German · Chapter 6 · Lesson 14 · Grammar primer
Reflexive verbs: sich freuen
An extra word for no reason, until you notice English hides the same pronoun inside verbs like enjoy oneself.
The short version
Mich by default, mir when something else is the object
A German reflexive pronoun is accusative unless the sentence already has a direct object, and then it moves to the dative. So you say Ich freue mich, but Ich kaufe mir ein Buch, because the book has taken the accusative slot. Only ich and du change form, so this is a two-word problem, not a whole new table.
Ich kaufe mir ein Buch.
German writes down the object English swallows
English says sit down, hurry up and remember with no pronoun in sight. German says sich setzen, sich beeilen and sich erinnern, and the pronoun is not optional: Ich erinnere on its own is an unfinished sentence. Learn each of these verbs with its pronoun attached, as one unit.
Ich erinnere mich an den Tag.
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