The verb perder and its pronominal form perderse can have different meanings. Let's learn about the most common uses.
Perder algo
Perder algo means to lose something; for example, you can lose an item, you can lose weight, you can lose control...
This is a transitive verb with a direct object.
Perder [transport/opportunity]
Perder used with transport or opportunity means to miss. For example:
The same way as with to lose, perder here is a transitive verb with a direct object expressing what is missed.
Bear in mind that to express to miss someone, we do not use the verb perder, we use "echar de menos":
Te estoy echando mucho de menos.
I am missing you a lot.
Perderse
To express to get lost we use perder in its reflexive form: perderse
For example:
Bear in mind that you can also say "you are lost" with the verb estar and the adjective perdido/-a:
Perderse algo
To express to miss something with the specific meaning of missing out on something or missing part of something, because you were doing something else or being somewhere else, we use the verb perder in its reflexive form: perderse
-¿Visteis el espectáculo de ayer? -No, ¡qué pena! Nos lo perdimos...-Did you watch the show yesterday? -No, what a pity! We missed it...
Remember that when we use perderse, we need to be careful where to place the reflexive pronoun and any other pronoun that it may have. The order to place the pronouns is the following:
First the reflexive pronoun, then any other pronoun:
- ¡Te lo has perdido!
- ¡Lo te has perdido!
- ¡No quiero perdérmelo!
- ¡No quiero perdérlome!
- ¡No me lo quiero perder!
- ¡No lo me quiero perder!
See also Using the "accidental" reflexive (se) with an indirect object pronoun
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