I’ve been teaching English in classrooms in Latin America since 2009, and one issue that always amuses me is the question of reflexive verbs.
If I were to say to a Spanish speaker: “tengo que afeitar” (I have to shave), this would immediately cause some degree of confusion for the listener. If you are a Spanish speaker reading this, be honest and ask yourself if you would have some confusion if someone said this to you.
This would cause confusion about “who” I have to shave. Seriously? Who do you think I am going to shave? My neighbor’s cat!? If I were going to shave my neighbor’s cat, I would have said so!
Now, of course, this circumstance is possible, but highly unlikely. In English it is possible to express this by stating “I have to shave my neighbor’s cat”, but in the case of “I have to shave”, in English, no more information is required as the listener is perfectly free to assume the most likely scenario. In the case of a man speaking, anyone would naturally assume they meant that they have to shave their face. In the case of a woman, it would be assumed that she has to shave her legs. Additional detail can be freely and easily given if the scenario is other than the most likely.
For me, I can’t help it. I feel almost insulted when I’m looked at in a funny way if I were to say in Spanish “tengo que afeitar” without specifying the object “me” (myself). Me tengo que afeitar, or, Tengo que afeitarme. In Spanish it is required to give additional detail, whether you are describing the obvious, or not.
I have long since learned to be specific with reflexive verbs in Spanish, but my mind rebelled against it for a long time. I had a hard time, asking myself “Who do they think I’m going to shave!? Are they crazy!? Do they think I’m crazy!?”
How about you? Are there any aspects of English, or another second language you are learning that make you laugh, or seem silly? Let us know in the comments.
For me, I keep this as a reminder that different languages are truly different, and not just a collection of different words. They produce subtly different ways of thinking or seeing the world. It is always worth bearing this in mind when learning a second language, and also simply when dealing with people from different cultures than your own.
I hope you enjoyed this casual look at the world of reflexives in Spanish and English. See you in the next post.
