Changes of Meaning in the Reflexive Form

Learning how to use reflexive verbs — the form listed in the dictionary with an -se ending, such as irse and encontrarse — can be frustrating if you're looking for clear explanations as to why the reflexive form is used in every instance. Is there any immediately obvious reason why, for example, you may say "fue a la escuela" for "he went to the school" but "se fue a la guerra" for "he went to war"?

Despite the subtleties involved in using the reflexive form, there are some cases where there are clear differences. For example, dormir usually means "to sleep," while dormirse means "to fall asleep." Our new lesson on reflexive verbs lists some of the more common cases where the reflexive verb provides a (sometimes) clear change in meaning.