Reflexive verbs in French
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The pronominal verbs (French: les verbes pronominaux) are verbs that conjugate with a reflected pronoun of the same person as the subject.
These verbs can be recognized by the fact that they form the infinitive with "themselves" (in French "se"):
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Use | Examples | Translation |
---|---|---|
passive pronominal verbs | Cette leçon se comprend bien | The lesson is comprehensible |
reflexive pronominal verbs | Je ne me sens pas bien | I am not feeling good |
reciprocal pronominal verbs | Ils se disputent chaque fois | They always fight |
subjective or non-reflexive | Julien se moque de son frère | Julian is laughing at his brother |
Reflexive verbs must always be used with the corresponding object pronoun, which always refers to the subject and is therefore also called a reflexive pronoun.The reflexive pronouns are me, te, se, nous and vous and when the verb begins with a vowel me, te and se become me, t' and s'. In addition, the reflexive pronoun must always stand between pronoun and verb:
Pronom personnel | Présent | Passé composé | Imparfait | Plus-que-parfait | Futur simple |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
je | me lave | me suis lavé | me lavais | m'étais lavé | me laverai |
tu | te laves | t'es lavé | te lavais | t'étais lavé | te laveras |
il/elle/on | se lave | s'est lavé | se lavait | s'était lavé | se lavera |
nous | nous lavons | nous sommes lavés | nous lavions | nous étions lavé | nous laverons |
vous | vous lavez | vous êtes lavés | vous laviez | vous étiez lavé | vous laverez |
ils/elles | se lavent | se sont lavés | se lavaient | s'étaient lavé | se laveront |
Pronom Personnel | Présent | Passé composé | Imparfait | plus-que-parfait | futur simple |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
je | m'exclame | me suis exclamé(e) | m'exclamais | m'étais exclamé(e) | m'exclamerai |
tu | t'exclames | t'es exclamé(e) | t'exclamais | t'étais exclamé(e) | t'exclameras |
il/elle/on | s'exclame | s'est exclamé(e) | s'exclamait | s'était exclamé(e) | s'exclamera |
nous | nous exclamerons | nous sommes exclamé(e) | nous exclamions | nous étions exclamé(e)s | nous exclamerons |
vous | vous exclamez | vous êtes exclamé(e) | vous exclamiez | vous étiez exclamé(e)s | vous exclamerez |
ils/elles | s'exclament | se sont exclamé(e)s | s'exclamaient | s'étaient exclamé(e)s | s'exclameront |
In a negative sentence, one element of negation "ne" is placed before the pronoun and the other element of negation "pas" after the verb.
Some verbs have both a reflexive and non-reflexive forms as listed below:
Non-reflexive | Reflexive |
---|---|
appeler (to call someone) | s'appeler (to be called) |
baigner (to bathe someone) | se baigner (to bath oneself) |
lever (to raise) | se lever (to rise) |
arrêter (to arrest) | s'arrêter (to stop) |
attendre (to wait for) | s'attendre (to expect sth) |
coucher (to lay) | se coucher (to go to bed) |
éteindre (to turn off) | s'éteindre (to go out, to die) |
marier (to marry) | se marier (to get married) |
promener (to walk) | se promener (to go for a walk) |
rappeler (to call back) | se rappeler (to remember) |
réveiller (to wake someone up) | se réveiller (to wake up) |
tromper (to deceive) | se tromper (to be mistaken) |
tuer (to murder) | se tuer (to kill oneself) |
The following verbs occur only in the reflexive form:
To refer doing something to parts of the body, French uses a reflexive verb with the definite article, whereas English uses a possessive.
Examples | Translations |
---|---|
Olivier se lave les mains | Olivier washes his hands |
Nous nous lavons le visage | We wash our face |
Elle se brosse les cheveux | She brushes her hair |
Some verbs represent an idiomatic use of the reflexive pronoun, they do not reflect reflexive or reciprocal actions.
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