosotros nos limpiamos – we clean (ourselves)
nosotras nos limpiamos – we clean (ourselves) (feminine)
vosotros os limpiáis – you-all clean (yourselves) (informal)
vosotras os limpiáis – you-all clean (yourselves) (informal, feminine)
ustedes se limpian – you-all clean (yourselves)(formal)
ellos se limpian – they clean (themselves)
ellas se limpian – they clean (themselves) (feminine)
Note: The reflexive pronouns are not subject pronouns; rather they are object pronouns.
me (myself)
te (yourself)
se (himself, herself, yourself)
nos (ourselves)
os (yourselves)
se (themselves, yourselves)
Note: The purpose of the reflexive object pronouns is to show that the action of the verb remains with the subject.
Ana se prepara la sopa. (for herself)
Ana prepares the soup. (reflexive)
Ana prepara la sopa. (for others)
Ana prepares the soup. (non-reflexive)
Tip: When referring to body parts, use the definite article, thus “la cara”, not “su cara”
