MINI-LESSON

Reflexive & Non-reflexive Direct-Object Pronouns

Remember that the verb really isn't reflexive, the object is reflexive.

If the subject and the object are the same, the object is reflexive:

· he bought himself a taco

· they will give themselves more time

· I have written myself a note

Saying "a verb with a reflexive object" is more exact and less misleading than simply saying "a reflexive verb".

The verbs included in a typical daily-routine unit are usually only practiced with reflexive pronouns, but they can also be practiced logically with non-reflexive pronouns. Although these ideas are usually not expressed in English using indirect objects, translating the ideas literally from Spanish to English shows how a Spanish-speaker thinks:

· a man who goes to a barber will say, "he trims me the beard". And the barber will say "I trim him the beard".

· patients in a hospital will say, "they wash us the body", and the nurses will say, "we wash them the body".

It's all very logical!