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Reflexive verb

In grammar, a reflexive verb is a verb whose subject and object are the same.

For example, the English verb to perjure is reflexive, since one can only perjure oneself. Most reflexive verbs in English are actually transitive verbs followed by a reflexive pronoun ending in -self (e.g., She threw herself to the floor.).

In other languages, reflexive verbs are typically marked in other ways;

  • in Romance languages, for example, reflexive verbs have the particle se (the general word for oneself). In Spanish, for example, the particle is put at the reflexive verbs (Example: lavarse, to wash oneself.), while in Romanian, the particle precedes the verb. (Example: a se spăla, to wash oneself).
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