Idiomatic Pronominal Verbs

Verbos pronominales idiomáticos

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Several dozen verbs require a reflexive pronoun but are neither reflexive nor reciprocal. These verbs use the reflexive pronoun to create a meaning different from (though often related to) the meaning of their non-pronominal siblings.

Por ejemplo…

Se entienden bien.		They get along well.
¿Te duermes?		Are you falling asleep?
Me llamo Laura.		My name is Laura.

Most common Spanish idiomatic pronominal verbs

Here are the most common verbos pronominales idiomáticos with their non-pronominal meanings.

abonar	to pay		abonarse	to subscribe
abrir	to open		abrirse	to open up, confide in
acabar	to finish		acabarse	to run out of
acordar	to agree, decide		acordarse	to remember
acusar	to accuse		acusarse	to confess
alegrar	to cheer up		alegrarse	to be happy
arreglar	to repair, fix		arreglarse	to get ready
burlar	to deceive, thwart		burlarse	to joke
caer	to fall		caerse	to drop
colocar	to put, place		colocarse	to stand or sit
conducir	to drive		conducirse	to behave
dormir	to sleep		dormirse	to fall asleep
enojar	to anger		enojarse	to get angry
entender	to hear, understand		entenderse	to get along
hacer	to do, make		hacerse	to become
ir	to go		irse	to leave, go away
lastimar	to hurt		lastimarse	to complain
levantar	to lift, raise		levantarse	to get up
llamar	to call		llamarse	to be called/named
llevar	to carry		llevarse	to take away
negar	to deny		negarse	to refuse
poner	to put		ponerse	to put on, wear
probar	to test, prove		probarse	to try on
quitar	to take off/away		quitarse	to go away
reír	to laugh		reírse de	to laugh at
salir	to leave		salirse	to escape, leak
sorprender	to surprise		sorprenderse	to be surprised
volver	to (re)turn		volverse	to turn around, to become

 See the main lesson on pronominal verbs for details on using idiomatic pronominal verbs in different tenses and moods.

 Related lessons

• Introduction to pronominal verbs
• Reflexive verbs
• Reciprocal verbs
• Idiomatic pronominal verbs
• Reflexive se with unplanned occurrences
• Reflexive pronouns
• Reflexive prepositional pronouns
   

 En français

• Verbes pronominaux subjectifs
   

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