Does "despertarse" exist?
How to say I wake myself up? With present tense. Me despierto? Is it despertarse?
4 Answers
Levantarse ? to take oneself
Levantarse = to wake up
Levantar = to wake [other people] up
Surely one could come up with a story like "Mmmmm, let's wake myself. Hey! Wake up! I am too deeply asleep. I'm not listening to myself." But otherwise, "levantarse" is to wake up, and that "se" is not reflexive. I am not going to tell the whole story of how three different functions in Latin came together as a single pronoun, but believe me: "Me levanto a mí mismo" sounds ridiculous, because there is no reflexivity in that sentence. That 'se' simply indicates that you are not waking others -the act of waking is happening to you, or in you.
Despertar follows the same pattern.
Used reflexively (subject and object of the verb are the same) A reflexive pronoun is used.
You'd fail syntax at the university if you wrote that in an exam. That verb is intransitive, and that 'se' is regarded, along with the verb, as a unit. There is no object, and it cannot accept one either. You cannot turn the sentence into passive, and you cannot duplicate the object, like you would with a normal transitive verb:
Me levanto a mí mismo por la mañana 
(unacceptable)
A mí mismo me levanto (unacceptable)
Soy levantado por mí mismo (ridiculous)
It is not reflexive! It is pronominal. You keep looking for "myself" and "a mí mismo", and there isn't any in "levantarse" at all. Shall I write an article on Latin and Greek grammar to show how "levantarse" and "lavarse" are different things?
> So, it is reflexive? Is cepillar also have cepillarse? nos cepillamos los dientes?
I can't find it on my dictionary , so I am asking here.despertarse,and cepillarse not exist ?
Don't fall into the error often stated here on this forum that cepillar and cepillarse or despertar and despertarse are different verbs. The verbs are cepillar and despertar. They can be used pronominally by using the verb in conjunction with a reflexive pronoun, (and that use may give a different meaning to the verb), but they are still the same verb.
cepillar
When used reflexively the subject and object of the verb refer to the same person or thing. A reflexive pronoun accompanies the verb.
He brushes himself (se cepilla), I brush myself (me cepillo), etc.
The same verb can be used non-reflexively (No reflexive pronoun) Here the subject and the object of the verb are different.
I brushed the dog. Cepillé al perro. I brushed my son's teeth. Cepillé los dientes de mi hijo.
Despertar follows the same pattern.
Used reflexively (subject and object of the verb are the same) A reflexive pronoun is used.
Me despierto. (I wake myself)
Used non-reflexively (the subject and object of the verb are different)
I woke my son up. Desperté a mi hijo.
Our dictionary lists both the pronominal and non-pronominal use of the verb so that they can give the changes in meaning if one exists. The pronominal and non-pronominal forms are not both conjugated. Most dictionaries don't list seperate entries for the pronominal and non-pronominal form, further confirming that they are not separate verbs. We do have some verbs that list the pronominal forms separately showing that the reflexive pronoun and subject pronoun are the same person (if you look up IR you will see IRSE conjugated; not IR). My Red pocket book of verbs lists despertarse and not despertar as if it had no non-pronominal usage. It can be confusing.
Whoa! Let me run back into the Dunce Corner and hang my head in shame. 
Yes, to say wake yourself up you would use despertarse.
The "se" in despertarse is simply a signifier to the listener that the speaker means the verb to be understood as reflexive.
A verb used reflexively means that the subject, in this case I, and the object, in this case me/myself, are the same.
Take a look at lesson 2.5 for more reflexive usages.
Notice that in Spanish body parts usually use an article such as, for cepillarse, los dientes (teeth). The reason in English brushing our teeth is not reflexive is because we say "I brush my teeth. Performing the action on yourself is assumed. In Spanish, however, there is no use of the possesive pronoun for teeth, just the article los. If the subject performs an action on itself in Spanish almost always you must say this reflexively because, as I said, most of the time it isn't a given that they are performing it on their self like it is in English.
Have a look in the "conjugation" tab under "more" above.
