MULTIMEDIA-ENGLISH
ACTIVITY SHEET (created by the user: Profe)

Before doing this activity you may need to read the text you will find at the end


  SmartMemo
Reflexive pronouns: Myself, yourself...
Focus Grammar
Description Practise making sentences using the reflexive pronouns if necessary. SPANISH - ENGLISH
Instructions 1- Look at the sentences and think of how to say that in the other language. 2- Move your mouse over the black button to check your answer. 3- If you were right, click on the green button, if wrong, click on the red.
 
Item Match Comments
Deberías pensar un poco más en ti misma You should think a bit more about yourself
Ella se levantó feliz y se besó en el espejo She got up happy and she kissed herself on the mirror
Nick se casó ayer Nick got married yesterday
Estás hablando solo, ¿te pasa algo? You're talking to yourself, ¿are you all right?
Miró la foto y se vió conduciendo un coche rojo He looked at the photograph and saw himself driving a red car
My pez se murió ayer My fish died yesterday
El ordenador se arregló ayer, pero hoy no funciona The computer was fixed yesterday, but today it doesn't work
La maceta se cayó de la ventana The flower pot fell off the window
¡Ay! Me he mordido Ouch! I bit myself morder: bite - bit - bitten
Me quemé mientras estaba cocinando I burnt myself while I was cooking
Linda se está pintando las uñas Linda is painting her nails
Se enfadó consigo mismo He got angry at himself
John se pintó la cara de negro John painted his face black
Nicky se fue y no volvió Nicky left and never came back
Su marido está de viaje así que duerme sola Her husband is on a trip, so she sleeps by herself
Sabina siempre habla de sí mismo en sus canciones Sabina is always talking about himself in his songs
Los días de diario come solo On week days he eats by himself
La meditación te enseña a curarte a ti mismo Meditation teaches you how to heal yourself
El puente se rompió y un coche se cayó al río The bridge broke and a car fell down into the river
Ella se está mirando en el espejo She's looking at herself in the mirror
En este país los niños tienen que cuidar de sí mismos In this country, children have to look after themselves also: ...take care of themselves
también podríamos decir: los niños tienen que cuidarse solos
Muévete un poco a la derecha Move a bit to the right
Estoy tan sucio que no me conozco a mí mismo I'm so dirty I can't recognize myself
La carretera se terminó ayer y se inaugura mañana The road was finished yesterday and will be inaugurated tomorrow
Estamos preocupados por nosotros, no por la empresa We are worried about ourselves, not about the company
Déjame hacerlo solo Let me do it by myself
Conócete a ti mismo Know yourself
¡Ay! Me he mordido la lengua Ouch! I bit my tongue
Lávate la cara, está sucia Wash your face, it's dirty
¿Te gusta? Lo he hecho yo solito Do you like it? I did it by myself
Él solo está enamorado de sí mismo He is only in love with himself
Me hice daño jugando al fútbol I hurt myself playing football
Se cayó por las escaleras He fell downstairs
Son tan egoístas, siempre pensando en ellos mismos They're so selfish, always thinking of themselves pensar en = to think of / about
Sé bueno contigo mismo Be good to yourself
Total number of items: 35
This is an activity from Multimedia-English www.multimedia-english.com
 

singular  MYSELF - YOURSELF - HIMSELF / HERSELF / ITSELF

plural  OURSELVES - YOURSELVES - THEMSELVES

 
These forms are used with transitive verbs when the subject and the object are the same person (when the person doing the action and receiving the action are the same)

- I cut bread = I cut, the bread is cut
- I cut myself = I cut, I was cut
 
- Megan's looking at herself in the mirror = Megan is looking, and what she sees is... Megan

- please, tell me about yourselves
- We are giving ourselves a rest
- Are you talking to yourself?
- They only think about themselves

Reflexive pronouns can also refer to possessives and objects

- His songs are always talking about himself
- She dressed as a zombie for Halloween, but her dress was only scaring herself
- I'm going to tell her a few things about herself
- The psychoanalyst helped me to get to know me myself better

BY ONESELF means "alone, without company" or "without help"

- She is living in a flat by herself (= alone)
- Look, I did it by myself (= without help)
"All by oneself" is the emphatic form
- I learned to drive all by myself (= completely without help, just me alone)



CAREFUL !

Many verbs are used in the reflexive form in other languages, but not in English.

- This morning I didn't shave (we don't say: I shaved myself, but simply, I shaved)
- I sat on the sofa (you can: say I sat myself, but it sounds very formal or old-fashioned)
- She got dressed (not usually: she dressed herself)
- I woke up (not: I woke myself up)
- I fell down (not: I fell myself down, because the verb "to fall" is not transitive, so it has no object, so it can't use a reflexive form)

But these transitive verbs which do not normally use reflexive forms, can use it when we need to make clear who is doing what to whom

- Barbers shave people who don't want to shave themselves (if you don't say "themselves", the object of that second "shave" is not clear)
- She is old enough to dress herself
- He can't bend his knees, so he can't sit himself down, he needs help.

PRONOMINAL VERBS: Some languages, such as Spanish, French or Italian, use reflexive forms for many verbs even when there is no reflexive idea. In these cases you can't use a reflexive pronoun in English.

I broke my leg (I did the action, my leg received the action, so it is not a transitive idea):
- Je me suis cassé la jambe
- Me he roto la pierna
- Mi sono rotto la gamba

I remember it (I do the action, "it" is the object)
- Je me souviens
- Me acuerdo

 


Note for Spanish speakers



El problema es que las formas españolas equivalentes (me-te-nos, etc) se usan para muchas otras cosas además del reflexivo, y en muchas ocasiones no se traduce porque no significa nada (verbos pronominales). Sólo podemos usar las formas reflexivas cuando el sujeto y el objeto son la misma persona:

- ayer me caí =yesterday I fell down  (pronominal)
- él se rió mucho = él rió mucho = he laughed a lot (pronominal)
- ella se lava la cara =she washes her face (ella lava, su cara es lo lavado) (pronominal)
- ella se pintó de rojo =she painted herself red (ella pinta, ella es "la cosa" pintada) (reflexive)
- esto se puso aquí =this was put here (pasiva refleja: esto fue puesto aquí)
- me llamo Juan =I am called John (pasiva refleja: yo soy llamado Juan)