Spanish Reflexive Pronouns with Present-Tense Verbs and Infinitives

In this lesson, you will learn where Spanish reflexive pronouns appear when a reflexive verb is used by itself in the present tense and when a reflexive infinitive follows another verb.

You already know reflexive verbs such as — to get up, — to wash oneself, and vestirse — to get dressed. Now you will focus on pronoun placement.

The reflexive pronouns

Subject	Reflexive pronoun	English idea
— I	— myself	myself
— you	— yourself	yourself
/ / — he / she / you	— himself / herself / yourself	himself / herself / yourself
/ — we	— ourselves	ourselves
/ — you all	— yourselves	yourselves
/ / — they / you all	— themselves / yourselves	themselves / yourselves

The reflexive pronoun must match the subject.

With one conjugated present-tense verb

When a reflexive verb is conjugated by itself in the present tense, the reflexive pronoun normally comes before the conjugated verb.

— I get up at seven.
— You get up at eight.
— He / she gets up at six.
— We get up at seven.
— You all get up at eight.
— They get up at six.

The basic present-tense pattern

The basic order is:

reflexive pronoun + conjugated verb

For example:

— I get dressed
— you get dressed
— he / she gets dressed
— we get dressed
— you all get dressed
— they get dressed

Using lavarse in the present tense

— I wash my hands.
— You wash your face.
— He / she washes his / her hands.
— We wash our faces.
— You all wash your hands.
— They wash their faces.

The pronoun remains before the conjugated verb.

When another verb comes before the reflexive infinitive

Spanish often uses a conjugated verb followed by an infinitive.

You already know structures such as:

quiero + infinitive — I want to...
puedo + infinitive — I can...
necesito + infinitive — I need to...
tengo que + infinitive — I have to...

If the second verb is reflexive, its pronoun can attach to the infinitive.

Attaching the pronoun to the infinitive

Look at these examples:

— I want to get up.
— I want to wash my hands.
— I want to get dressed.
— I can get up now.
— I need to wash my hands.
— I have to get dressed.

In each example, the reflexive pronoun is attached directly to the infinitive.

Matching the attached pronoun to the subject

The reflexive pronoun still matches the subject of the reflexive action.

— I want to get up.
— You want to get up.
— He / she wants to get up.
— We want to get up.
— You all want to get up.
— They want to get up.

Using poder with a reflexive infinitive

— I can wash my face.
— You can wash your hands.
— He / she can get dressed now.
— We can get up at seven.
— They can get dressed here.

Using necesitar with a reflexive infinitive

— I need to get up early.
— You need to wash your hands.
— He / she needs to get dressed.
— We need to get up at six.
— They need to wash their hands.

For this lesson, — early is a useful time word.

Using tener que with a reflexive infinitive

— I have to get up at seven.
— You have to wash your hands.
— He / she has to get dressed.
— We have to get up early.
— They have to wash their hands.

The pronoun attaches to the infinitive after tener que.

A second correct position

When a conjugated verb is followed directly by a reflexive infinitive, Spanish often allows a second correct position: the reflexive pronoun can move before the conjugated verb.

Compare:

— I want to get up.
— I want to get up.
— I can get dressed.
— I can get dressed.
— I need to wash my hands.
— I need to wash my hands.

Both positions can express the same basic meaning when the reflexive pronoun belongs to the infinitive action.

Using the two positions with querer

— I want to get dressed.
— I want to get dressed.
— You want to wash your hands.
— You want to wash your hands.
— We want to get up early.
— We want to get up early.

The meaning remains essentially the same.

Using the two positions with poder

— I can get up now.
— I can get up now.
— You can get dressed here.
— You can get dressed here.
— We can wash our hands.
— We can wash our hands.

Using the two positions with necesitar

— I need to get dressed.
— I need to get dressed.
— You need to get up early.
— You need to get up early.

For beginner production, attaching the pronoun to the infinitive is often the clearest pattern to remember.

Tener que and pronoun placement

With tener que + infinitive, attaching the reflexive pronoun to the infinitive is a clear and useful beginner pattern.

— I have to get up.
— You have to get dressed.
— We have to wash our hands.

You may also hear the pronoun before the conjugated form of tener.

— I have to get up.
— You have to get dressed.
— We have to wash our hands.

Do not use both positions at the same time

Choose one pronoun position, not both.

Correct:

— I want to get up.
— I want to get up.

Do not combine the two patterns in the same phrase.

Keeping the subject consistent

The reflexive pronoun must match the person doing the reflexive action.

— I want to get up.
— You want to get up.
— Ana wants to get up.
— We want to get up.

Do not choose the pronoun only from the first verb form without checking who performs the reflexive action.

Present tense versus infinitive placement

Situation	Spanish pattern	Example
one conjugated reflexive verb	pronoun before verb	. — I get dressed.
conjugated verb + reflexive infinitive	pronoun attached to infinitive	— I want to get dressed.
conjugated verb + reflexive infinitive	pronoun before conjugated verb	— I want to get dressed.

Routine examples with one conjugated verb

— I get up at seven.
— I wash my face.
— I get dressed in the morning.

Routine examples with an infinitive

— I want to get up at seven.
— I need to wash my face.
— I have to get dressed in the morning.

Comparing the two sentence types

Compare:

— I get up at seven.
— I have to get up at seven.
— I get dressed in the morning.
— I want to get dressed in the morning.

With the single conjugated reflexive verb, the pronoun comes before it. With a reflexive infinitive, the pronoun can attach to the infinitive.

Questions with a conjugated reflexive verb

— What time do you get up?
— When do you get dressed?
— Do you wash your hands in the morning?

The reflexive pronoun remains before the conjugated verb in these questions.

Questions with a reflexive infinitive

— Do you want to get up now?
— Can you get dressed here?
— Do you need to wash your hands?
— Do you have to get up early?

The pronoun is attached to the infinitive in these examples.

Answering with the same pattern

Person A: — Do you want to get up now?

Person B: — Yes, I want to get up now.

Person A: — Do you need to wash your hands?

Person B: — Yes, I need to wash my hands.

A short routine with obligations

— In the morning I have to get up at seven. Then I have to wash my face. After that I have to get dressed.

The sequence words come from the earlier routine lesson, while the reflexive pronouns attach to each infinitive.

A short routine with needs

— I need to get up early. Then I need to wash my hands. After that I need to get dressed.

A short conversation about a routine

Person A: — What time do you get up?

Person B: — I get up at seven.

Person A: — Do you have to get dressed early?

Person B: — Yes, I have to get dressed early.

Spotting the correct pronoun

If the subject is — I, use .

— I get up.
— I want to get up.

If the subject is — you, use .

— You get up.
— You want to get up.

If the subject is / — we, use .

— We get up.
— We want to get up.

A practical placement method

Use this sequence when deciding where to put a reflexive pronoun:

Identify who performs the reflexive action.
Choose the matching pronoun: , , , , , or .
If the reflexive verb is the only conjugated verb, put the pronoun before it.
If the reflexive verb is an infinitive after another verb, you can attach the pronoun to the infinitive.
With many two-verb structures, you can alternatively place the pronoun before the conjugated verb.
Do not use both positions at the same time.

From Reflexive Pronoun Placement to Actions Happening Now

You can now place reflexive pronouns correctly with present-tense verbs and reflexive infinitives, and recognize both common positions in two-verb structures. The next lesson introduces estar + gerund for saying what is happening right now.