Spanish Stem-Changing / Irregular Reflexive Verbs

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There are three basic types of stem-changing reflexive verbs in Spanish.

•  e-ie stem-changing verbs: verbs in which an e in the stem changes to an ie.
•  e-i stem-changing verbs: verbs in which an e in the stem changes to an i.
•  o-ue stem-changing verbs: verbs in which an o in the stem changes to a ue.

Stem-changing Reflexive Verbs Spanish (e->ie)

Reflexive Verb	Stem-changing (e-ie)	Meaning	Example
Despertarse	me despierto	to wake up	Me despierto a las seis de la mañana. I wake up at six in the morning.
Negarse	me niego	to deny/ to refuse	Me niego a ir. I refuse to go.
Sentarse	me siento	to sit down	¿Me siento en el sofá? (Do) I sit on the couch?
Sentirse	se siente	to feel	Se siente triste porque perdió el juego. He feels sad because he lost the game.
Quererse	me quiero	to want/to love/to wish	Me quiero comprar un televisor. I want to buy a television.

Stem-changing Reflexive Verbs Spanish (e->i)

Reflexive Verb	Stem-changing (e-i)	Meaning	Example
Despedirse	me despido	to say good-bye	Me despido de ti. I say goodbye to you.
Desvestirse	me desvisto	to get undressed	Me desvisto antes de ducharme. I undress before showering.
Sonreírse	me sonrío	to smile	Me sonrió cuando te veo. I smile when I see you.
Vestirse	me visto	to get dressed	¡Me visto y nos vamos! I get dressed and we go!

Stem-changing Reflexive Verbs Spanish (o->ue)

Reflexive	Stem-changing (o-ue)	Meaning	Example
Acostarse	me acuesto	to go to bed	Me acuesto a las nueve de la noche. I go to bed at nine at night.
Costarse	te cuesta	to cost	Esta camisa te cuesta veinte dólares. This shirt costs you twenty dollars.
Dormirse	me duermo	to go to sleep/ to fall asleep	Aveces me duermo muy tarde. Sometimes I fall asleep very late.
Probarse	se prueba	to try on (clothing)	Carmen se prueba la ropa en la tienda. Carmen tries on clothes in the store.

Irregular Reflexive Verbs in Spanish

In Spanish, there are a few irregular verbs in the reflexive forms. The table below is giving examples in the present tense only in the ‘yo‘ form.

Reflexive Verb	Irregular	Meaning	Example
Distraerse	me distraigo	to distract (oneself)	Me distraigo fácilmente. I get distracted easily
Irse	me voy	to leave	Yo mismo me voy de vacaciones. I’m going on vacation myself.
Ponerse	me pongo	to put on	Me pongo el sombrero. I put on my hat.
Reponerse	me repongo	to get better/ to recover/ to get over	Me repongo de la gripe fácilmente. I get over the flu easily.
Sostenerse	me sostengo	to support/ sustain (oneself)	Me sostengo por mi cuenta. I sustain myself on my own.

Verbs that change meaning when used as reflexive

There are some verbs in Spanish that change meanings when used in the reflexive form (formed by adding the suffix –se in the infinitive form). The difference in meaning between a simple verb and its corresponding reflexive verb is slight.

Verb	Meaning	Reflexive	Meaning
Acercar	to bring near	Acercarse	to bring closer
Acordar	to agree	Acordarse	to remember
Acostar	to put to bed	Acostarse	to go to bed
Acostumbrar	to be in the habit of, to usually do something	Acostumbrarse	to get used to
Cambiar	to change	Cambiarse	to change clothes
Dormir	to sleep	Dormirse	to fall asleep
Enfermar	to make ill/sick	Enfermarse	to become ill/ get sick
Engañar	to deceive	Engañarse	to deceive oneself
Llamar	to call	Llamarse	to be called/named
Matar	to kill	Matarse	to kill oneself, commit suicide
Negar	to deny	Negarse	to deny/to refuse
Parecer	to appear/ to seem	Parecerse	to look like (someone)
Peinar	to comb	Peinarse	to comb oneself
Pintar	to paint	Pintarse	to put on make up
Preparar	to prepare	Prepararse	to get ready
Pobrar	to try/ to taste	Probarse	to try on
Quitar	to take away	Quitarse	to take off
Sentir	to feel	Sentirse	to feel (emotionally or physically)
Volver	to return	Volverse	to become

Examples:

Jorge se durmió mientras veía la película.
Jorge fell asleep while watching the movie.

Se parece a su madre.
(He) looks like his mother.

Me acuerdo de cuando fui a Francia.
I remember when I went to France.

Ella se peina mientras escucha música.
She combs his hair while listening to music.

Me acostumbré a despertarme temprano.
I got used to getting up early.