Dedicarse

Dedicarse is a pronominal Spanish verb used to express devoting oneself to a person, activity, or profession. It conveys ongoing commitment and personal investment in a field or task. The most common construction is dedicarse a + [activity or noun], and it can describe professional careers as well as sustained personal interests.

Etymology and valence: the verb is derived from dedicar, which comes from Latin dedicare. The reflexive se marks that the subject performs the action on themselves, often indicating vocation or lifelong pursuit. It is widely used in Spain and Latin America.

Grammatical notes: as a reflexive verb, it conjugates like regular -ar verbs in many tenses: presente: me dedico, te dedicas, se dedica, nos dedicamos, os dedicáis, se dedican. It requires the preposition a to introduce the activity: se dedica a la medicina; se dedicó a escribir; se ha dedicado a la investigación. In contrast, the non-reflexive dedicar has a direct object, as in dedicar un libro a alguien (to dedicate a book to someone).

Examples:

Me dedico a la enseñanza.

Se dedicó a la investigación.

Se dedican a la música desde jóvenes.

See also: dedicar (transitive) and related verbs such as entregarse or consagrarse, which express similar ideas of commitment or focus in different contexts.