Reflexive verbs- these are verbs in which the object of the action coincides with the subject: I washcamping, dress camping, changing clothes sya, transplanting camping etc.

Reflexive verbs are used with a reflexive pronoun sich only in 3rd person singular and plural. In the 1st and 2nd person singular and plural, the corresponding personal pronoun in accusative (or dative).

We look at the table of changes in the particle sich of reflexive verbs:

And now let's look at the conjugation table of the reflexive verb sich freuen. The sich particle for it changes into Akkusativ, as it does for most reflexive verbs:

sich = -sya

As in many other languages, Germanthere are no rules which verbs are reflexive and which are not. Such verbs shouldlearn immediately with a reflexive pronoun. It should be remembered that German verbswith sichdo not necessarily correspond to Russian verbson -sya and vice versa:

sicherholen - to rest, passieren - to happenXia

sich beteiligen - to participate
sich beeilen - hurry
sich erholen - to rest
sich erinnern - to remember
sich verspäten - to be late

lernen - to teach Xia
lachen - to laugh Xia
baden - to bathe Xia

Some verbs have form with and without a reflexive pronoun; the meaning of the verb is modified, for example:

sich versammeln - gather -> versammeln, vt - gather
sich bewegen - move -> bewegen, vt - move
sich interessieren - to be interested -> interessieren, vt - to be interested
sich freuen - rejoice -> freuen, vt - rejoice;

There are a number of verbs that the reflexive particle is in Dative. Such verbs are marked in the dictionary with a mark (D) after the pronoun sich:

sich (D) etwas (Akk.) ansehen - watch (film, TV program, etc.)

Ich sehe mir das Bild an.
Du siehst dir das Bild an.
Er sieht sich das Bild an.
Wir sehen uns das Bild an.
Ihr seht euch das Bild an.
Sie sehen sich das Bild an (pl).
Sie sehen sich das Bild an.

sich (D) etwas (Akk.) merken - remember, take note (something)
sich (D) etwas (Akk.) notieren - write something down, take notes
sich (D) etwas (Akk.) vorstellen - imagine something
sich (D) etwas (Akk.) waschen - to wash (oneself) something

Notes

1. The combination of the verb lassen + reflexive pronoun.

Man kann etwas leicht ändern. = Das lässt sich leicht ändern.
Man kann das nicht beschreiben. = Das lässt sich nicht beschreiben.

2. Question form:

Freust du dich? Habt ihr euch gefreut? Haben Sie sich gefreut?

3. Form of the imperative:
Furchte dich nothing! Furchtet euch nothing! Furchten Sie sich nothing!

4. Infinitive with particle zu:
sich zu furchten, sich vorzustellen

The reflexive pronoun sich can often be found in a German sentence. It can be translated in different ways.

Meanings of the pronoun sich:

1. (in Akkusativ) myself

Sie mustert sich im Spiegel. - she looked myself in the mirror.

2. (in Dative) yourself

Er kauft sich ein Buch. - He buys yourself book.

Er hat sich den Daumen wundgerieben - he rubbed to the blood yourself thumb (on the hand)

3. as part of reflexive verbs, it is usually translated by a Russian particle-sya in a reflexive verb.

sich freuen - rejoice

sich um etw. (A) bemühen - to work on smth.; try to do smth.; bother about smth.

But reflexive verbs in German and Russian do not always match. For instance:

sich erholen - to rest

sich verspäten - to be late

It is important that the pronoun sich changes depending on the person and case. See table:

For instance ( Dative ):

Er kauft sich ein Buch. - He buys yourself book.

Ich kaufe mir ein Buch. - I'm buying yourself book.

Wirkaufen uns ein Buch. - We are buying yourself book.

Or ( Accusative ):

die Industry entwickelt sich- industry develops

wir entwickeln uns- we are developing

du entwickelst dich- you develop

Usually next to the reflexive verb in the dictionary is the case in which sich changes. Most verbs change sich into Akkusativ.

For instance:

sich (+D) vorstellen- imagine something

ich cann mir vorstellen, dass er ein guter Lehrer ist; ich kann ihn mir als guten Lehrer vorstellen - I can imagine that he is a good teacher

sich (+Akk) interessieren- be interested in someone/something

ich interessiere Mich für Literatur / für Kunst - I'm interested in literature / art

An example of conjugation of the reflexive verb sich (+ Akk) setzen - to sit down:

Useful exercises on this topic: mir or mich? , reflexive verbs

Usage examples for sich:

es fragt sich, ob er kommt - one asks if he will come

es versteht sich von selbst - goes without saying

hier lebt sich "s gut - life is good here

in den Bergen läßt sich frei atmen - breathe freely in the mountains

das läßt sich hören - this is not bad, you can listen to it; you can talk about it

die Tür öffnet sich - the door opens

die Ware verkauft sich gut - the goods are going well

der Brief hat sich gefunden - the letter was found

es wird sich finden - it will be seen there

es macht sich - things are going (on track)

an sich ist dieser Ring nicht viel wert, aber... - the ring itself (by itself) costs a little, but...

an und fur sich - by itself

es hat nichts auf sich - it means nothing

nicht bei sich (D) sein - lose consciousness, be in a swoon; unfold be out of your mind

er ist gern für sich - he loves being alone

sie lieben sich - they love each other

sie trafen sich oft - they often met (with each other)

sie haben sich geküßt - they kissed

Interesting:

"THING IN ITSELF" (German) Ding an sich ) is a philosophical concept meaning things as they exist in themselves ("in themselves"), in contrast to how they are "for us" in cognition; one of the central concepts of I. Kant's Critique of Pure Reason.

Place of the reflexive pronoun sich in a sentence

In a simple declarative sentence sich costs

Die Studenten interestingsich fur dies problem.- Students are interested in this problem.

In reverse word order, there are 2 options:

a) if the subject is expressed by a noun, then the reflexive pronoun stands after the inflected part of the predicate:

Jetzt interesting sich alle Studenten fur dies Problem.- Now all students are interested in this problem.

b) if the subject is expressed by a personal pronoun, then it stands immediately after the predicate, and the reflexive pronoun is placed after the personal:

Jetzt interested siesich fur dies problem.- Now they are interested in this problem.

In an interrogative sentence without a question word:

the subject expressed by the personal pronoun is also put before reflexive pronoun:

Interesting sichdie student fur dieses Problem?
Interesting siesich fur dieses Problem?

In the subordinate clause, the place of the reflexive pronoun also depends on how the subject is expressed:

if it is expressed noun, then the reflexive pronoun stands next to union, if personal pronoun- then after him:

Ich bin froh, dass sichdie student I am glad that students are interested in this problem.
Ich bin froh, dass siesich fur dies Problem interessieren. -I'm glad they are interested in this issue.

In the infinitive

returnable pronoun costs at the beginning of the turnover, And you verb - at the end:

Er hat nie aufgehort, sich fur dieses problem zu interessieren. - He never ceased to be interested in this problem.

Reflexive verbs are verbs in which the action is directed at oneself, for example: I wash my face, I comb my hair. In German, these are verbs with a reflexive pronoun sich, which has its own forms for each person and number.

Ich	wasche	Mich		wir	waschen	uns
Du	waschst	dich		ihr	wascht	euch
Er				sie	waschen	sich
Sie	wascht	sich
Es				Sie	waschen	sich

It should be noted that there are verbs that are reflexive both in German and in Russian, and there are those that are reflexive in one language, but not in another.

for instance:
→ sich interessieren - to be interested
→ sich beschäftigen - to practice
→ sich befinden - to be
→ sich freuen - rejoice
→ sich verabschieden - say goodbye
→ sich erkälten - to catch a cold

Or:
→ sich unterhalten - to talk (to communicate)
→ sich beeilen - hurry
→ sich erinnern - to remember
→ sich bedanken - give thanks

Or:
→ beginnen - begin
→ heiraten - to marry

→ sich anziehen - to dress
→ sich waschen - to wash
→ sich rasieren - to shave
→ sich duschen - take a shower
→ sich kämmen - comb your hair
→ sich schminken - to put on make-up
→ sich treffen - meet
→ sich föhnen - blow-dry your hair

Exercises/ Ü BUNGEN

1. Ask questions according to the model:

Ich setze mich auf das Sofa (du). → Willst du dich auch auf das Sofa setzen?

1. Ich verabrede mich mit Herrn Meier (wir alle).
2. Ich wasche mich nach der Arbeit (ihr).
3. Wir unterhalten uns über Politik (Sie).
4. Peter duscht sich kalt, das tut gut (du).
5. Zu Hause beschäftigen wir uns mit der Aufgabe weiter (ihr).

2. Say it differently:

Ich liebe dich, du liebst mich. Wir lieben uns.

1. Er besucht sie, sie besucht ihn.
2. Ich helfe Ihnen, Sie helfen mir.
3. Ich höre Sie, Sie hören mich.
4. Ich sehe Sie morgen, Sie sehen mich morgen.
5. Er kann sie gut leiden, sie kann ihn gut leiden.
6. Er hat ihr Briefe geschrieben, sie hat ihm Briefe geschrieben.
7. Du brauchst ihn, er braucht dich.
8. Er schenkt ihr Blumen, sie schenkt ihm Blumen.
9. Du triffst ihn heute Abend, er trifft dich heute Abend.
10. Ich kenne dich schon lange, du kennst mich schon lange.

Reflexive verbs

A separate group of verbs in German, which deserves special attention, allows, in addition to the usual action of the subject on the object, to represent the action of the subject directed at himself. In other words, subject and object are the same person. Verbs that allow you to express such an action are called returnable. In Russian, as a rule, they are characterized by the presence of the reflexive particle “-sya”: “swear”, “dig”, “wash”, “get angry”, etc. In Czech, they have a particle se: Radit se, rodit se, vypinat se. In Italian, reflexive verbs are attached -si: lavarsi, radersi, vestirsi. In this, one can probably see some kinship of many European languages ​​in terms of verb morphology. In Germanic languages, in principle, there is nothing complicated with this either. In English, reflexive pronouns with particles are very famous. -self for the singular and –selves for plural: I wash myself, you saw yourself, they dressed themselves. Similar in German, but instead of any incomprehensible particles, rather ordinary and familiar pronouns are used, which for the most part coincide with the accusative case. About everything in order.

In German, reflexive verbs in the infinitive take the form: sich waschen"wash", sich beeilen"hurry", sich rasieren“shave”, etc. The reflexive pronoun is indefinite before the verb. Such verbs can be used without a reflexive pronoun, but at the same time they will lose their reflexive meaning. There are verbs in German that are reflexive, but they are translated into Russian as the most common non-reflexive ones. For instance: sich erinnern"recall", sich langweilen“to miss”, etc. There are also reflexive verbs in Russian that are not reflexive in German: lernen"to study", Schimpfen"cursing". It is not surprising that such verbs do not always coincide. The German and Russian languages ​​developed separately from each other, so the vocabulary, grammar and semantics do not correspond in many ways, and you just need to get used to it.

Below is a minimum table that will give you an idea of ​​the reflexive verb conjugation. On the example of a verb sich waschen try to decline some of the other reflexive verbs you know in order to better remember the conjugation (see also § 26).

You should be careful with reflexive pronouns, as they always have a specific place in a sentence. And since there are many types of sentences, it is possible to distinguish various options for its use. In a simple declarative sentence (§ 1), the reflexive pronoun is used immediately after the verb or its inflected part when it comes to a compound or complex verbal predicate (§ 2). In the case of reverse word order in a simple sentence, the reflexive pronoun can be used after the verb in the personal form, if the subject is expressed by a noun, and, if the subject is expressed by a personal pronoun, after the pronoun itself.

Die Studenten beeilen sich morgens.- Students rush in the morning. Die Kinder waschen sich jeden Tag.- Children wash every day.

Morgens waschen sich meine Nachbarn.- My neighbors wash in the morning. Morgens waschen sie sich standig.- In the morning they are constantly washing.

In other types of sentences (including complex ones), the behavior of the return particle will be slightly different; the syntactic features of these sentences themselves should be taken into account. In sentences with two verbs, one of which is in the infinitive, in compound tenses (§§ 33 , , ) the reflexive pronoun is placed after the inflected part, obeying, one might say, the same rules. In subordinate clauses where the verb goes to the end of the sentence (§ 53), the reflexive pronoun comes after the subject.

A feature of the German language (although not only it) is that it also has reflexive transitive verbs. In addition to the reflexive pronoun, they also have a direct object in the accusative case. In order not to powder my brains once again, I’ll say it more simply: if reflexive verbs denote an action aimed at oneself (“wash”, “think”), then reflexive-transitive ones denote an action “for yourself” or “for yourself” (“buy something for yourself ”, “wash something for yourself”, “comb something for yourself”, etc.). In Russian, such things are not always appropriate to use, but in German in some cases this is very important. The most common cases are listed below.

Of course, this may seem a little alien to Russian speakers, but such is the German verb: capricious, incomprehensible, dodgy. In some cases, things like reflexive-transitive verbs can also play a semantic role, which simply cannot be ignored. For example, the verb sich vorstellen, which, judging by the presence sich, is reflexive, both proper reflexive and reciprocating-transitional can be used, and how it is used will also depend on how it is correctly interpreted. Compare for yourself:

• Darf ich mich vorstellen? Ich bin Klaus, aus Stuttgart.- Let me introduce myself. I'm Klaus, from Stuttgart.
• Ich stelle mir klar meine Zukunft vor.- I have a clear vision of my future.

Often reflexive-transitive verbs can also be found in fairly stable expressions like „ Machen Sie sich bequem“ (“Make yourself comfortable”) or „ Ich überlege es mir“(I will think about it.) It is important enough to learn how to use both reflexive and reflexive verbs in speech in order to avoid distortion. And only practice will help in this.

Previous Lesson: 29. Modal verbs

30. Reflexive verbs

Next lesson: 31. Verbs with separable and inseparable part

(reflexive Verben) from other verbs lies in the fact that the semantics of these units include the return of the ongoing action to the one who is its producer. What verb. are reflexive (ref.), must be memorized, since no language norms regulate in which cases v. will be reflexive, and in which not. When translating German reflexive verbs, both reflexive and ordinary Russian verbs can correspond, for example:

• sich erhöhen - to rise
• zweifeln - to doubt
• sich hinlegen - lie down
• herumfliegen - to spin, circle
• übereinstimmen - to agree

As part of a reflexive verb. there is always a ref. pronoun (loc.) sich, agreeing in gender and number with the subject in the sentence. The shape of this place. is invariable for all numbers of the third person, and in the first and second persons it is declined in exactly the same way as personal German pronouns. Return seats. used only in oblique cases, without having a nominative. For instance:

• Ich geniere mich, wenn meine Freundemich loben. I get embarrassed when my friends praise me.
• Du drehst dich die ganze Zeit herum! - You're spinning all the time!
• Er blamiert sich durch seine Taten. He dishonors himself with his deeds.
• Wir beteiligen uns an allen seinen Aktivitäten. – We participate in all types of its activities (in all its affairs).
• Ihr versammelt euch in dieser Bierstube jeden Donnerstag. You meet at this pub every Thursday.
• Sie amüsieren sich echt königlich. - They are having a lot of fun.

Some German verbs (transitive) require a direct object after themselves. After such words. sich is used in the dative case, for example:

• Morgen muss ich mir mehrere Videoclips ansehen. Tomorrow I have to watch various video clips.
• Du hast dir alles überlegt und nichts entschieden. You've thought about everything and decided nothing.
• Er bildet sich immer sehr viel ein. “He always imagines a lot to himself.
• Wir besorgen uns neue Taschen für diese Reise. We will get ourselves new bags for this trip.
• Ihr kauft euch zu viel Butter. You buy yourself too much butter.
• Sie erlauben sich keine Ausschweifungen. “They don’t allow themselves any frills.

Ref. places. sich has a strictly prescribed place in the German sentence, depending on the type of sentence. In declarative sentences, it takes place immediately after a simple predicate in a personal form or after an inflected part of a compound, for example:

• Die Volkswirtschaft der Mongolei entwickelt sich langsam. – The national economy of Mongolia is developing slowly.

In sentences with reverse word order and the subject expressed by the noun, sich also takes place immediately after the inflected part of the predicate (predicate). If in such a sentence the subject is a personal place, then a reflexive place. takes place immediately after the personal, for example:

• In Sauerlach verändert sich die Infrastruktur sehr langsam. - In the town of Sauerlach, the infrastructure changes very slowly.
• Im vorigen Herbst hat er sich entschieden, Helga zu heiraten. “Last autumn he decided to marry Helga.

If we are dealing with interrogative sentences, then in the absence of an interrogative word, reflexive places. takes place before the subject if it is expressed by a noun, and after it if the subject is a personal pronoun, for example:

• Wird diese Firma sich an der annoncierten Ausschreibung beteiligen? – Will this company participate in the announced tender?
• Habt ihr euch heute in der Schwimmhalle trainiert? – Did you train in the pool today?

In compound sentences that include subordinate clauses, reflexive places. follows immediately after the connecting conjunction if the subject is expressed by a name, and immediately after the subject if it is expressed by a personal pronoun. For instance:

• Meine Kollegen möchten gerne wissen, ob sich der Werksleiter die laufende Situation gut vorstellt. “My colleagues want to know if the plant manager has a good idea of ​​the current situation.
• Es ist uns unheimlich interessant, wie sie sich an das lokale Klima angepasst haben. “We are terribly interested in how they adapted to the local climate.

Within the framework of infinitive revolutions, ref. places. takes either the first place, or comes after um, anstatt, ohne, if these unions are part of the infinitive turnover, for example:

• Deine Schwester muss aufhören, sich zu blamieren. “Your sister should stop being shy.
• Lothar ist heute weggelaufen, ohne sich rasiert zu haben. Lothar ran away today without shaving.