Use of vestir

Question

Ellos se ________ con ropa de marca. They wear branded clothes.(HINT: Conjugate "vestir" in El Presente)
I understand that “vestir” needs to be used because it is a transitive verb requiring a direct object, but why is “se” used which I believe would indicate that it is a reflexive verb?

Silvia Piriz · Accepted Answer

Hola Kimberly W.
Thank you for your question, it's a great observation.
The verb "vestir" can be used both transitively (to dress someone else) and reflexively (to dress oneself).
In the sentence "Ellos se visten con ropa de marca" (They wear branded clothes), the reflexive form "se visten" is used because the subject (ellos) is performing the action on themselves — they are getting dressed. That’s why we use "vestirse", the reflexive version, instead of just "vestir".
When "vestir" is used without the reflexive pronoun, it usually means dressing someone else (for example: "Ella viste a su hijo" – She dresses her son). So in this case, “se” is correct because it reflects that they are putting the clothes on themselves.
Great job spotting this distinction!