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 in the Present Tense
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 |
|
Reflexive Verbs in the Infinitive
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.
Reflexive Verbs in the Perfect Tense
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)
Other Tenses
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.
