Genau
Topic test · A2

Reflexive verbs test

13questions
8minutes
60%pass mark
Start the test Read the topic first

One question at a time, the clock runs. Answers stay closed like a real exam: you see every correct answer with its explanation at the end. Score 60% to finish the topic.

Topic test

13 questions, easy to hard

Pick an option and press «Next». You can go back and change it. Anything left blank counts as wrong.

Ich freue auf das Wochenende.

I can’t wait for the weekend.

mich. There is no other object in the sentence (auf das Wochenende is a prepositional phrase), so it is Accusative. Also, auf looks ahead: the weekend has not arrived yet.

Ich putze die Zähne.

I’m brushing my teeth.

mir. die Zähne took the Accusative — you slid into the Dative. With a body part it almost always works this way.

Er interessiert für Fußball.

He’s interested in football.

sich. For third person singular, third person plural and Sie, the reflexive pronoun is sich in both cases.

Which one means “May I introduce myself?”

Darf ich mich vorstellen? mir vorstellen means “to imagine” — a very common mix-up in job interviews.

Wir kennen uns. What does this sentence say?

We know each other. In the plural the same pronoun can also express reciprocity. To make it explicit, add einander.

Ich wasche die Hände.

I’m washing my hands.

When the sentence has another object (die Hände), the reflexive pronoun is Dative: mir. With no object it stays Accusative: Ich wasche mich.

Erinnerst du an unseren Urlaub?

Do you remember our holiday?

sich erinnern an — the reflexive pronoun is Accusative (dich), and the thing remembered takes an + Accusative.

Ich ärgere mich den Lärm.

The noise is annoying me.

sich ärgern über = to be annoyed at something. The preposition is learned with the verb; auf belongs to looking forward (sich freuen auf).

Which one is correct?

sich beeilen = to hurry; it stays reflexive, even in the imperative: Beeil dich!

Ich kann seinen Namen nicht merken.

I can’t remember his name.

sich (Dat.) etwas merken = to remember something. Because there is an object (seinen Namen), the pronoun is Dative: mir.

In German you can say Ich wasche mich die Hände.

I’m washing my hands

False. When there is an object (the hands), the reflexive pronoun is Dative: Ich wasche mir die Hände.

Wir müssen beeilen.

We have to hurry

sich beeilen (to hurry) is always used with an Accusative reflexive pronoun.

Build the sentence: We love (each other).

Tap the pieces to build the sentence

Plural reflexive pronouns (uns, euch, sich) can also mean “each other”.
Quick rules

The rules in three lines

The full topic lives on its own page. This is only the core you need for the test.

  1. With an object, the pronoun slides into the Dative

    Ich wasche mich but Ich wasche mir die Hände — when the sentence has another object, the reflexive pronoun becomes Dative. The difference only shows in ich/du.

    Ich putze mir die Zähne.

  2. Learn verb + preposition together

    sich freuen auf (look forward to) · sich freuen über (be glad about) · sich interessieren für · sich ärgern über · sich erinnern an.

    Ich freue mich auf das Wochenende.

  3. Some verbs cannot live without the pronoun

    sich beeilen · sich erholen · sich verspäten — the pronoun cannot be dropped. Even when the English has no “-self”, German requires it.

    Beeil dich!

  4. In the plural it can read as “each other”

    Wir kennen uns can mean “we know ourselves” or “we know each other”; context decides. If you need clarity, use einander.

    Wir kennen uns seit Jahren.

Traps

Commonly mixed up

Where a direct translation breaks. The hard questions come from here.

  • Ich wasche mich die Hände.

    Ich wasche mir die Hände.

    With an object (die Hände) present, the reflexive pronoun is Dative.

  • Ich freue mich über das Wochenende. (I can’t wait for the weekend)

    Ich freue mich auf das Wochenende.

    auf means looking forward to something ahead; über means being glad about something that has happened.

  • Beeil du!

    Beeil dich!

    sich beeilen cannot stand without the pronoun — dich stays even in the imperative.

  • Er interessiert sich über Fußball.

    Er interessiert sich für Fußball.

    sich interessieren takes für.