| Before proceeding, if you’re not familiar with how to conjugate reflexive verbs, please click here. |
Almost all Russian verbs can be used reflexively, causing quite a conundrum for learners.
| reflexive | non-reflexive |
|---|---|
| Я продаю книги. I sell books. | Книги продаются тут. Books are sold here. |
Adding on to all that, reflexive verbs can change meaning if used reflexively.
| увольнять [to fire] | увольнятся [to quit] |
| Работников обычно увольняют без причины. Workers are usually fired without a reason. | Работники обычно увольняются без причины. Workers usually quit without a reason. |
| занимать [to occupy] | заниматься [to study] |
| Её сумка занимает слишком много места. Her purse is taking up too much room. | Чтобы выучить любой язык, нужно много заниматься. In order to learn any language, you have to study a lot. |
| целовать [to kiss] | целоваться [to kiss one another] |
| Муж целует жену в щёку. The husband kisses the wife on the cheek. | Муж и жена целуются. The husband and the wife kiss each other. |
| One key thing to note is that reflexive verbs cannot be used transitively, i.e., they cannot take an object – they cannot be used with the accusative case! |
To help mitigate these complexities, let’s observe some situations where you are highly likely to use a verb reflexively.
Reflexive verbs are used…
| in sentences without an object [accusative case not used] |
Observe the differences:
| Я бреюсь по утрам. I shave in the mornings. | Она бреет [что?] ноги по утрам. She shaves her legs in the mornings. |
| Магазин открывается ровно в 8 часов. The store opens at 8 o’clock sharp. | Он открывает [что?] магазин ровно в 8 часов. He opens the store at 8 o’clock sharp. |
In both comparisons, the second sentence contains an object, while the first has none.
Now some more examples utilizing reflexive verbs:
| Студенты занимаются в библиотеке. The students are studying in the library. |
| Я ложусь на диван. I lie down on the couch. |
| Эта девушка очень сильно красится. This girl puts on too much makeup. |
Я бреюсь [чем?] электрической бритвой.
I shave with an electric razor.
Моя жена бреет [что?] ноги.
My wife shaves her legs.
First contains no object, second contains one – ноги, hence the verb is non-reflexive.
В словарях русские глаголы даются всегда в инфинитиве.
In dictionaries, Russian verbs are given always in the infinitive.
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