LinguaVerbs that come with -se: levantarse
Some verbs appear in the dictionary with -se glued to the end: levantarse, ducharse, acostarse. That -se means the action falls back on the person doing it: you get yourself up, you shower yourself. When you conjugate, the -se comes off the end, changes to match the subject, and stands BEFORE the verb: me levanto, te levantas, se levanta. The verb itself is a normal -ar verb.
| Pronoun | Reflexive pronoun | Forms of levantarse | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | me | me levanto | I get up |
| tú | te | te levantas | you get up |
| él / ella / usted | se | se levanta | he / she gets up, you (formal) get up |
| nosotros / nosotras | nos | nos levantamos | we get up |
| vosotros / vosotras | os | os levantáis | you all get up (Spain) |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | se | se levantan | they get up, you all get up |
Ducharse, acostarse, and one that is not reflexive
Ducharse is fully regular: me ducho, te duchas, se ducha, nos duchamos. Acostarse hides a surprise: its o becomes ue in four forms, me acuesto, te acuestas, se acuesta, se acuestan, but stays o in nos acostamos and os acostáis. You will meet more verbs like it soon. And desayunar, to have breakfast, is NOT reflexive: desayuno, desayunas, no pronoun. To deny, no goes before the pronoun: No me levanto temprano.
| Verb | Form for yo | Form for nosotros | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| ducharse | me ducho | nos duchamos | to take a shower |
| acostarse | me acuesto | nos acostamos | to go to bed |
| desayunar | desayuno | desayunamos | to have breakfast |
How often: siempre, normalmente, a veces, nunca
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| siempre | always | Siempre desayuno en casa. |
| normalmente | usually, normally | Normalmente me ducho por la mañana. |
| a veces | sometimes | A veces me acuesto tarde. |
| nunca | never | Nunca trabajo los domingos. |
These words go before the verb or at the very start of the sentence, and nunca before the verb needs no extra no. To put the routine in order you have primero (first), luego (then) and después (afterwards): Primero me levanto, luego me ducho y después desayuno. Two more words fix the time of day: temprano, early, and tarde, late. The hour itself you already know: a las siete, a las ocho y media.
Normalmente me levanto a las ocho y desayuno café con leche.I usually get up at eight and have coffee with milk for breakfast.
Los domingos nos levantamos tarde y a veces desayunamos en un bar.On Sundays we get up late and sometimes have breakfast in a café.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| levantarse | to get up | Me levanto a las seis y media. I get up at half past six. |
| ducharse | to take a shower | Pedro se ducha por la noche. Pedro showers at night. |
| desayunar | to have breakfast | Desayunamos a las ocho. We have breakfast at eight. |
| acostarse | to go to bed | Los niños se acuestan a las nueve. The children go to bed at nine. |
| siempre | always | Siempre estudio por la noche. I always study at night. |
| normalmente | usually, normally | Normalmente como en casa. I usually eat at home. |
| a veces | sometimes | A veces trabajo los sábados. Sometimes I work on Saturdays. |
| nunca | never | Nunca bebo café. I never drink coffee. |
| luego | then, later | Trabajo y luego nado un poco. I work and then I swim a little. |
| después | afterwards, after | Estudio y después escucho música. I study and afterwards I listen to music. |
| temprano | early | Los lunes me levanto temprano. On Mondays I get up early. |
| tarde | late | Hoy me acuesto tarde. Today I am going to bed late. |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 3
- match the pairs: 1
- fill the gap: 2
- build the sentence: 1
- translate the sentence: 2
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
Which form says "I get up"?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.