Spanish Preterite Reflexive Verbs Spanish Verb Conjugation

In this lesson, we’ll learn how to conjugate reflexive spine verbs. Remember, if you’re taking a class, your teacher will call “spine” verbs “preterite” verbs. In speaking Spanish, reflexive Spine verbs are conjugated just like normal spine verbs and as usual, when there’s just one verb, the reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, or nos) goes in front.

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Let’s take a look at a few examples:

I bathed yesterday Me bañé ayer
She got tired last night Se cansó anoche
They brushed their hair Se cepillaron el pelo
We dried our hands Nos secamos las manos
They shaved earlier Se afeitaron más temprano
She worried about him Se preocupó por él

Before we have an official practice, there are a few irregulars in the reflexive spine group that you need to know about. They have stem changes. Let’s take a look at them here. As with other irregulars, the best way to remember them is to hear them enough that you tune your ear to the right way of saying them. As with other irregular spine verbs, they are just irregular on the bottom row of conjugations.

Are you ready? We’ll start with the verb despedirse (to say goodbye)

(Yo) me despedí (Nosotros) nos despedimos
(Tú) te despediste (Vosotros-Spain) os despedisteis
(El, Ella, Ud.) se despidió (Ellos, Ellas, Uds) se despidieron

The second reflexive verb is sentirse (to feel well or ill)

(Yo) me sentí (Nosotros) nos sentimos
(Tú) te sentiste (Vosotros) os sentisteis
(El, Ella, Ud.) se sintió (Ellos, Ellas, Uds) se sintieron

The third reflexive verb of this type is divertirse (to have fun)

(Yo) me divertí (Nosotros) nos divertimos
(Tú) te divertiste (Vosotros) os divertisteis
(El, Ella, Ud.) se divirtió (Ellos, Ellas, Uds) se divertieron

The fourth irregular reflexive verb of this type is caerse (to fall down)

(Yo) me caí (Nosotros) nos caímos
(Tú) te caíste (Vosotros) os caísteis
(El, Ella, Ud.) se cayó (Ellos, Ellas, Uds) se cayeron

The fifth irregular reflexive verb is vestirse (to get dressed)

(Yo) me vestí (Nosotros) nos vestimos
(Tú) te vestiste (Vosotros) os vestisteis
(El, Ella, Ud.) se vistió (Ellos, Ellas, Uds) se vistieron

There is actually one more irregular reflexive verb. It is the verb “darse cuenta” or “to realize”.  You already learned earlier how to conjugate “dar” in the spine, or preterite tense earlier, but we’ll take another quick look at it to help refresh your memory.

(Yo) me dí cuenta (Nosotros) nos dimos cuenta
(Tú) te diste cuenta (Vosotros) os disteis cuenta
(El, Ella, Ud.) se dio cuenta (Ellos, Ellas, Uds) se dieron cuenta

With those under your belt, you should be ready for our practice session. Remember, however, if you’d like to review this section before continuing, please feel free to do so.

Spine Spanish Practice Session

Are you ready to practice reflexive Spine Verbs?  Let’s begin.

I sat down. Me senté
(Marta) You didn’t wake up. Did you? No te despertaste. ¿No?
He broke his arm. Se rompió el brazo.
She brushed her hair. Se cepilló el pelo.
(Sra. Benites) You burned your hand. Didn’t you? Se quemó la mano. ¿No?
We complained a lot. Nos quejamos mucho.
They forgot to eat. Se olvidaron de comer.
All of you got angry. Didn’t you? Se enojaron. ¿No?
I stayed here yesterday. Me quedé aquí ayer.
Whew! (Martín) You didn’t take a shower. Did you? Martín, no te duchaste. ¿No?
He washed his hands. Se lavó las manos.
She got married last week. Se casó la semana pasada.
We met with them here. Nos reunimos aquí.
She didn’t realize that. No se dio cuenta de eso.
He said goodbye to them (ellas). Se depidió de ellas.
They felt sick. Se sintieron enfermos.
All of you had fun. Didn’t you? Se divirtieron. ¿No?
They fell down. Se cayeron
(Sra. Quispe) You said goodbye to him. Didn’t you? Se despidió de él. ¿No?
She had a lot of fun. Se divirtió mucho.
They (a group of women) felt sick. Se sintieron enfermas.
He fell down. Se cayó.

Like usual, if you feel comfortable with these, please move on.