Please help...reflexive pronouns/commands

Question

Hi, I have my Spanish 3 final on Monday and I'm confused about a few things...

1. I know that a DOP (me/te/lo/nos/os/los) means it and an IOP (me/te/le/nos/os/les) is like to whom for whom. Isn't reflexive the same thing (kind of?) as an IOP? I'm confused as to what's the difference.
2. Also, can you make any verb reflexive whenever you feel like it or are there only certain verbs that work as reflexive?
3. When you do affirmative tú commands (like Dámelos) with the IOPs and DOPs, how do you know where the accent goes?

And that's all for now. I think. I would really appreciate it if you guys could help me out with this.

Answer 1

When you do affirmative tú commands (like Dámelos) with the IOPs and DOPs, how do you know where the accent goes?

After adding the pronouns, the stress in the verb doesn't change, so the accent will be where the original stress was. E.g. dame -> dámelos. Espere -> Espérese.

Thanks so much. Your explanation makes a lot of sense. One question I have, though, is how does the reflexive work when you use subjects other than Yo. Like how would you say "They understand each other" or "We wash ourselves"?

"Ourselves" is also reflexive, because "we" and "our(selves)" both refer to us. The concept of "each other" is called reciprocal in grammars, and in Spanish it is also expressed with the reflexive pronoun (on of the most versatile words in Spanish), but sometimes you can add "el uno al otro" (each other for masculine) for clarification.

'Reciprocal' - that was the word I was looking for. - KevinB, Dec 18, 2010

Answer 2

DOP's are me, you, him, her, it, us, you (guys), them. IOP's are to/for me, you, etc.

Only certain verbs can be reflexive. Reflexive means you are both the subject and the direct object. I wash myself, Me lavo. Not every verb that has a pronoun is reflexive.

The accent mark goes where the vocal emphasis is, which is to say, you want to maintain the emphasis on the verb, not on the pronouns. If you didn't add the accent mark the word would change pronunciation depending on whether you added the pronouns or not, and that would be a bad thing.

Good luck.

Thanks so much. Your explanation makes a lot of sense. One question I have, though, is how does the reflexive work when you use subjects other than Yo. Like how would you say "They understand each other" or "We wash ourselves"? - Damonenkopf, Dec 18, 2010

'They understand each other' isn't reflexive. Each person is the DO of the other person. But it looks the same, 'Se entienden'. - KevinB, Dec 18, 2010

If I saw 'Nos lavamos' I would think it meant 'We wash ourselves', which is reflexive, but it could mean 'We wash each other', which is not. You'd have to see the context to know for sure. - KevinB, Dec 18, 2010