Russian Reflexive Verbs

Real reflexive verbs are verbs whose subject and direct object are identical, that is, refer to the identical thing in the real world. In English we often ignore the difference. We use the same verb to say, The barber shaves my brother and My brother shaves, even though there is an understood direct object in the second sentence whose reference the same as that of the subject, my brother. Other verbs require a reflexive pronoun in English, e.g. He cut his brother versus He cut himself. You can't simply say, He cut in English in this case to mean "he cut himself" as we can say He shaved.

In Russian it is never possible to ignore reflexivity. Because Russian has such an strong case system, distinguishing subjects and objects is very important. However, as in all languages, repetition is frowned upon, so, Russian uses a suffix on the verb to indicate where a direct object is identical with the subject. That suffix is -ся. Here are some examples to illustrate the point.

Just as -ся imitates the sense of the reflexive pronoun себя on the reflexive reflexive verb, it can also imitate the meaning of the reciprocal pronouns друг друга. That is its function when it marks reciprocal reflexive verbs. Rather than indicate that the direct object and subject are the same, the reciprocal verb indicates that the subjects of the verb carry out its activity on each other. Notice that this implies that the subject of reciprocal reflexive verbs must refer to no more or fewer than two objects. Here are some examples of what I mean.

The reciprocal use of the reflexive verb is most often associated with the prefix пере-, as the following examples illustrate.

The passive voice is a verb form that allows what is semantically the direct object to become the subject. The subject, if it is included, is expressed in the instrumental case. Passive constructions are used when the topic of the conversation is the direct object of the sentence someone wishes to express. (The topic of a conversation usually starts the sentences that make them up.)

Russians use the passive voice far less than we do in English. The reason is that Russians prefer third person indefinite clauses like They make cars in Detroit, which are more indefinite since in Russian the indefinite they may be omitted: В Детроите делают машины. However, when they do use passive clauses, they must observe two different construction types: one for imperfective verbs and another for perfective ones.

If the verb is perfective, Russians must use the Past passive participle in a construction with some form of "be", just as we do in English: предложение было полно обсуждено "the proposal was fully discussed." However, if the verb is imperfective, passivity is indicated by the same reflexive suffix we have been examining on this page: предложение сейчас обсуждается "the proposal is being discussed now." Here are some more examples.

Remember, you can't say *Картошка собралась солдатами in Russian for the verb is in the perfective aspect. Only imperfective verbs may be used to form passives with the suffix -ся. To say The potatoes were gathered by the soldiers you must use the past passive participle: картошка была собрана солдатами.

The optative mood is one which suggests a desire or inclination to do something. In English we say I would like to V or I feel like V-ing in the same situations where the optative would be used in languages with this mood. Russian optatives are always impersonal constructions with the subject in the dative case followed by the 3rd person singular form of the verb. In English, we would say I'm sleepy, for example, meaning I feel like sleeping; Russians would say мне спится. Here are some more examples to consider. (Notice that this mood is usually used in the negative.)

The very most commonly used in this construction is хотеть "want". Мне (не) хочется "I don't feel like . . ." is a milder form of я (не) хочу "I don't want . . . " and is used as frequently as the stronger alternate.

Another way of expressing the optative in Russian is with the conditional: я бы поел кашу "I feel like eating kasha" or "I wouldn't mind eating some kasha".

Middle voice is a reflexive form which some transitive verbs require when no direct object is used. It is particularly associated with verbs expressing the unpleasant activities of animals.

Finally, there are a few verbs that simply have the suffix -ся for no partcular reason. They are simply memorized that way. Some are transitive; others are not. If a verb with the suffix -ся is transitive, however, its object will not take the accusative case but will require one of the other, oblique cases.