Lesson goal
In this lesson, you will learn reflexive verbs with the form seg and practice placing the reflexive pronoun in simple sentences. This will help you talk about everyday actions, condition, movement, and changes of position.
New vocabulary
å sette seg — to sit down
å legge seg — to go to bed, to lie down
å føle seg — to feel
å vaske seg — to wash oneself
å kle på seg — to get dressed
å skynde seg — to hurry
å gifte seg — to get married
å møte seg selv — to meet oneself
seg — oneself, to oneself
meg — myself, to myself
deg — yourself, to yourself
oss — ourselves, to ourselves
dere — yourselves, to yourselves
Useful phrases
Jeg legger meg tidlig. — I go to bed early.
Hun føler seg bedre nå. — She feels better now.
Vi skynder oss til toget. — We are hurrying to the train.
Han setter seg ved vinduet. — He sits down by the window.
Jeg vasker meg om morgenen. — I wash myself in the morning.
De kler på seg raskt. — They get dressed quickly.
Når legger du deg? — When do you go to bed?
Hun giftet seg i fjor. — She got married last year.
Grammar
Reflexive verbs show that the action is directed at the speaker or at the participant in the action. In dictionaries, such verbs are often given with the form seg: å legge seg, å føle seg, å skynde seg. In a sentence, seg changes according to person: jeg vasker meg, du vasker deg, han vasker seg, vi vasker oss, dere vasker dere, de vasker seg. Usually, the reflexive pronoun comes immediately after the conjugated verb: Hun føler seg trøtt. If another word comes at the beginning of the sentence, the verb still takes second position, and the reflexive pronoun follows it: Nå føler hun seg bedre, Om kvelden legger jeg meg tidlig. In combinations with a particle or preposition, the pronoun is placed after the verb, while the rest of the expression stays the same: Han kler på seg, Vi setter oss ved døren. Not every verb with a similar meaning is reflexive, so the form should be memorized together with the pronoun.
Examples
Jeg setter meg på stolen. — I sit down on the chair.
Hun legger seg klokka elleve. — She goes to bed at eleven o’clock.
Vi føler oss klare. — We feel ready.
Du vasker deg før frokost. — You wash yourself before breakfast.
De skynder seg til bussen. — They are hurrying to the bus.
Han kler på seg i gangen. — He gets dressed in the hallway.
Nå setter barna seg ved bordet. — Now the children sit down at the table.
Om sommeren føler jeg meg bedre. — In summer I feel better.
Etter dusjen legger hun seg på sofaen. — After the shower she lies down on the sofa.
Vi giftet oss i Oslo. — We got married in Oslo.
Dere skynder dere ikke i dag. — You are not hurrying today.
Han møtte seg selv i speilet. — He saw himself in the mirror.