Spanish Reflexive Pronouns

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REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS.

These pronouns are not, of course, used as subject of the verb. They are
used as the object of the verb when this and the subject are the same.

They are the same as the other personal pronouns, as--

Conjunctive form. Disjunctive form.

myself me mí
thyself te tí

EXCEPTION--
3rd person for both genders & numbers:
se sí

EXAMPLES--

Él se ama: He loves himself.

Ella se atribuye la culpa: She attributes the fault to herself.

María habla siempre de sí[82]: Mary is always talking about herself.

Nosotros nos divertimos al mismo tiempo que hacemos negocios: We enjoy
ourselves at the same time as we do business.

Ellos se respetan á sí y á otros también: They respect themselves and
others too.

_Mismo-a,-os,-as_, may be added to the disjunctive form for emphasis,
as--

María habla siempre de sí misma: Mary always speaks of herself.

Ella se atribuye la culpa: She attributes the fault to herself.

Ella se atribuye la culpa á sí: She attributes the fault to herself.
(more emphatic).

Ella se atribuye la culpa á sí misma: She attributes the fault to
herself (still more emphatic).

[Footnote 82: After _con_ (with) _si_ becomes Sigo; same change with
_mí_ and _tí_: conmigo, contigo, consigo, written in one word.]

The pronoun =Se= with any verb in the 3rd pers. sing. or plural may be
used to form the passive voice, as--

Se ha cerrado el almacén: The warehouse has been closed.

Se han encaminado las reclamaciones á la Compañía de Seguros[83]:
The claims have been referred to the Insurance Company.

[ootnote 83: This form is preferable when the "doer" is not mentioned.]

=Se= followed by a verb in the 3rd pers. sing.[84] translates the
English "one," "people," "they" (_indefinite_), as the French "on" and
the German "man," as---

Se dice que habrá un alza[85] en el mercado: They say, _or_ it is said,
that there will be a rise in the market.

Se cree que no habrá Reforma Arancelaria en Inglaterra: People think,
_or_ it is thought, that there will not be Tariff Reform in England.

En la vejez se goza el fruto de una juventud laboriosa: In old age one
enjoys the fruits of active youth _or_ The fruits of active youth are
enjoyed in old age.

[Footnote 84: Or we can use the 3rd pers. plur. of the verb without the
pronoun.]

[Footnote 85: Or "una alza" (both used).]

As will be seen, this is really a form of the passive voice rendered by
"se," as "se goza" instead of "es gozado." But there are more typical
examples, as--

Los géneros se han fabricado en Irlanda y se los ha (_not_ han) plegado
como lienzos irlandeses: The goods were made in Ireland and they folded
them as Irish Linens.

A Conjunctive Reflexive Pronoun, whether direct or indirect object,
always precedes any other conjunctive pronoun, as---

Yo me lo reservo: I reserve it for myself.
Nosotros nos lo guardamos: We keep it for ourselves.
Se me dice: It is said to me (it says itself to me).
Se les venden las telas: The cloths are sold to them.
Nosotros nos le confiamos: We entrust ourselves to him.
Vosotros os les empeñasteis en £1,000: You pledged yourselves to them
for £1,000.

_Subjunctive Mood, Imperfect Tense_.[86]
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| =Hablar=. | =Temer=. | =Partir=. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Que yo hablase (that |Temiese (that I |Partiese (that I might,|
| I might, should or | might, should, or | should or would |
| would speak, etc.) | would fear, etc.) | depart, etc.) |
| " tú hablases |Temieses |Partieses |
| " él hablase |Temiese |Partiese |
| " nosotros hablásemos|Temiésemos |Partiésemos |
| " vosotros hablaseis |Temieseis |Partieseis |
| " ellos hablasen |Temiesen |Partiesen |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

[Footnote 86: This tense is formed from the Past Def. by changing the
termination _ron_ of the 3rd pers. pl. into _se, ses, se, semos, seis
sen_, in all the three conjugations.]

VOCABULARY.

=en la actualidad, al momento=, at present
=á menudo=, often
=acostumbrarse=, to accustom oneself
=admitir=, to acknowledge
=aparecer=, to appear
=aplicarse=, to apply oneself
=ayuda=, help
=boletín=, form, slip, price list
=caucho seco=, dry rubber
=cebada y avena=, barley and oats
=cifras=, figures
=la compra=, the purchase
=*contar (con)=, to count, to rely on
=la costumbre=, custom
=cualquiera=, any (_affirm._)
=cuidadosamente=, carefully
=declararse en quiebra=, to file one's petition in bankruptcy
=dedicarse=, to devote oneself
=dirigirse=, to address oneself
=escribirse=, to write to each other, to one another
=escuchar=, to listen to
=exacto=, exact, accurate
=firmeza=, firmness
=industria azucarera=, sugar industry
=los informes=, information
=lisonjearse=, to flatter oneself
=llamarse=, to be called
=el montaje=, the erection of machinery, etc.
=*moverse=, to be moved, driven (machinery)
=operadores=, dealers (on 'Change)
=partida=, lot (of goods)
=perfeccionar=, to perfect, improve (machinery)
=*reconocer=, to acknowledge
=recursos=, means
= respetar=, to respect
=sección=, section
=tacharse=, to censure, to blame, oneself
=tejidos=, textiles, cloths
=últimamente=, lately
=únicamente=, solely, only

EXERCISE 1 (19).

Translate into English--

1. Nos dirigimos á Vs. por informes sobre la casa cuyo (whose) nombre
aparece en el boletín adjunto.

2. Se aplicaron á la industria azucarera y consiguieron buenos
resultados.

3. Me he acostumbrado á este trabajo.

4. Te has dedicado al comercio.

5. Tiene mucha opinión de sí (mismo).

6. Cuenta (he relies) consigo únicamente.

7. Se debe pensar á sí y también á los otros.

8. Estos tejidos se llaman "uniones."

9. Las dos casas se escriben[87] en francés.

10. Estos tornos y estas sierras mecánicas (these lathes and sawing
machines) se mueven por motor eléctrico.

11. Se los ha perfeccionado mucho últimamente.

12. ¿Se envían las máquinas en secciones?

13. Sí, Señor, y se las marca cuidadosamente para facilitar el montaje.

14. Se dice que llegaron grandes partidas de Cebada y Avena, ¿piensa V.
que influirán en los precios?

15. Así se cree.

16. Entonces resultará (or resultará pues) alguna ventaja para los
consumidores (consumers).

17. No puedo tacharme de imprevidencia (want of foresight) por no
haberme abastecido (supplied, stocked) á tiempo, pues (because) carecía
de los recursos necesarios para hacerlo (to do so).

[Footnote 87: Reflexive Pronouns in the plural are also Reciprocal.]

EXERCISE 2 (20).

Translate into Spanish--

1. I flatter myself that you will be pleased with (le gustarán) my
purchases seeing (visto) the firmness of prices at present.

2. We consider ourselves lucky (dichosos de) not to have listened to
their advice (consejo).

3. He is always speaking of himself and of his business.

4. He found himself a loser (á perder).

5. They declared themselves bankrupts (they filed their petition in
bankruptcy).

6. They wrote to each other often.

7. He respects himself.

8. He himself respects old customs.

9. We acknowledge we are wrong.

10. We acknowledge receipt of your favour (acusamos recibo de).

11. We shall gratefully acknowledge (agradeceremos infinito) any help
you may render (preste) to our friend.

12. We hope you will be very accurate in your figures.

13. The output (producto) for the first two months of the current year
was 18,668 lbs. dry rubber.

14. The bill market (los cambios) was very firm to-day but there was
little doing (poco se hizo).

15. Dealers were reluctant (se mostraron contrarios) to do business in
the securities.

16. Rubber shares were lifeless (muy desanimadas), but prices were
maintained (se mantuvieron).