Reflexive
Verbs in French
Reflexive verbs are verbs which either:
1. reflect the action
back onto the subject
(e.g.
I wash myself: Je me lave), or
2. have the sense of
"each other"
(e.g.
They love each other: Ils s'aiment)
Reflexive verbs only differ from ordinary verbs in that they have an
additional Reflexive Pronoun. These are as follows, given here with the
verb se laver, to wash:
|
je me lave |
nous nous lavons |
|
tu te laves |
vous vous lavez |
|
il se lave |
ils se lavent |
|
elle se lave |
elles se lavent |
|
on se lave |
|
Another important difference is that when these verbs are used in the
infinitive, although the verb itself is infinitive, the reflexive pronoun must
still agree with its subject. e.g. Je dois me raser avant de sortir.
Nous voulons nous réveiller à 6h30 demain.
In the Perfect Tense, reflexive verbs take être
as their auxiliary verb, and consequently the past participle needs to
agree with the subject, as with other être verbs. Thus if the subject is feminine, we add an "e" to the
past participle, and if the subject is plural, we add an "s".
The following table shows the verb se réveiller in
all its forms in the perfect tense. Letters in brackets may be needed,
depending on the gender and the number of the subject.
|
Je me suis réveillé (e) |
Nous nous sommes réveillé(e)s |
|
Tu t'es réveillé (e) |
Vous vous êtes réveillé (e) (s) |
|
Il s'est réveillé |
Ils se sont réveillés |
|
Elle s'est réveillée |
Elles se sont réveillées |
|
On s'est réveillé |
|
BUT: If the reflexive verb has a direct
object, as in the examples below, the reflexive pronoun is the indirect
object and therefore the past participle does not need to agree: e.g. Marie s'est blessé
la jambe.
(la jambe is direct
object)
Mes frères se sont
lavé les mains. (les
mains is the direct object)
In other tenses reflexive verbs follow the same patterns as above
i.e.
As normal verbs in
simple tenses, but with a reflexive pronoun.
As être verbs in compound tenses, with a reflexive pronoun and
agreement of the past
participle.
