Lesson 20.1A2

Reflexive Pronouns: Accusative vs. Dative

When a reflexive verb also has a direct object — often a body part — German shifts the reflexive pronoun to the dative and drops the possessive, a construction English doesn't have at all.

Grammar Comparison

Dative reflexive when there's already a direct object

German

Ich wasche mich. (accusative — I wash myself) vs. Ich wasche mir die Hände. (dative — I wash my hands, literally 'I wash to-myself the hands')

English

I wash myself. vs. I wash my hands.

When a reflexive verb also has a direct object (like 'the hands'), the reflexive pronoun shifts to dative, and the body part takes a definite article instead of a possessive — German doesn't say 'I wash my hands' with a possessive, it says 'I wash to-myself the hands'. English never does this: it always uses a possessive ('my hands') and never has a second pronoun 'floating' as an indirect object of a self-care verb.

mir/dir replace mich/dich; sich stays the same

German

Ich putze mir die Zähne. Du putzt dir die Zähne. Er putzt sich die Zähne.

English

I brush my teeth. You brush your teeth. He brushes his teeth.

Only the first- and second-person reflexives change shape between accusative and dative (mich→mir, dich→dir; uns and euch stay the same in both cases); third person sich is identical in both cases, so context alone tells you which case it's playing.

Vocabulary

German	Pronunciation	English
sich die Hände waschen	zikh dee HEN-deh VAH-shen	to wash one's hands
sich die Zähne putzen	zikh dee TSAY-neh POOT-sen	to brush one's teeth
sich die Haare kämmen	zikh dee HAH-reh KEM-en	to comb one's hair
sich das Gesicht waschen	zikh dahs geh-ZIKHT VAH-shen	to wash one's face
mir	meer	to/for myself (dative reflexive)
dir	deer	to/for yourself (dative reflexive)
sich	zikh	to/for him-/her-/itself/themselves/yourself (formal) (dative reflexive)
sich die Schuhe anziehen	zikh dee SHOO-eh AHN-tsee-en	to put on one's shoes
sich wehtun	zikh VAY-toon	to hurt oneself

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