Position of the reflexive pronoun -se

Quiero bañarme en el mar

When in a sentence a reflexive verb is changed to any personal form, the -se pronoun should be placed in front of the verb.

Me levanto – I get up

Ella se peina – She combs her hair

Don’t say: levantome or peinase

What if we don’t need to use a personal form, but an infinitive?

In this case, the -se pronoun should remain at the end of the verb, but at the same time its form has to be changed.

Es difícil levantarnos temprano – It’s difficult to get up early (for us)

No es necesario casarte – It’s not necessary to get married (for you)

Buscamos un hotel para relajarnos bien – We look for a hotel to relax well

Don’t say: nos levantar, te casar or nos relajar

Try it yourself:

It’s boring to stay at home (for me)

It’s boring to stay at home (for her)

It’s boring to stay at home (for us)

It’s easy to get ready for the exam (for you)

Do you have an alarm clock to wake up early?

Reflexive verbs in a compound predicate

What if a reflexive verb is used within a combination of two verbs?

There are situations, when you want to use not a single verb, but several verbs together (usually two), forming a so-called compound predicate.

In case you don’t know what a predicate is, a predicate is just an action. It’s the main role that verbs play in a sentence. Usually, one action is expressed with one verb. However, there are actions, that take two or more verbs.

Simple predicate:

Jugamos al fútbol – We play football

Yo trabajo – I work

Compound predicate:

Yo necesito trabajar – I need to work

Queremos jugar al fútbol – We want to play football

A compound predicate is, basically, when two verbs are put side by side. They can can be bound together by a preposition or just follow each other without any preposition. The first verb has to be changed to a certain personal form, and the second one is, in most cases, an infinitive.

Don’t say: Queremos jugamos

It wouldn’t be correct to say, that verbs are compound, so we use the term “predicate”.

Let’s return to the the initial question. What happens when a reflexive verb is used within a compound predicate?

In this case, two options are possible.

Yo quiero levantarme

Yo me quiero levantar

Ella necesita peinarse

Ella se necesita peinar

The -se pronoun can be placed either at the end of the infinitive or before the first verb.

Both options are equally common. It’s just a different word order, but the meaning is the same. What you really should avoid is using the reflexive pronoun in between.

Don’t say: quiero me levantar

Try it yourself:

I need to get up

a. …

b. …

You want to wash your hair

a. …

b. …

He can stay with us

a. …

b. …

These are some verbs, that are commonly used as the first part of a compound predicate:

querer – to want

desear – to wish, to desire

poder – can, could

necesitar – to need

tener que – to have to

deber – must

empezar a – to start

terminar de – to finish, to stop

Nos tenemos que ver – We have to see each other

Silvia empieza a prepararse para el examen – Silvia starts getting ready for the exam

Debo irme – I must go

¿Te puedes quitar los zapatos? – Could you take the shoes off?

This is, basically, what the whole lesson is about. Try to get used to different word order options and don’t make mistakes.