Present tense of reflexive verbs taking an accusative pronoun
The present tense of a reflexive verb consists of a verb with the normal present tense endings followed by the reflexive pronoun in the appropriate case.

The only difference between reflexive pronouns and the personal pronouns which we have encountered in previous chapters is that the reflexive pronoun is sich in the formal "Sie" form as well as in the third person singular and plural.

Here is the present tense of a reflexive verb which takes a reflexive pronoun in the accusative case:

Grammar 3: The present tense of "sich rasieren" Singular   ich rasiere mich I shave myself du rasierst dich Sie rasieren sich You shave yourself (informal/formal)  er rasiert sich He shaves himself Plural   wir rasieren uns We shave ourselves ihr rasiert euch Sie rasieren sich You shave yourselves (informal/formal)  sie rasieren sich They shave themselves

If the reflexive verb is also separable, then the separable prefix of the verb will follow the pronoun (and any other elements of the clause). Of the verbs which we have encountered so far, this is true for sich anziehen, sich ausruhen, sich ausziehen and sich vorstellen:

Grammar 4: The present tense of "sich anziehen" Singular   ich ziehe mich an I get dressed du ziehst dich an Sie ziehen sich an You get dressed (informal/formal)  er/sie/es zieht sich an He/she/it gets dressed Plural   wir ziehen uns an We get dressed ihr zieht euch an Sie ziehen sich an You get dressed (informal/formal)  sie ziehen sich an They get dressed

Present tense of reflexive verbs with a modal verb
When reflexive verbs are preceded by a modal verb, the infinitive of the verb itself is used, but the reflexive pronoun agrees with the subject of the verb. The reflexive pronoun in such cases is identical to the appropriate pronoun in the present tense of the reflexive verb:

Grammar 5: The infinitive of a reflexive verb after a modal verb Singular   ich muss mich waschen I must have a wash du musst dich waschen Sie müssen sich waschen You must have a wash (informal/formal)  er muss sich waschen He must have a wash Plural   wir müssen uns waschen We must have a wash ihr müsst euch waschen Sie müssen sich waschen You must have a wash (informal/formal)  sie müssen sich waschen They must have a wash

 Chapter 10.10: Reflexive verbs with the dative case

 Nach oben

 Print This Page