Spanish verb Aprovechar vs Aprovecharse (pronominal verbs)

In Spanish, we can use the verb aprovechar with or without a reflexive pronoun. The meaning changes depending on how it is used.

Spanish verb aprovechar: to make the most of something/to make good use of something 

In the examples above, we use "aprovechar" with no reflexive pronoun. It is a transitive verb and as such you find a direct object right after it (e.g., un rato libre, este trozo de tela, la ocasión). Note that despite the presence of the preposition "of" in English, we do not use any preposition in Spanish in this context.

With the preposition, this is incorrect:

Sometimes we can use "aprovechar" with the same meaning as above but with no direct object. The words "la ocasión", "el momento" are implicit. For example:

Using "aprovechar" this way tends to have a positive or neutral nuance.

A direct object after "aprovechar" could also be expressed with a clause:

Spanish verb aprovecharse de: to take advantage of someone or something/to use someone

As a pronominal verb (using the reflexive pronouns) it has the same meaning but indicates taking advantage of people or something specific, in which case it has a negative connotation. 

In this case, we need the preposition "de" before the direct object.

Remember that if it is used with pronouns (of me, of you, of her...) you need: mí, ti, él, ella, usted, nosotros/as, vosotros/as, ellos/as, ustedes.