This section introduces a group of reflexive verbs in Spanish that might seem counter-intuitive to English speakers. These are verbs that refer to certain emotional states or conditions. In many cases, as we’ll see, the English equivalent would be “to get…”, for instance: “to get bored.” To say this in Spanish, however, we wouldn’t translate the “get”; we’d use the reflexive. This illustrates an important point in language learning: many of the forms or idioms we take for granted in our first language do not translate directly into the target language. This is why it can be helpful to avoid the habit of connecting English words to Spanish words, and try instead to connect images or concepts to their Spanish expressions.

So rather than learning: “get bored = aburrirse”

consider:

  = aburrirse

You might surprise yourself with the results!