Reflexive + infinitive? - Driving me crazy.

Question

Me preocupo despertar a mis padres.

This is a question that bothered me a long time.

I know , poder, querer, deber,pensar,gustar ,tener que + infinitive.

why despertar with infinitive here?

My question is: Is it reflexive + infinitive?

preocuparse + infinitive?

Is it reflexive + infinitive?

Me preocupo despertar a mis padres.

Despertar is not after tener que,deber,poder,querer,creer que,pensar. It is not after such verbs,but reflexive. preocuparse. present tense. So ,I am wondering, is it infinitive behind reflexive? Is it necessary to add POR between preocuparse and despertar?

1.Preocuparse, 2 preocupar

I want to make sentences with those two verbs,each of them .

1. I worry about Pepe. ( With preocuparse- 1.Me preocupo por Pepe. With preocupar 2. Preocupo por pepe.) Is it correct?

2.Pepe worry about me.( With preocuparse --1.Pepe se preocupa por mi. 2 Pepe preocupa por me.) Is it correct?

I am confused.

I worry about them.

They worry about me.

how to say?

Answer 1

Me preocupo is reflexive and despertar is in infinitive form. Despertar must be in infinitive form because you can't have 2 conjugated verbs in a row.

Answer 2

Or in spanish, people don't use preocupar to express worry someone or something?

I know how to use preocuparse ,but not preocupar.

"Preocupar" is used when or people or things [the subject] make other people [the object] worried.

"Preocuparse" is used when people [subject] worry about something [prepositional phrase].

• A person worrying another person: "Dices que no quieres preocupar a tus padres [direct object], pero nunca los llamas".

• A thing worrying a person: "Le preocupa eso". "Me preocupa que todo salga mal".

• A person worrying about something: "Me preocupo por todo".

Muchas gracias. Lazarus, only you can clear my doubts.I asked some other Spanish speakers about it,but they just made me more confused. One man told me,in spanish when to express worry,they only use preocuparse.So , I was more confused. - zhmelissa, Jan 25, 2011

Answer 3

I worry about them. Can anyone write it with preocupar? I know in preocuparse is : Me preocupo por ellos.

Or in spanish, people don't use preocupar to express worry someone or something?

They worry about me. Ellos preocupan por mi.

I know how to use preocuparse ,but not preocupar.

They worry about me. = (Ellos) Se preocupan por mí. - Deanski, Jan 25, 2011

Does Lazarus's answer help you with this difficulty, Melissa? - webdunce, Jan 25, 2011

Yes, I was totally confused cuz I asked other people and they gave me wrong answers which made me more confused.But Lazarus cleared all.Thanks. - zhmelissa, Jan 25, 2011

Answer 4

In spanish when two verbs come next to each other, the first one will be conjugated and the second one will be in infinitive form. In your case, preocuparse is the first verb and it is conjugated irrespective of whether it is reflexive or not, and second verb depertar is not conjugated to follow the above rule.

You can either write: Me preocupo despertar a mis padres.

or

Preocupo despertarme a mis padres.

Both means the same. In general we follow the first convention.

Regarding your question on the following sentences:

I worry about them. -> me preocupo por ellos.

They worry about me. -> se preocupan por mí.

That's quite a sweeping generalization. A conjugated verb can also be followed by a gerundio, for example. - Deanski, Jan 25, 2011

A conjugated verb can also be followed by a past participle. The statement is simply wrong! - lazarus1907, Jan 25, 2011

Answer 5

Me preocupo despertar a mis padres.

That sentence is plain wrong.

"Preocupar" is a verb that is normally constructed with an indirect object, although it can also be used as a transitive one. This verb means "to worry [someone]". Examples:

Me preocupa la situación [same construction as "gustar" - subject: "la situación"]

Me preocupa saber lo que ocurre [same thing - subject: "saber lo que ocurre"]

Me preocupa que vengan [same thing - subject: "que vengan"]

As usual, where you can use a noun (e.g. "la situación"), you can use an infinitive (e.g. "saber lo que ocurre") or a noun clause (e.g. "que vengan").

This verb has a pronominal intransitive counterpart: "preocuparse", which can't take any direct or indirect object. This time it means "to worry / to be worried", and like many pronominal intransitive verbs, it demands a particular preposition (sometimes it accepts several ones)

[yo] Me preocupo de/por todo

[yo] Me preocupo de/por arreglarlo todo

[yo] Me preocupo de/por que vengan

Again, instead of a noun ("todo"), you can use infinitives or noun clauses. You have to use infinitives because the construction expects a noun, and conjugated verbs are not nouns.

Answer 6

I worry about Pepe. = Me preocupo por Pepe

Pepe worries about me = Pepe se preocupa por mí.

I worry about them. = Me preocupo por ellos.

They worry about me. = Se preocupan por mí.

Thanks webdunce, don't spanish people use preocupar? Or do they only use preocuparse? - zhmelissa, Jan 25, 2011

They use both. Preocupar is when one causes another to worry or become bothered. Preocuparse is when one causes oneself to worry. - webdunce, Jan 25, 2011

Answer 7

Here are some useful links about this subject....

Intransitive constructions with se.

More about preocupar/preocuparse.

Answer 8

It will make sense eventually, Melissa. It is maddening at first.