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Reflexive verbs - Zvratná slovesa

Basic information

A reflexive verb is one that is accompanied by a word commonly referred to as a reflexive particle, reflexive pronoun, or simply a reflexive, in its respective case:

NOM GEN DAT ACC VOC LOC INS
- sebe si
sobě		 se
sebe		 - sobě sebou

An old definition states:

"When the subject and object are identical, we use for the latter a so-called reflexive pronoun, formed by means of self e.g. I defend myself." 1

In Czech, however, the use of reflexives is broader.

Rules to follow:

  • The subject and object of the verb must refer to the same person or thing.
  • Reflexives are not used as the subject of a clause; that way there is no nominative case form.
  • A reflexive word is placed in the second position in a sentence.
    • In the dative and accusative cases, the emphasised or prepositional (i.e., non-second-position) forms are long: sobě, sebe.
  • The case is assigned by the verb. The two most common reflexive forms are si (DAT) and se (ACC).

  • In the 2nd singular person past tense form, the auxiliary verb becomes part of the reflexive:

    Kde jsi se narodil? → Kde ses narodil?

    Co jsi si koupil? → Co sis koupil?

Usage

Reflexivity

The verb refers back to (reflects) the agent of the sentence.

Compare:

Petr koupil knihu. (Petr bought a book.)
Petr si koupil knihu. (Petr bought a book for himself.)

Petr umyl auto. (Peter washed a car.)
Petr se umyl. (Petr washed himself.)

You can also combine dative and accusative objects:

Petr (DAT)si umyl (ACC)auto. (Peter washed a car for himself.)

Some verbs can be used both reflexively and non-reflexively, depending on context, while maintaining a similar base meaning.

A few examples:

česat - / si / se (to comb)
oblékat - / si / se (to put clothes on)
vařit - / si / se (to cook)

Note: Myself, yourself ...

Unlike English, the Czech reflexive is not sensitive to person or number and remains the same regardless of the subject:

Já si koupím knihu. (myself)
Ty si koupíš knihu. (yourself)
On si koupí knihu. (himself)
Ona si koupí knihu. (herself)
My si koupíme knihu. (ourselves)
Vy si koupíte knihu. (yourself)
Oni si koupí knihu. (themselves)

Reciprocity

When two or more subjects affect each other simultaneously through the same verb, we speak of reciprocity. This is similar to the English use of each other.

Věříme si.
We trust each other.

Známe se dlouho.
We've known each other a long time.

Passive voice

Reflexives can also be used to express a passive meaning, even though the verb itself is not in passive voice—typically when the agent is impersonal (it).

Compare the examples:

Normal Passive meaning Usual passive voice
(never as reflexive)
Postavil jsem dům.
I built a house.		 Dům se postavil rychle.
The house was built quickly.
lit. "The house built itself quickly."		 Dům byl postaven rychle.
The house was built quickly.
Připravím ten projekt zítra.
I will prepare that project tomorrow.		 Projekt se připraví zítra.
The project will be prepared tomorrow.		 Projekt bude připraven zítra.
The project will be prepared tomorrow.

This use can sound odd, as the grammar suggests that the subject performs the action on itself, though the intended meaning is clearly passive.

Have/Get something done

This construction is expressed in Czech using the reflexive verbs nechat or dát, followed by the infinitive of the main verb.

Nechal jsem si opravit auto. / Dal jsem si opravit auto.
I got my car repaired.

Nechala se ostříhat. / Dala se ostříhat.
She got her hair cut.

Reflexive tantum

Some verbs exist only in their reflexive form. These are called reflexive tantum verbs, although they do not always express reflexivity in the traditional sense.

Examples include:

  • odpočinout si (to relax)
  • všimnout si (to notice)
  • stěžovat si (to complain)
  • smát se (to laugh)
  • bát se (to be afraid)
  • ptát se (to ask (a question))
  • divit se (to wonder, to be surprised)
  • snažit se (to try)
  • narodit se (to be born)
  • napít se (to have a drink)
  • dívat se (to watch, to look)

Differences in meaning

Some verbs appear in both reflexive and non-reflexive forms, but the meaning differs.

Compare a few examples:

Non-reflexive Reflexive
mít
to have		 mít se
to be (well, badly) as in:
Mám se dobře. (I'm fine.)
hádat
to guess		 hádat se
to argue, fight
prát
to wash (clothes)		 prát se
to fight, to wrestle
stát
to stay, to be located		 stát se
to become, to happen
učit
to teach		 učit se
to learn

Imperfective - Perfective

Some aspectual pairs differ in whether they are reflexive:

Imperfective Perfective
odpočívat
to relax		 odpočinout si
to relax
ležet
to lie, be lying		 lehnout si
to lie down
sedět
to sit		 sednout si
to sit down
obědvat
to have lunch		 naobědvat se
to have lunch
stát
to stand		 postavit se
to stand up

"He himself" structure

Note that the English emphatic structure He himself did it. is not translated using a reflexive in Czech. Instead, the word sám (sám M, sama F, samo N, sami PL) is used.

Czech English
On sám to udělal. He himself did it.
Ona sama to udělala. She herself did it.
My sami jsme to udělali. We ourselves did it.

  1. Jespersen, Otto. 1933. Essentials of English grammar, p. 111. ↩