Reflexive verbs: why it is me levanto, and where the pronoun goes

The little pronoun, and the two places it can go

A reflexive verb’s action points back at the person doing it. A little pronoun matches whoever that is: me lavo, I wash (myself). You can spot one in a dictionary by the -se on the end: levantarse, to get up.

The verb conjugates like its non-reflexive base, regular or not (two commands aside, below). The only new thing is the pronoun, and where it goes.

methe pronoun for yolevantothe verb, conjugated as normal

= I get up

On this page

Which pronoun for which person
Where the pronoun goes
When there are two verbs
In commands
A daily routine, in one tense
How to practise

Which pronoun goes with which person?

Person	Pronoun	levantarse, present
yo	me	me levantoI get up
tú	te	te levantasyou get up
él / ella / usted	se	se levantahe or she gets up; you (Ud.) get up
nosotros	nos	nos levantamoswe get up
ellos / ellas / ustedes	se	se levantanthey or you all get up

In Spain, vosotros takes os: os levantáis, you all get up.

Where does the pronoun go?

Before

Any normal conjugated verb

The everyday spot
me levanto, te duchas

Me levanto temprano.I get up early.

On the end

Infinitive, -ando / -iendo, or a positive command

Joined to the verb
levantarme, levantándome, levántate

Quiero levantarme temprano.I want to get up early.

A gerund and a positive command join it the same way: Estoy levantándome ahora, I am getting up now. ¡Levántate!, get up!

What happens when there are two verbs?

The one thing to remember

With a helper verb, like voy a or estoy, the pronoun can go on the end or in front. Both are correct, and they mean the same: voy a levantarme = me voy a levantar.

So you can say me voy a levantar, I am going to get up, or voy a levantarme. The same choice comes up with gustar-type verbs: me va a encantar or va a encantarme, I am going to love it.

And in commands?

A positive command joins the pronoun to the end, usually with a written accent: levántate, get up! A negative command puts no and the pronoun in front: no te levantes, don’t get up!

Two positive commands change shape as the pronoun joins. The nosotros form drops its -s: levantémonos, let’s get up. And in Spain the vosotros form drops its -d: levantaos, get up, you all.

What does a daily routine look like?

Many reflexive verbs are the verbs of a daily routine. Here are five from nemiria’s Compare tenses view, all in the Present Simple:

Me despierto temprano todos los días. I wake up early every day.
¿Te duchas por la mañana? Do you shower in the morning?
Ella se viste antes de salir. She gets dressed before going out.
Nos acostamos tarde los fines de semana. We go to bed late at weekends.
Se peinan antes de salir. They comb their hair before going out.

How nemiria teaches this

Reflexive verbs are their own verb groups in nemiria, with full tables in every tense and the pronouns marked in the same amber you see on this page. The Reflexive card explains what they are, where the pronoun goes, and which pronoun goes with which person.

How to practise

Learn the pronouns before the verbs. Me, te, se, nos, se, and os in Spain. Every reflexive verb uses the same set.

Describe your own morning. Use the routine verbs above, in the order they happen to you. A routine is the natural home of these verbs, and it is yours to practise every day.