Reflexives & singular/plural
Ok I'm a little confused..
Why is "Nos lavamos la cara." different from "Se cepillan los dientes." in
terms of singular/plural usage ? There is more than one face, just like there is more than 1 set of teeth.
Same thing goes for "Se quitan el sombrero para saludar." & "Estos chicos no se limpian las uñas."
1 Answer
In this case, it is not so much a case of "reflexive" constructions as it is an illustration of the way in which the possessive article is used. The possessive article is non-distributive when the possessor is plural and the thing being possessed is considered "inalienable" (i.e. intimately associated with the possessor as is true of body parts, articles of clothing etc). You can see this in the examples below:
?Nos lavamos la cara ? They washed their faces: Each person washed his/her face; each person only has one face to wash, hence the singular "la cara."
?Se cepillan los dientes ? They brush their teeth: Each person brushes his/her teeth; each person—it is assumed—has an entire set of teeth rather than a single tooth, hence the plural "los dientes."
?Se quitan el sombrero ? They remove their hats: Each person removes his/her hat; each person only has one hat to remove, hence the singular "el sombrero."
?No se limpian las uñas ? They don't clean their nails: Each person failed to clean his/her nails; each person—it is assumed—has an entire set of ten nails to clean, hence the plural "las uñas."
