French Reflexive Verbs

A reflexive verb is one where the subject acts on itself. French marks this with a pronoun (me, te, se in the singular) that goes before the verb. The pronoun is part of the verb - you can't drop it.

The singular pronouns

At Foundation tier, the focus is on the singular forms:

Before a vowel, all three elide: m', t', s'.

Conjugating a regular reflexive verb

Take any -er verb and pair it with the reflexive pronoun. The verb conjugates as normal; only the pronoun changes.

se laver (to wash oneself):

The plural (nous nous lavons, vous vous lavez, ils se lavent) follows the same pattern - covered on the intermediate grammar page.

Common reflexive verbs

A small set of verbs are reflexive in French where English uses no pronoun. Worth memorising as a block.

Note the elision: s'appeler, s'habiller, s'amuser all start with vowels, so the se becomes s'.

The reflexive in action

• Je m'appelle Marc. (My name is Marc.)
• Tu te lèves à quelle heure? (What time do you get up?)
• Elle se couche tôt. (She goes to bed early.)
• Il s'habille rapidement. (He gets dressed quickly.)
• Je me brosse les dents. (I brush my teeth.)
• Elle se sent fatiguée. (She feels tired.)

Reflexive vs non-reflexive

The same verb stem can be reflexive or non-reflexive, with a meaning shift.

• Je lave la voiture. (I wash the car.) - non-reflexive, the object is something else
• Je me lave. (I wash myself.) - reflexive, the object is the subject
• Elle réveille les enfants. (She wakes the children.) - non-reflexive
• Elle se réveille à sept heures. (She wakes up at seven.) - reflexive

The reflexive pronoun is the marker - drop it and the verb stops being reflexive.

Body parts: the article-not-possessive rule

Reflexive verbs are where French most reliably uses the definite article instead of a possessive for body parts.

• Je me lave les mains. (I wash my hands. Literally: I wash myself the hands.)
• Il se brosse les dents. (He brushes his teeth.)
• Elle s'est cassé le bras. (She broke her arm.)

Saying je lave mes mains is grammatical but sounds wrong. The reflexive does the possessing.

Position in negation

The reflexive pronoun stays glued to the verb. Ne goes before the pronoun, pas after the verb.

• Je ne me lève pas tôt. (I don't get up early.)
• Elle ne se sent pas bien. (She doesn't feel well.)
• Tu ne te brosses pas les dents? (You're not brushing your teeth?)

Compound tenses: a flag for the future

When you reach the passé composé (covered in chapter 8), reflexive verbs switch their auxiliary. Where most verbs take avoir, reflexives always take être:

• Je me suis levé à six heures. (I got up at six.)
• Elle s'est couchée tard. (She went to bed late.)

Plus an agreement rule on the past participle. The full pattern is on the passé composé page. For Foundation tier you just need to know the flag: reflexives use être in compound tenses, and the past participle agrees.

Worked examples

• Je m'appelle Sophie et j'habite à Lyon. (My name is Sophie and I live in Lyon.)
• Tu te lèves à quelle heure le matin? (What time do you get up in the morning?)
• Il se brosse les dents après chaque repas. (He brushes his teeth after every meal.)
• Elle ne se sent pas bien aujourd'hui. (She isn't feeling well today.)
• Je vais me coucher tôt ce soir. (I'm going to go to bed early tonight.)

Common mistakes English speakers make

Dropping the reflexive pronoun: je lève à six heures is wrong, it's je me lève à six heures. The pronoun is mandatory. Using a possessive for body parts: je me lave mes mains is wrong, it's je me lave les mains. And forgetting the elision: je se appelle is wrong, it's je m'appelle.

See also

• The French grammar cheatsheet covers the wider A1-B1 grammar map.
• The passé composé page covers the être-with-reflexives rule for compound tenses.
• The intermediate French grammar page covers plural reflexives and reciprocal meanings (nous nous parlons = we talk to each other).