Vocabulary: Daily Routine and Reflexive Verbs

Welcome! In this lesson, we will learn how to talk about our daily routine (la rutina diaria). This is an essential skill for everyday conversation. To do this, we need to understand a special category of verbs called 'reflexive verbs'.

🤔 What are Reflexive Verbs?
Reflexive verbs describe an action that the subject does to or for themselves. Think of it as the action 'reflecting' back on the person doing it.
In English, we use words like 'myself', 'yourself', 'himself', etc.
➡️ For example: 'I wash myself.'
In Spanish, this is indicated by a special pronoun and the verb form. The infinitive form of these verbs always ends in -se, like lavarse (to wash oneself) or levantarse (to get up/to raise oneself).

Let's compare:
🔹 Non-reflexive: Yo lavo el coche. (I wash the car.) - The action is on the car.
🔹 Reflexive: Yo me lavo. (I wash myself.) - The action is on 'me'.

🙋‍♂️ The Reflexive Pronouns
Before conjugating the verb, you need to know the reflexive pronouns. They match the subject of the sentence and are placed before the conjugated verb.

Here they are:
👤 yo → me (myself)
👤 tú → te (yourself, informal)
👤 él / ella / usted → se (himself / herself / yourself, formal)
👥 nosotros / nosotras → nos (ourselves)
👥 vosotros / vosotras → os (yourselves, informal)
👥 ellos / ellas / ustedes → se (themselves / yourselves, formal)

⚙️ How to Use Reflexive Verbs
It's a two-step process:

1. Choose the correct reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) based on who is doing the action.
2. Conjugate the verb as you normally would for that subject.

Let's take levantarse (to get up) as an example:

1. Start with the infinitive: levantarse
2. Take the pronoun se from the end.
3. Place the correct pronoun before the verb and conjugate the verb levantar.

✅ (yo) me levanto - I get up
✅ (tú) te levantas - You get up
✅ (él) se levanta - He gets up
✅ (nosotros) nos levantamos - We get up
✅ (vosotros) os levantáis - You (all) get up
✅ (ellos) se levantan - They get up

☀️🌙 Common Daily Routine Vocabulary
Many daily actions are reflexive in Spanish. Here is a list of useful verbs and phrases:

Morning Routine (La rutina de la mañana):
☀️ despertarse (e:ie) - to wake up
🔹 Me despierto a las siete. (I wake up at seven.)
☀️ levantarse - to get up
🔹 Él se levanta tarde. (He gets up late.)
☀️ ducharse - to take a shower
🔹 Nos duchamos por la mañana. (We shower in the morning.)
☀️ bañarse - to take a bath
☀️ vestirse (e:i) - to get dressed
🔹 ¿Te vistes ahora? (Are you getting dressed now?)
☀️ peinarse - to comb one's hair
☀️ cepillarse los dientes/el pelo - to brush one's teeth/hair
🔹 Siempre me cepillo los dientes. (I always brush my teeth.)

Daytime & Evening Routine (La rutina del día y de la noche):
🏙️ ir al trabajo / a la escuela - to go to work / to school (Note: ir is not reflexive!)
🍽️ desayunar / almorzar / cenar - to have breakfast / lunch / dinner
🌙 quitarse la ropa - to take off one's clothes
🌙 acostarse (o:ue) - to go to bed / to lie down
🔹 Ellos se acuestan a las once. (They go to bed at eleven.)
🌙 dormirse (o:ue) - to fall asleep
🔹 Me duermo rápidamente. (I fall asleep quickly.)

💡 A Special Note on Body Parts:
When you use a reflexive verb to talk about an action on a part of your body (like washing your hands or brushing your hair), you use the definite article (el, la, los, las), NOT the possessive pronoun (mi, tu, su).
➡️ Correct: Me lavo las manos. (I wash my hands.)
➡️ Incorrect: Me lavo mis manos.
The reflexive pronoun me already tells us whose hands they are!

Now you have the tools to describe your day. ¡A practicar!