Existential thought of the day (do dia): Can any verb be used reflexively?
Before you answer, sim - think about verbs like
chover and, emprestar.
You can't rain much less rain yourself.
Can one lend oneself something?
Existential.
Pondering this while trying to get out of bed it occurs to me that it would be useful to see the standard almost-always reflexive verb LEVANTAR used in different conjugations (tenses).
SIM! That's something we can do. PODEMOS!
Remember, you use the reflexive version of a verb when that verb is acting on the subject. This rule sounds pretty scary to most people so here is another way to think of it: Whenever the sentence you are about to say implies a myself or herself, yourself etc. -- turn on the reflexive.
I got (myself) up. > Eu me levantei.
I will get (myself) up. > Eu vou me levantar.
I would get (myself) up. > Eu me levantaria.
I was going to get (myself up). > Eu ia me levantar.
If I were to get (myself) up... > Se eu me levantasse...
Can LEVANTAR be used non-reflexively? Vamos tentar.
Vamos levantar essa mesa e colocar no canto. = Let's lift up the table and place it in the corner.
Ela levantou os braços para dando um sinal. = She raised her arms giving us a signal.
Eu vou levantar as crianças logo. = I'm going to get the children up soon.
Fácil! Easier than it sounds.
Now watch below as we dissect a few sentences of LEVANTAR in action. In this example the reflexive pronouns me and se are not spoken -- this is very common in spoken Portuguese! BTW: Don't be afraid to speak aloud to your screen 😉
1 Response to levantar-se