The use of sich

I'm trying to understand more precisely the correct use of sich in a sentence. For example, if I want to say; Please don't laugh at the art, I could say, " Bitte lachen Sie nicht auf die Kunst." I could also say, " Bitte lachen Sie sich nicht auf die Kunst. " Are both forms correct? Is one way more preferable? Is one more commonly used than the other? Vielen dank. Stephen

Hi Stephen, thanks for the question, I'm sure there are many on the forum wondering the same thing. "sich" is similar to how you use "myself", for example: Er hat sich geschnitten - He cut himself. Ich habe mich geschnitten - I cut myself. Just like in English the word "sich" changes depending on who is using it or who you are addressing. myself - mich yourself - dich himself/herself - sich It is basically used for verbs that refer back to a person. If you said: "Er hat geschnitten" it would simply mean "he cut" only by adding the word "sich" you know what he actually cut...himself! In regards to your example you wouldn't use "sich" because the act of laughing doesn't really refer back to you. Don't laugh at the art - Bitte lachen Sie nicht über die Kunst. However, there is one expression where you could use "sich" and that is when you use the expression "kaputt lachen". It means that you laugh so much it nearly kills you. That way you refer back to you as the laughing harms you. Bitte lachen Sie sich nicht über die Kunst kaputt. Does that make it a bit clearer? Let me know if you want more examples. :D

Hi I found the reply to be very clear and useful, thank you D A Horne (Don)