Les verbes pronominaux (reflexive verbs)

Introduction
Reflexive verbs are called les verbes pronominaux in French. These are verbs that are used
with a reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nous, vous). The reflexive pronoun always agrees with
the subject of the sentence.

Par Exemple

Hier je me suis promené en ville. Soudain je me suis arrêté. Je ne reconnaissais pas la rue.
Oh non! Je m'étais perdu. Puis je me suis de nouveau souvenu du chemin.
Usage
Here are some common verbs that are reflexive in French:

Français English
se baigner bathe
s’écrier exclaim
s’en aller go away
s’enfuir flee
s’évanouir faint
se lever get up
se noyer drown
se réveiller wake up
s’appeler to be called/named
se doucher shower
s’écrouler collapse
s’endormir fall asleep
s’évader avoid
se fier à quelqu’un trust s.o.
se méfier de quelqu’un distrust s.o.
se promener take a walk
Construction
 We conjugate the verb and use the appropriate reflexive pronoun. The reflexive
pronoun comes between the main pronoun and the verb.

Example:
Je me suis promené en ville.

 If the verb begins with a vowel, we omit the e of me/te/se and join the reflexive
pronoun and the verb with an apostrophe.

Example:
Tu t’es promené en ville.

 In negations, ne comes before the reflexive pronoun and the second part of the
negation comes after the conjugated verb.

Example:
Je ne me suis pas promené en ville.
Reflexive Pronouns
Personal pronoun je Tu il/elle/on nous vous ils/elles
Reflexive pronoun me Te se nous vous se

Example for all forms in the present

Person Example
1st person singular je me lave
2nd person singular tu te laves
3rd person singular il se lave
1st person plural nous nous lavons
2nd person plural vous vous lavez
3rd person plural ils se lavent

Example in the 1st person singular for all tenses

Tense Example
Présent je me lave
Passé Composé je me suis lavé
Imparfait je me lavais
Plus-Que-Parfait je m’étais lavé
Futur Composé je vais me laver
Futur Simple je me laverai
Agreement of the participe passé
The reflexive verbs are always constructed using the auxiliary verb être.

The participe passé of reflexive verbs generally agrees with the subject.

Example:
Elle s’est lavée.

The subject (elle) and the direct object (s’= reflexive pronoun) are the same person, so the
participle agrees with the subject.

But the participe passé does not agree with the subject if the verb is followed by a direct
object which is different from the subject.

Example:
Elle s’est lavé les mains.

When using the verb se rendre compte, the participe passé does also not agree with the
subject. This is because compte acts as a direct object.

Example:
Elle s’est rendu compte de son erreur.

The participe passé does not agree with the subject of the follwing verbs: se téléphoner, se
parler, se mentir, se plaire (complaire/déplaire), se sourire, se rire, se nuire, se succéder, se
suffire, se ressembler, s’en vouloir. This is because the reflexive pronoun is an indirect object.
It is used in the sense of “each other” for these verbs.

Example:
Marie et Laurent se sont téléphoné. (téléphoner à)