To laugh -vs- to smile.

Question

Is "to laugh" typically reflexive because you, yourself, are laughing?

La niña se ríe.

Los niños de la fiesta de cumpleaños se ríen.

And does "to smile" typically take an indirect object because you are smiling at someone?

Ella le sonríe a su esposo.

La doctora le sonríe a la niña.

Gracias por ayudarme.

Good question. - JoyceM, Jul 6, 2011

Answer 1

I wouldn't make the mistake of comparing the uses of sonreír(se) with reír(se).

When you are smiling at someone sonreír is still an intransitive verb. The someone is not the d.o. of the verb smile. You smile to someone. That is why the i.o.p. is used.

La doctora le sonríe a la niña.

(if a la nina was the personal "a" + d.o. it would simply be: la doctora sonríe a la niña.)

Ella le sonríe a su esposa. (intransitive sentence)

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reír(se), however, can be intransitive or transitive.

Le reí el chiste. (I laughed at your joke...transitive) [the le showing possession or who is effected by the verbs action ...replacing the possessive adjective in the English sentence)

Me reí cuando usted contó el chiste. (I laughed when you told the joke...intransitive) (reflexive...I laughed to myself or intransitive)

All of the pictures in Tosh's reply are intransitive uses of the verbs.

I'm glad someone knows what they're talking about :) - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 7, 2011

The phrase "le reí la chiste" is incorrect. - Agora, Jul 7, 2011

I modelled that sentence after one in our dictionary (no le rías las gracias -> don't laugh at his antics ). What is the mistake, please? We are here to learn the proper grammar. - 0074b507, Jul 7, 2011

I see that the gender is wrong for chiste. Is that the error? - 0074b507, Jul 7, 2011

g: Si, solamente era eso, y lo corregiste, gracias. Sin embargo, en México, rara vez escucharás la expresión "le reí el chiste" aunque la construcción sea correcta. Nosotros usamos la expresión "le festejé el chiste" que también significa to "laugh at" . - Agora, Jul 8, 2011

Answer 2

Sonreír to smile

Sonreírse to smile at (someone)

Sonreir

Thanks for the reply... but now I have a new question! LOL... see below :) - Tosh, Jul 6, 2011

K, Sonreir means to smile at someone if you add the indirect object. I don't think that's the same thing as using sonreirse as a reflexive verb, is it? - Jeremias, Jul 6, 2011

yes you're right, of course - that's what I get for thinking I can pop in to SD and do a ten second answer without really thinking it through, thanx J :) - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 7, 2011

Answer 3

I don't think there is much difference between sonreír and sonreírse. In Mexico, it is common to use the pronomial form but both are definitely used. In the progressive tenses, it may be more common to omit the reflexive pronoun - Don't you agree that "Estaba sonriendo" sounds more normal than "Me estaba sonriendo"?

BUT: when you combine sonreírse with an indirect object, the construction with sonreír and sonreírse is different.

Le sonreío a ella, he smiled at her.

Se sonreío con ella, he smiled at her.

sonrió? :) - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 7, 2011

Si K! - Jeremias, Jul 7, 2011

Answer 4

Here's a little more on the subject including our very own Laz's thoughts je je Sonreír vs Sonreírse

Always a relief to get an answer from our Laz! - patch, Jul 7, 2011

Answer 5

Here are the examples I was talking about.

If it was "sonrierse", why are they using "le"? Estoy confundido! :(

"Sonreirse" would only be used if someone is not smiling at anyone. The use of "se" on this word appears to be regional as well. It´s used in Mexico, but I don´t think it´s used in Spain - 005faa61, Jul 6, 2011

Answer 6

As long as the smile is directed at someone, then yes.

Answer 7

Here's another goodie Reírse

Answer 8

Would "me sonrío" be "I smile to myself?"