reflexive verb?

Question

I am always confused with Spanish's reflexive verb, ï only understand reflexive verbs for like llamarse, levantarse...etc but..like when should we use reflexive verbs? are there any rules?

Q1: Quiero dedicar más tiempo a estar con mis amigos, a charlar con ellos y a conocernos más.

-->What is the oriinal form of conocernos? is it the same when i say: ....a charlar con ellos y a nos conocemos más?

Q2: Después de relajarme, voy a trabajar.. is it the same when i say--> Despues de me relajo, voy a trabajar..? why do i need to use reflexive verb here?

Graciasss!

Pleaser remember that correct spelling and capitalization are mandatory on this site, welcome to the forum:) - 00494d19, Apr 9, 2011

I am voting you for the context given;) - 00494d19, Apr 9, 2011

:) Good question - FELIZ77, Apr 9, 2011

Answer 1

I am always confused with Spanish's reflexive verb, ï only understand reflexive verbs for like llamarse, levantarse...etc but..like when should we use reflexive verbs? are there any rules?

They are not reflexive, but pronominal. Avoid at all costs any book that calls these verbs reflexive, because the terminology is inaccurate and confusing, which suggests that the person who wrote it probably did not understand Spanish very well, or decided to use a child-like term not to scare people with grammatical terms, but the result is confusing.

What is the oriinal form of conocernos? is it the same when i say: ....a charlar con ellos y a nos conocemos más?

That's not a reflexive verb either. It is the verb "conocer" (to know), with the pronoun "nos" attached to it to indicate reciprocity, i.e. "to know each other". If you need to say "each other", you add this pronoun (or "os" or "se") to any verb.

Q2: Después de relajarme, voy a trabajar.. is it the same when i say--> Despues de me relajo, voy a trabajar..? why do i need to use reflexive verb here?smile

You need to use it, because if you don't, the sentence is wrong. You can't say "Después de me relajo". After "después de" you can only use a noun (e.g. el desayuno) or something equivalent, like an infinitive (e.g. comer) or a noun clause (e.g. que vinieran). You can say "relajar" if you want, but then, who are you going to relax? That "se" indicates that the person is simply going to relax or get relaxed, not relax other people. If you don't use it, natives will be scratching their heads wondering who is it going to be relaxed by you.

This is what I have been learning. - pacofinkler, Apr 9, 2011