Reflexive verb
Encyclopedia
In grammar
, a reflexive verb is a verb
whose semantic agent and patient
(typically represented syntactically by the subject and the direct object) are the same. For example, the English
verb to perjure is reflexive, since one can only perjure oneself. In a wider sense, the phrase refers to any verb form whose grammatical object is a reflexive pronoun
, regardless of semantics; such verbs are also referred to as pronominal verbs, especially in grammars of the Romance languages.
There are languages that have explicit morphology
to transform a verb into a reflexive form. English employs reflexive derivation idiosyncratically, as in "self-destruct"; Romance languages do the same with the Greek
-derived prefix auto-.
In many languages, reflexive constructions are rendered by transitive verb
s followed by a reflexive pronoun
, as in English -self (e.g., "She threw herself to the floor.")
make extensive use of reflexive verbs and reflexive forms.
In the Romance languages, there are non-emphatic clitic
reflexive pronouns and emphatic ones. In Spanish
, for example, the particle se is cliticized to the verb (lavarse "to wash oneself"), while in Romanian
, the particle precedes the verb (a se spăla "to wash oneself"). Full reflexive pronouns or pronominal phrases are added for emphasis or to avoid ambiguity: Yo me cuido a mí mismo "I take care of myself" (mismo combines with the prepositional form
of the pronoun mí to form an intensive
reflexive pronoun).
The enclitic reflexive pronoun sa/se/si/się is used in Western and South Slavic languages, while Eastern Slavic languages use the suffix -sja (-ся). There is also the non-clitic emphatic pronoun sebja/себя, used to emphasize the reflexive nature of the act; it is applicable only to "true" reflexive verbs, where the agent performs a (transitive) action on itself.
The Slavic languages use the same reflexive pronoun for all persons
and numbers
, while the Romance (and Germanic) languages use different forms. In the 1st and 2nd person, the ordinary oblique
forms of the personal pronouns are used as reflexive pronouns, while special reflexive forms in s- are found only in the 3rd person. This is illustrated in the following table for the verb "to recall" (e.g. Je me souviens means "I recall", Tu te souviens means "You recall", and so on).
In all of these language groups, reflexive forms often present an obstacle for foreign learners (notably native speakers of English, where the feature is practically absent) due to variety of uses. Even in languages which contain the feature, it is not always applicable to the same verbs and uses (although a common subset can be generally extracted, as outlined below). For example, the Spanish reflexive construct "se hundió el barco" ("the boat sank") has no reflexive equivalent in Slavic languages (which use intransitive equivalent of sink).
Reflexive verbs can have a variety of uses and meanings, which often escape consistent classification. Some language-common identified uses are outlined below. For example, Davies et al. identify 12 uses for Spanish reflexive constructions; Vinogradov divides Russian reflexive verbs into as many as 16 groups.
, and can be used in non-reflexive meaning as well.
In modern Scandinavian languages, the passive (or more properly mediopassive) voice is used for medial, especially reciprocal, constructions. Some examples from Danish are,
(The hypothetical form **kysses (kiss each other) is not often—if ever—seen in Danish; however it'll probably be understood by most native speakers, indicating that the mediopassive voice is still at the very least potentially productive in Danish. An expression like "de kysses uafladeligt" (they kiss each other all the time) could very well be used for humorous purposes.)
s) or dummy pronoun
(otherwise). Thus, those verbs are defective
, as they have only the 3rd person singular (masculine or neutrum, depending on language) form.
In many cases, there is a semantic overlap between impersonal/anticausative/autocausative constructs and the passive voice
(also present in all Romance and Slavic languages). On one hand, impersonal reflexive constructs have a wider scope of application, as they are not limited to transitive verbs like the canonical passive voice. On the other hand, those constructs can have slight semantic difference or markedness
.
reflexive or reciprocal verb with no meaning of its own, and an obligatory part of the verb's lexical entry":
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
, a reflexive verb is a verb
Verb
A verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word that in syntax conveys an action , or a state of being . In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive...
whose semantic agent and patient
Theta role
In generative grammar , a theta role or θ-role is the formal device for representing syntactic argument structure required syntactically by a particular verb. For example, the verb put requires three arguments...
(typically represented syntactically by the subject and the direct object) are the same. For example, the English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
verb to perjure is reflexive, since one can only perjure oneself. In a wider sense, the phrase refers to any verb form whose grammatical object is a reflexive pronoun
Reflexive pronoun
A reflexive pronoun is a pronoun that is preceded by the noun, adjective, adverb or pronoun to which it refers within the same clause. In generative grammar, a reflexive pronoun is an anaphor that must be bound by its antecedent...
, regardless of semantics; such verbs are also referred to as pronominal verbs, especially in grammars of the Romance languages.
There are languages that have explicit morphology
Morphology (linguistics)
In linguistics, morphology is the identification, analysis and description, in a language, of the structure of morphemes and other linguistic units, such as words, affixes, parts of speech, intonation/stress, or implied context...
to transform a verb into a reflexive form. English employs reflexive derivation idiosyncratically, as in "self-destruct"; Romance languages do the same with the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
-derived prefix auto-.
In many languages, reflexive constructions are rendered by transitive verb
Transitive verb
In syntax, a transitive verb is a verb that requires both a direct subject and one or more objects. The term is used to contrast intransitive verbs, which do not have objects.-Examples:Some examples of sentences with transitive verbs:...
s followed by a reflexive pronoun
Reflexive pronoun
A reflexive pronoun is a pronoun that is preceded by the noun, adjective, adverb or pronoun to which it refers within the same clause. In generative grammar, a reflexive pronoun is an anaphor that must be bound by its antecedent...
, as in English -self (e.g., "She threw herself to the floor.")
Indo-European languages
Romance and Slavic languagesSlavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
make extensive use of reflexive verbs and reflexive forms.
In the Romance languages, there are non-emphatic clitic
Clitic
In morphology and syntax, a clitic is a morpheme that is grammatically independent, but phonologically dependent on another word or phrase. It is pronounced like an affix, but works at the phrase level...
reflexive pronouns and emphatic ones. In Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, for example, the particle se is cliticized to the verb (lavarse "to wash oneself"), while in Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
, the particle precedes the verb (a se spăla "to wash oneself"). Full reflexive pronouns or pronominal phrases are added for emphasis or to avoid ambiguity: Yo me cuido a mí mismo "I take care of myself" (mismo combines with the prepositional form
Prepositional pronoun
A prepositional pronoun is a special form of a personal pronoun that is used as the object of a preposition.English does not have distinct prepositional forms of pronouns. The same set of objective pronouns are used after verbs and prepositions...
of the pronoun mí to form an intensive
Intensive pronoun
- In English :An intensive pronoun is a pronoun used to add emphasis to a statement; for example, "I did it myself." While English intensive pronouns use the same form as reflexive pronouns, an intensive pronoun is different from a reflexive, because the pronoun can be removed without altering the...
reflexive pronoun).
The enclitic reflexive pronoun sa/se/si/się is used in Western and South Slavic languages, while Eastern Slavic languages use the suffix -sja (-ся). There is also the non-clitic emphatic pronoun sebja/себя, used to emphasize the reflexive nature of the act; it is applicable only to "true" reflexive verbs, where the agent performs a (transitive) action on itself.
The Slavic languages use the same reflexive pronoun for all persons
Grammatical person
Grammatical person, in linguistics, is deictic reference to a participant in an event; such as the speaker, the addressee, or others. Grammatical person typically defines a language's set of personal pronouns...
and numbers
Grammatical number
In linguistics, grammatical number is a grammatical category of nouns, pronouns, and adjective and verb agreement that expresses count distinctions ....
, while the Romance (and Germanic) languages use different forms. In the 1st and 2nd person, the ordinary oblique
Oblique case
An oblique case in linguistics is a noun case of synthetic languages that is used generally when a noun is the object of a verb or a preposition...
forms of the personal pronouns are used as reflexive pronouns, while special reflexive forms in s- are found only in the 3rd person. This is illustrated in the following table for the verb "to recall" (e.g. Je me souviens means "I recall", Tu te souviens means "You recall", and so on).
| French | Danish | Serbo-Croatian | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | |
| 1st person | Je me souviens | Nous nous souvenons | Jeg lægger mig | Vi lægger os | Ja se sjećam | Mi se sjećamo |
| 2nd person | Tu te souviens | Vous vous souvenez | Du lægger dig | I lægger jer | Ti se sjećaš | Vi se sjećate |
| 3rd person | Il se souvient | Ils se souviennent | Han lægger sig | De lægger sig | On se sjeća | Oni se sjećaju |
In all of these language groups, reflexive forms often present an obstacle for foreign learners (notably native speakers of English, where the feature is practically absent) due to variety of uses. Even in languages which contain the feature, it is not always applicable to the same verbs and uses (although a common subset can be generally extracted, as outlined below). For example, the Spanish reflexive construct "se hundió el barco" ("the boat sank") has no reflexive equivalent in Slavic languages (which use intransitive equivalent of sink).
Reflexive verbs can have a variety of uses and meanings, which often escape consistent classification. Some language-common identified uses are outlined below. For example, Davies et al. identify 12 uses for Spanish reflexive constructions; Vinogradov divides Russian reflexive verbs into as many as 16 groups.
Properly reflexive
The "true" (literal) reflexive denotes that the agent is simultaneously the patient. The verb is typically transitiveTransitive verb
In syntax, a transitive verb is a verb that requires both a direct subject and one or more objects. The term is used to contrast intransitive verbs, which do not have objects.-Examples:Some examples of sentences with transitive verbs:...
, and can be used in non-reflexive meaning as well.
| Language | Examples | Compare |
|---|---|---|
| Portuguese | Pedro se lava. | Pedro lava o gato. |
| Spanish | Pedro se baña. | Pedro baña al gato. |
| French | Pierre se lave. | Pierre lave le chat. |
| Italian | Pietro si lava. | Pietro lava il gatto. |
| Romanian | Petre se spală. | Petre spală pisica. |
| Serbo-Croatian | Petar se kupa. | Petar kupa mačku. |
| Polish | Piotr się kąpie. | Piotr kąpie kota. |
| Russian | Пётр купается. Pyotr kupayetsya. |
Пётр купает котa. Pyotr kupayet kota. |
| Danish | Peter vasker sig. | Peter vasker katten. |
| German | Peter wäscht sich. | Peter wäscht die Katze. |
| English | Peter washes himself. | Peter washes the cat. |
| Lithuanian | Petras prausiasi. | Petras prausia katę. |
| Petras prausia save. | ||
| Macedonian | Петар се мие. Petar se mie. |
Петар ја мие мачката. Petar ja mie mačkata. |
Reciprocal
"Reciprocal" reflexive denotes that the agents perform the mutual actions among themselves. In most cases, the transitive verbs are also used.| Language | Examples | Compare |
|---|---|---|
| Portuguese | Maria e Pedro se beijam.(a) | Maria beija Pedro. |
| Spanish | María y Pedro se besan. | María besa a Pedro. |
| Italian | Maria e Pietro si baciano. | Maria bacia Pietro. |
| Serbo-Croatian | Marija i Petar se ljube. | Marija ljubi Petra. |
| Romanian | Maria şi Petre se sărută. | Maria sărută pe Petre. |
| Polish | Maria i Piotr całują się. | Maria całuje Piotra. |
| Russian | Мария и Пётр целуются. Mariya i Pyotr tseluyotsya. |
Мария целуeт Петрa. Mariya tseluyet Petra. |
| Danish | Maria og Peter kysser hinanden. | Maria kysser Peter. |
| German | Мaria und Peter küssen sich. | Maria küsst Peter. |
| English | Мary and Peter kiss [each other]. | Mary kisses Peter. |
| Lithuanian | Marija ir Petras bučiuojasi. | Marija bučiuoja Petrą. |
| Macedonian | Марија и Петар се бакнуваат. Marija i Petar se baknuvaat. |
Марија го бакна Петар. Marija go bakna Petar. |
In modern Scandinavian languages, the passive (or more properly mediopassive) voice is used for medial, especially reciprocal, constructions. Some examples from Danish are,
- Maria og Peter skændes; "Mary and Peter are bickering", lit. "Mary and Peter are scolded by each other."
- Maria og Peter blev forlovet; "Mary and Peter got engaged [to each other]."
(The hypothetical form **kysses (kiss each other) is not often—if ever—seen in Danish; however it'll probably be understood by most native speakers, indicating that the mediopassive voice is still at the very least potentially productive in Danish. An expression like "de kysses uafladeligt" (they kiss each other all the time) could very well be used for humorous purposes.)
Autocausative
"Autocausative" reflexive denotes that the (usually animate) "referent represented by the subject combines the activity of actor and undergoes a change of state as a patient":| Language | Examples |
|---|---|
| Portuguese | Pedro se ofendeu. |
| Spanish | Pedro se ofendió. |
| Italian | Pietro si offese. |
| Serbo-Croatian | Petar se uvrijedio. |
| Romanian | Petru se supără. |
| Polish | Piotr obraził się. |
| Russian | Пётр обиделся. Pyotr obidelsya. |
| German | Peter ärgerte sich. |
| English | Peter became/was offended. |
| Lithuanian | Petras įsižeidė. |
| Macedonian | Петар се навреди. Petar se navredi. |
Anticausative
"Anticausative" reflexive denotes that the (usually inanimate) subject of the verb undergoes an action or change of state whose agent is unclear or nonexistent.| Portuguese | A porta se abriu. |
|---|---|
| Spanish | La puerta se abrió. |
| Italian | La porta si aprì. |
| Serbo-Croatian | Vrata su se otvorila. |
| Romanian | Poarta se deschide. |
| Polish | Drzwi otworzyły się. |
| Russian | Дверь открылась. Dver' otkrylas. |
| German | Die Tür öffnete sich. |
| English | The door (was, got) opened. |
| Lithuanian | Durys atsidarė. |
| Macedonian | Вратата се отвори. Vratata se otvori. |
Intransitive or Impersonal
"Intransitive" form (also known as "impersonal reflexive", or "mediopassive") take the intransitive verbs with omitted agent. In Slavic languages, practically "the only condition is that they can be construed as having a human agent. The applied human agent can be generic, or loosely specified collective or individual". The grammatical subject is either omitted (in pro-drop languagePro-drop language
A pro-drop language is a language in which certain classes of pronouns may be omitted when they are in some sense pragmatically inferable...
s) or dummy pronoun
Dummy pronoun
A dummy pronoun is a type of pronoun used in non-pro-drop languages, such as English....
(otherwise). Thus, those verbs are defective
Defective verb
In linguistics, a defective verb is a verb which is missing e.g. a past tense, or cannot be used in some other way that normal verbs come. Formally, it is a verb with an incomplete conjugation. Defective verbs cannot be conjugated in certain tenses, aspects, or moods.-Arabic:In Arabic, defective...
, as they have only the 3rd person singular (masculine or neutrum, depending on language) form.
| Language | Examples | |
|---|---|---|
| Portuguese | Aqui se trabalha bem. | Diz-se que... |
| Spanish | Aquí se trabaja bien. | Se dice que... |
| Italian | Qui si lavora bene. | Si dice che... |
| Serbo-Croatian | Tu se radi dobro. | Smatra se da... |
| Romanian | Aici se munceşte bine. | Se zice că... |
| Polish | Tam pracuje się dobrze. | Myśli się, że... |
| Russian | Здесь хорошо работается. Zdes' khorosho rabotayetsya. |
Думается, что... Dumayetsya, chto... |
| English | [People] work well here. | It is considered that... |
| Macedonian | Тука се работи добро. Tuka se raboti dobro. |
Се смета дека.. Se smeta deka... |
In many cases, there is a semantic overlap between impersonal/anticausative/autocausative constructs and the passive voice
Passive voice
Passive voice is a grammatical voice common in many of the world's languages. Passive is used in a clause whose subject expresses the theme or patient of the main verb. That is, the subject undergoes an action or has its state changed. A sentence whose theme is marked as grammatical subject is...
(also present in all Romance and Slavic languages). On one hand, impersonal reflexive constructs have a wider scope of application, as they are not limited to transitive verbs like the canonical passive voice. On the other hand, those constructs can have slight semantic difference or markedness
Markedness
Markedness is a specific kind of asymmetry relationship between elements of linguistic or conceptual structure. In a marked-unmarked relation, one term of an opposition is the broader, dominant one...
.
Inherent
"Inherent" or "pronominal" (inherently or essentially) reflexive verbs lack the corresponding non-reflexive from which they can be synchronically derived. In other words, se is an inherent part of an unergativeUnaccusative verb
In linguistics, an unaccusative verb is an intransitive verb whose subject is not a agent; that is, it does not actively initiate, or is not actively responsible for, the action of the verb. Unaccusative verbs thus contrast with unergative verbs...
reflexive or reciprocal verb with no meaning of its own, and an obligatory part of the verb's lexical entry":
| Language | Examples | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portuguese | Pedro se arrependeu. | Pedro se ri(b) | Maria e Pedro se separaram. | Pedro se queixa. |
| Spanish | Pedro se arrepintió. | Pedro se ríe(b) | María y Pedro se separaron.(b) | Pedro se queja. |
| Italian | Pietro si pentì. | (d) | Maria e Pietro si separarono.(b) | Pietro si lamenta.(c) |
| Romanian | Petru se pocăi. | Petru se râde. | Maria şi Petru se despărţiră. | Petru se plânge. |
| Serbo-Croatian | Petar se pokajao. | Petar se smije. | Marija i Petar su se rastali. | Petar se žali.(c) |
| Polish | (d) | Piotr śmieje się. | Maria i Piotr rozstali się. | Piotr żali się.(c) |
| Russian | Пётр раскаялся. Pyotr raskayalsya. |
Пётр cмеётся. Pyotr smeyotsya. |
Мария и Пётр расстались. Mariya i Pyotr rasstalis. |
Пётр жалуeтся.(c) Pyotr zhaluyetsya. |
| English | Peter repented. | Peter laughs. | Mary and Peter parted. | Peter complains. |
| Lithuanian | Petras atsiprašė. | Petras juokiasi. | Marija ir Petras išsiskyrė.(b) | Petras skundžiasi.(b) |
| Macedonian | Петар се покаја. Petar se pokaja. |
Петар се смее. Petar se smee. |
Марија и Петар се разделија. Marija i Petar se razdelija. |
Петар се жали. Petar se žali. |
- (d) The corresponding verb is not reflexive.
See also
- Deponent verbDeponent verbIn linguistics, a deponent verb is a verb that is active in meaning but takes its form from a different voice, most commonly the middle or passive. A deponent verb doesn't have active forms; it can be said to have deposited them .-Greek:...
- Reciprocal (grammar)Reciprocal (grammar)A reciprocal is a linguistic structure that marks a particular kind of relationship between two noun phrases. In a reciprocal construction, each of the participants occupies both the role of agent and patient with respect to each other...
- Reciprocal pronounReciprocal pronounThe reciprocal pronouns in English are one another and each other. Together with the reflexive pronouns — myself, yourself, ourselves, yourselves, and others — they are classified as anaphors....
- Reflexive pronounReflexive pronounA reflexive pronoun is a pronoun that is preceded by the noun, adjective, adverb or pronoun to which it refers within the same clause. In generative grammar, a reflexive pronoun is an anaphor that must be bound by its antecedent...
- Passive voicePassive voicePassive voice is a grammatical voice common in many of the world's languages. Passive is used in a clause whose subject expresses the theme or patient of the main verb. That is, the subject undergoes an action or has its state changed. A sentence whose theme is marked as grammatical subject is...