Se comió toda la tarta y se fue a dormir.He ate the whole cake and went off to sleep.

You already know reflexive verbs, where the action turns back on the subject (me lavo, "I wash myself"). Many Spanish verbs also come with a reflexive pronoun when nobody is acting on themselves. The pronoun is part of the verb, and it changes its meaning or adds a nuance, such as leaving rather than going, or finishing something completely. These are pronominal verbs.

Quick shortcut: the pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) matches the subject, and it can change the verb in two ways: a different meaning (ir "go" → irse "leave"; llevar "carry" → llevarse "take away") or a sense of completeness or involvement (comer → comerse "eat up"; dormir → dormirse "fall asleep").

Meaning changes: four common pairs

Verb Pronominal verb
ir (go): Voy a casa. (I'm going home.) irse (leave, go away): Me voy a casa. (I'm off home.)
quedar (be left; arrange to meet; look or fit): Quedan dos entradas. (Two tickets are left.) Quedamos a las ocho. (We've agreed to meet at eight.) quedarse (stay, remain): Me quedo en casa. (I'm staying at home.)
llevar (carry, take, wear; for a length of time): Llevo una bolsa. (I'm carrying a bag.) Llevo dos años aquí. (I've been here for two years.) llevarse (take away; win; get along): Se llevó mi paraguas. (He took my umbrella.) Me llevo bien con ella. (I get along well with her.)
comer (eat): Como una manzana. (I eat an apple.) comerse (eat up, eat the whole of): Me comí toda la tarta. (I ate the whole cake.)

Irse focuses on the departure from where you are (Me voy, "I'm leaving"), while ir focuses on the destination (Voy al cine). Quedarse means "stay", and it combines with con to mean "keep" or "choose": Me quedo con el rojo. (I'll take the red one.)

Completeness and involvement

With verbs of eating, drinking, reading and learning, the pronoun usually adds the idea that the action goes all the way through, and often that the speaker is personally involved:

  • Se bebió toda la botella. (He drank the whole bottle.)
  • Me leí el libro en una noche. (I read the book in one night.)
  • Se aprendió el poema de memoria. (She learned the poem by heart.)
  • Nos comimos todas las uvas. (We ate all the grapes.)

A direct object that is complete or specific usually goes with this use. A vague quantity usually stays with the plain verb (Comí fruta, "I ate some fruit").

More pairs to know

Plain verb Pronominal verb
dormir (sleep) dormirse (fall asleep): Me dormí en el sofá.
parecer (seem) parecerse a (resemble): Se parece a su madre.
poner (put) ponerse (put on; become): Me puse el abrigo.
negar (deny) negarse a (refuse to): Se negó a firmar.
morir (die) morirse (die; be dying of): Me muero de hambre.
volver (return) volverse (turn round; become): Se volvió para mirarme.

Verbs that always take the pronoun, with no plain version, are also common: quejarse de (complain about), atreverse a (dare to), arrepentirse de (regret). Verbs of change such as ponerse, volverse and hacerse are treated in their own article. Many pronominal verbs also need a particular preposition (acordarse de, fijarse en, parecerse a), which you simply learn together with the verb.

The pronoun agrees with the subject

As with reflexive verbs, the pronoun always matches the subject: me voy, te vas, se va, nos vamos, os vais, se van. In the infinitive, it attaches to the end (irse, quedarse) and moves with the verb when another verb is in front (Quiero irme or Me quiero ir, "I want to leave").

Common mistakes

  • ❌ Yo se quedo en casa. → ✅ Me quedo en casa. (the pronoun must match the subject.)
  • ❌ Ella se parece con su madre. → ✅ Ella se parece a su madre. (parecerse takes a.)
  • ❌ Me quedo el rojo. → ✅ Me quedo con el rojo. (quedarse meaning "keep" or "choose" takes con.)

Quick check

  1. Complete: Mañana ___ (nosotros, irse) a las seis.
  2. What is the difference between Voy a casa and Me voy a casa?
  3. Complete: Ayer ___ (yo, comer) toda la pizza.
  4. Why is Me acuerdo tu nombre wrong?
  5. What does Se llevó mi paraguas mean?
Show answers
  1. nos vamos: Mañana nos vamos a las seis.
  2. Voy a casa focuses on the destination, while Me voy a casa focuses on leaving the present place.
  3. me comí: Ayer me comí toda la pizza. (the pronoun adds the sense of eating all of it.)
  4. Acordarse takes de: Me acuerdo de tu nombre.
  5. He took my umbrella away with him.

Key takeaways

  • A pronominal verb takes a reflexive pronoun that matches the subject without the action being reflexive.
  • The pronoun can change the meaning (ir → irse, llevar → llevarse, quedar → quedarse) or add completeness (comer → comerse, dormir → dormirse).
  • Irse focuses on leaving, quedarse means staying (and quedarse con means keeping or choosing), and llevarse bien con means getting along with.
  • Some verbs exist only in pronominal form (quejarse, atreverse), and many need a particular preposition (acordarse de, parecerse a).
  • In the infinitive the pronoun attaches to the end (irse). In a conjugated verb it changes to match the subject (me voy).