What is the difference between a regular verb and a reflexive verb?

Question

What is the difference between cepillar and cepillarse?

• Correct capitalization, please. - Heidita Nov 10, 2010

Answer 1

Reflexive Verbs

The subject and the object are the same

Tthe subject acts upon itself.

A reflexive verb in Spanish will be marked with se attached to the end of the infinitive.

These verbs are conjugated like regular verbs, except the reflexive pronoun agrees with case and gender and precedes the verb when not used in the infinitive form.

Reflexive verbs sometimes use the "-self" form in English

Regular verbs are:

• Spanish -ar ending verbs (such as hablar – which means to speak)
• Spanish -er ending verbs (such as comer – which means to eat)
• Spanish -ir ending verbs (such as vivir – which means to live) These endings refer to the infinitive.

´ar´ verbs in Spanish

Hablar

• I – hablo
• you – habla
• he – habla
• she – habla
• we- hablamos
• You-all – hablan
• They – hablan

er verbs in Spanish

comer

• I – como
• You- come
• He -come
• She – come
• We – comemos
• You-all coméis (informal)
• They comen
• List item

ir verbs in Spanish

vivir

• I – vivo
• You – vive
• He – vive
• She – vive
• We – vivimos
• You-all – viven
• They – viven

Answer 2

Check out Spanish Lesson 2.5 at this website. It takes about 15 minutes, and gives a good explanation of reflexive verbs.

• well done, keo;) - Heidita Nov 10, 2010

Answer 3

Cepillar means to brush, cepillarse is to brush your hair, reflexives are used when one is doing the action to themselves so the subject of the sentence is also the object.