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11. Reflexive verbs

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

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).

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:

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



Present tense of reflexive verbs taking a dative pronoun
A number of verbs use the reflexive pronoun in the dative case. Only two of the dative reflexive pronouns are different from their equivalent accusative reflexive pronoun. These are mich and dich which become mir and dir respectively.

Here is the present tense of sich vorstellen, a separable verb which takes a reflexive pronoun in the dative case when it means "to imagine":

Singular  
ich stelle mir vor I imagine
du stellst dir vor
Sie stellen sich vor
You imagine
(informal/formal) 
er/sie stellt sich vor He/she imagines
Plural  
wir stellen uns vor We imagine
ihr stellt euch vor
Sie stellen sich vor
You imagine
(informal/formal) 
sie stellen sich vor They imagine



Reflexive verbs concerning the body
The dative reflexive pronoun is used in German with certain verbs when they refer to doing things to parts of the body (sich waschen) and putting on or taking off articles of clothing (sich anziehen, sich ausziehen).

The dative reflexive pronoun must be used when you specify which part of your body you are washing or which article of clothing you are putting on or taking off. Furthermore, the definite article is used to refer to the specific part of the body, whereas in English the possessive (my, your, his etc.) is used. It is therefore the task of the dative reflexive pronoun to indicate possession.

ich wasche mir die Hände I wash my hands
du wäscht dir das Gesicht You wash your face 
ich ziehe mir das Hemd an I put my shirt on
du ziehst dir die Schuhe aus You take your shoes off

Great care must therefore be taken to distinguish between the following pairs of verbs:

  • Ich wasche mich. (I'm having a wash.)
  • Ich wasche mir die Hände. (I'm washing my hands.)
     
  • Du ziehst dich an. (You get dressed.)
  • Du ziehst dir die Hose an. (You put your trousers on.)

The same construction is also used in German to translate "to clean one's teeth". The full present tense of this construction is given below.

Singular  
ich putze mir die Zähne I clean my teeth
du putzt dir die Zähne
Sie putzen sich die Zähne
You clean your teeth
(informal/formal) 
er/sie putzt sich die Zähne He/she cleans her teeth
Plural  
wir putzen uns die Zähne We clean our teeth
ihr putzt euch die Zähne
Sie putzen sich die Zähne
You clean your teeth
(informal/formal) 
sie putzen sich die Zähne They clean their teeth

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