The French perfect and pluperfect tensesReflexive verbs in the perfect tense
The perfect tense describes an action in the past that has finished. The pluperfect is used to talk about actions far back in the past such as events that have happened.
Use a reflexive verb to describe an action that you do to yourself, or that ‘reflects back’ to yourself. They must include a reflexive pronounA pronoun used with a reflexive verb, such as 'myself', 'yourself' and 'himself'., which changes depending on who is the subject of the verb. In the perfect tense, all reflexive verbs take the auxiliary verbAuxiliary verbs support the main verb you want to write in a past tense. verb être and the past participleWords that express a completed action. They usually end in '-ed' in English, eg watched, danced, visited. must agree with the subject of the verb.
Here is an example of a reflexive verb in the perfect tense:
se laver
to wash (yourself)
je me suis lavé(e)
I washed (myself)
tu t’es lavé(e)
you washed (yourself)
il/elle/on s’est lavé(e)(s)
he/she/one washed (himself/herself/oneself)
nous nous sommes lavé(e)s
we washed (ourselves)
vous vous êtes lavé(e)(s)
you washed (yourself)
ils/elles se sont lavé(e)s
they washed (themselves)
se laver
je me suis lavé(e)
to wash (yourself)
I washed (myself)
se laver
tu t’es lavé(e)
to wash (yourself)
you washed (yourself)
se laver
il/elle/on s’est lavé(e)(s)
to wash (yourself)
he/she/one washed (himself/herself/oneself)
se laver
nous nous sommes lavé(e)s
to wash (yourself)
we washed (ourselves)
se laver
vous vous êtes lavé(e)(s)
to wash (yourself)
you washed (yourself)
se laver
ils/elles se sont lavé(e)s
to wash (yourself)
they washed (themselves)
When using être as an auxiliary verb, the past participle agrees with the subject.
Elle est allée à la banque. - She went to the bank.
Ils sont allés à la banque. - They went to the bank.
When using avoir as an auxiliary verb, the past participle never agrees with the subject.
Elle a mangé une pomme. - She ate an apple.
Ils ont mangé une pomme. - They ate an apple.
Fill in the blanks in these sentences. Pay attention to the past participle endings.
Question
Je (masculine) ________ ________ ________ (coucher) très tard.
Je me suis couché très tard. - I went to bed very late.
After je, use me as the reflexive pronoun. Suis is the je form of être, and couché doesn’t need any extra letters as the subject is singular and masculine.
Question
Elle ________ ________ ________ (lever) à huit heures.
Elle s’est levée à huit heures. - She got up at 8:00.
After elle, use se as the reflexive pronoun. Est is the elle form of être, and levé needs an extra -e as the subject is a singular female.
Question
Ils ________ ________ ________ (relaxer) hier soir.
Ils se sont relaxés hier soir. - They relaxed yesterday evening.
After ils, use se as the reflexive pronoun. Sont is the ils form of être, and relaxé needs an extra -s as the subject is masculine plural.
