I keep forgetting what this verb means. This post will help me remember it from now on.

Given context, I can usually get an idea of what something means but I want to make it a part of my permanent vocabulary. I’ve written the mean down several times during conversation classes but I’ve been too lazy to review it and commit it to memory.

Definition

Desarrollarse (reflexive): to develop. It can also be used to indicate:

• to take place (La junta se desarrollará en Madrid)
• to unfold (La historia se desarrolla en Mexico)

Desarrollar (non reflexive, transitive): to develop. Transitive means that it requires a direct object (whereas the reflexive usage above did not). Examples (direct object bolded):

• El tiene que desarrollar sus ideas más antes de escribir
• La ciudad está desarrollando el parque.

In English, if we were to say “He hit.” a logical reply would be “He hit what?” as the verb hit requires a direct object. “He hit the baseball” makes sense.

The tricky part for me in Spanish is that sometimes a verb is used one way when it’s reflexive and another way when it’s not reflexive (e.g. transitive). I’ll try to listen for these differences.

Spanishdict.com has many helpful examples that differentiate between how this verb is used.