The other day @michelinahanlon asked me about the reflexive pronouns and their position in a sentence . I think that topic can be tricky sometimes , and I would like to share the answer with you all, it may be helpful .
First of all, if you are asking yourself “but Sandra, what is that you’re talking about? Pronombre? Reflexivo?” No worries, let’s check that first:
A pronombre reflexivo (reflexive pronoun) is a personal pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os) that complement reflexive verbs (caerse, peinarse, bañarse, etc.) and agree in person and number with the subject of the sentence.
For example:
yo | me baño |
---|---|
tú | te bañas |
él, ella, usted | se baña |
nosotros/-as | nos bañamos |
vosotros/-as | os bañáis |
ellos/-as | se bañan |
But sometimes they change their position depending on the grammatical time that you choose. For example:
- Imperative
If the sentence is negative, it goes before the verb: ¡No te bañes!
If it’s affirmative, it goes together with the verb and in the end: ¡Báñate!
- 2 Verbs - Infinitive
This one involves two verbs, the first one can indicate any time, but the second one must be in infinitive. Then you have two options, one will be together with the verb in infinitive in the end or before the first conjugated verb.
Ella quiere levantarse temprano.
Ella se quiere levantar temprano.
Ella va a ducharse más tarde.
Ella se va a duchar más tarde.
¿Quieres acostarte?
¿Te quieres acostar?
- Form: estar + gerundio (-ing form + verb to be)
Here it applies as before, you have two options:
Ellos están peinándose.
Ellos se están peinando.
I hope these examples were helpful . By the way, how would write the following sentences in Spanish:
- I want to brush my hair later.
- She is putting on make up.
- ¡Put some clothes on! We are leaving.
- Would you like to sit down?