French Reflexive Verbs: List, Pronouns and Conjugation

A reflexive verb is one where the subject acts on itself. French marks it with a pronoun before the verb that changes with the subject: je me lève - I get up. The pronoun is part of the verb, so it never drops.

Reflexive verbs at a glance

The whole system on one screen: the pronoun that matches each subject, then se laver (to wash) in full. Only the pronoun is new; the verb conjugates as a normal -er verb.

The doubled nous nous is right: the first nous is the subject, the second the reflexive pronoun. Il and ils share se.

m', t', s' before a vowel

Before a vowel or a silent h, me, te and se lose their e, as le does in l'eau.

• Je m'appelle Paul. - My name is Paul.
• Tu t'appelles comment ? - What's your name?
• Il s'amuse bien. - He's having a good time.

Everyday reflexive verbs

These are reflexive in French where English uses no "myself" at all. Learn them with the se.

Se lever writes è wherever the ending is silent, like acheter: je me lève, but nous nous levons.

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1. 1elle se réveille
2. 2elle se lève
3. 3elle mange
4. 4elle téléphone
5. 5elle rentre

A morning in French: she wakes up and gets up with se, but eats, phones and comes home without it. Waking and getting up are things you do to yourself.

Reflexive or not: je lave, je me lave

Most of these verbs also work without se, acting on someone or something else. The pronoun is the only difference.

Drop the se and the sentence means something else, or nothing: je lève à six heures is not French.

Each other: nous nous parlons

In the plural, the same pronouns can mean each other. The context tells you which.

• Nous nous parlons tous les jours. - We talk to each other every day.
• Ils s'aiment. - They love each other.
• On se voit demain ? - Shall we see each other tomorrow?

Body parts take le, la, les

With a reflexive verb, a body part takes the article (le, la, les), not the possessive (mon, ma, mes). The se already says whose hands they are.

• Je me lave les mains. - I wash my hands.
• Elle se lave la tête. - She washes her hair.
• Il s'est cassé le bras. - He broke his arm.

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1. 1se laver la tête
2. 2se laver les mains
3. 3se casser le bras

Se laver la tête (to wash your hair), se laver les mains (to wash your hands), se casser le bras (to break your arm): le, la, les, not mon, ma, mes, because the se already says whose.

Je lave mes mains is grammatical, but it sounds wrong to French ears: say je me lave les mains.

Where the pronoun goes: always in front

The reflexive pronoun sits directly in front of the verb it belongs to. Whatever else joins the sentence, nothing comes between them.

Negation: ne before the pronoun

Ne goes in front of 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.

With an infinitive

After aller, vouloir or devoir, the pronoun goes before the infinitive and still matches the subject.

• Je vais me coucher. - I'm going to go to bed.
• Tu dois te lever tôt. - You must get up early.

In the passé composé: être

Reflexive verbs always take être, with the pronoun in front of it. The participle usually agrees with the subject, as with the être verbs.

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

The agreement drops when a direct object, such as a body part, follows: Elle s'est lavé les mains. - She washed her hands.

Commands: lève-toi, ne te lève pas

A positive command is the one place the pronoun moves after the verb, joined by a hyphen, and te becomes toi. A negative command puts it back in front. See the French imperative guide for the full pattern.

Common mistakes English speakers make

What to do next

1. Describe your morning aloud: je me réveille, je me lève, je me lave.
2. Say each one again with ne...pas, then in the past: je me suis levé.
3. Meet the pronouns that stand alone, moi, toi, lui, in French stressed pronouns.