Reflexive pronouns
Reflexive pronouns are used with These are verbs where the action is done to the same person who is doing it, eg I wash myself. which describe an action that someone does to themselves, such as se laver (to wash yourself).
The reflexive pronouns in French are as follows. Before a vowel or ‘h’, me becomes m’, and so on.
| je (I) | me/m’ (myself) |
| tu (you singular informal) | te/t’ (yourself) |
| il/elle/on (he/she/one) | se/s’ (himself/herself/oneself) |
| nous (we) | nous (ourselves) |
| vous (you plural or formal) | vous (yourself/yourselves) |
| ils/elles (they) | se/s’ (themselves) |
| je (I) |
| me/m’ (myself) |
| tu (you singular informal) |
| te/t’ (yourself) |
| il/elle/on (he/she/one) |
| se/s’ (himself/herself/oneself) |
| nous (we) |
| nous (ourselves) |
| vous (you plural or formal) |
| vous (yourself/yourselves) |
| ils/elles (they) |
| se/s’ (themselves) |
Examples
- Je me lave. – I wash myself / I get washed.
- Ils s’habillent. – They dress themselves / They get dressed
As with other Words that replace nouns, ie he, she, it, they., the reflexive pronoun comes between the The person or thing in the sentence that is doing the action. and A word used to describe an action or state of being. .
In the Used to talk about something you have done. It is formed with an auxiliary verb (avoir or être) and a past participle. , it comes before the Auxiliary verbs support the main verb you want to write in a past tense.être.
- Nous nous amuserons. – We will have fun.
- Tu t’es lavé(e). – You washed yourself.
If there are two verbs, such as in the Used to describe actions that are going to take place in the future. or after a modal verb (devoir, pouvoir, vouloir), the reflexive pronoun goes immediately before the The form of the verb that has not been conjugated and is usually translated with 'to' in English, for example 'to play'. .
- Il va se lever. – He’s going to get up.
- Je veux me coucher. – I want to go to bed.
Fill in the correct reflexive pronoun.
Question
Je __________ lève à sept heures.
Je me lève à sept heures. - I get up at 7:00.
Me is the correct reflexive pronoun for je (I).
Question
Elle va souvent __________ coucher à vingt-deux heures.
Elle va souvent se coucher à vingt-deux heures. - She’s going to go to bed at 22:00.
Se is the correct reflexive pronoun for elle (she).
Question
Nous __________ sommes ennuyés hier.
Nous nous sommes ennuyés hier. - We were bored yesterday.
Nous is the correct reflexive pronoun for nous (we.)
