The name “reflexive pronouns” is used as a sort of umbrella term for the pronouns that accompany verbs to form pronominal verbs. When we review the different types of pronominal verbs in the next section, you’ll see that not all pronominal verbs use reflexive pronouns for the same purpose of referring back to the subject. However, just remember that reflexive pronouns are used in all pronominal verbs!
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What are pronominal verbs and reflexive pronouns in French?
By: Agnés Finot Wed Jul 24 2024
Pronominal verbs and their reflexive pronouns are used to emphasize the subject of the sentence, often in order to showcase that the subject of the verb is doing the action to itself. A pronominal verb is made up of two parts: (1) the corresponding reflexive pronoun and (2) the verb form. Together, these two components make up the pronominal verb. Take a look at the infinitive form of the French pronominal verb meaning “to wash oneself”:
se laver
to wash oneself
In the infinitive form of a pronominal verb, the reflexive pronoun will always take the form se. However, if you wanted to conjugate se laver to say something like “I wash myself,” you would use a reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nous, and vous) that agrees with the subject of the pronominal verb:
Je me lave.
I wash myself.
Like direct and indirect object pronouns in French, reflexive pronouns indicate the receiver of an action. While using a reflexive pronoun often indicates that you are doing an action to yourself, using a direct or indirect object pronoun for the receiver of the action shows the action is done to someone or something else (not the subject):
Je me lave.
I wash myself.
Je le lave.
I’m washing him.
As you can see in the example above, sometimes verbs can have two forms: a pronominal form (se laver(to wash oneself)) and a non-pronominal form (laver(to wash)). Remember: for a verb to be considered pronominal, a reflexive pronoun must always be present— no matter what! In this post, we’ll focus on the pronominal forms of verbs, as well as the different types of pronominal verbs and their uses – because sometimes the reflexive pronoun’s purpose is less obvious than merely emphasizing the subject. Let’s get started.
Table of Contents
What are the forms of reflexive pronouns in French?
The French reflexive pronouns are me, te, se, nous, and vous. In English, reflexive pronouns are words like “myself,” “yourself,” “himself,” “herself,” “itself,” “ourselves,” “yourselves,” and “themselves.” Reflexive pronouns must always be used alongside verbs, called pronominal verbs: “I cut myself,” “they enjoyed themselves.”
Each subject pronoun in French has a corresponding reflexive pronoun, which can take a slightly different form in front of a vowel or in the imperative mood. Here are the French reflexive pronouns:
Subject pronoun | Reflexive pronoun | Reflexive pronoun in front of vowel or mute h | Pronoun in the imperative | English | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Affirmative constructions (use stressed pronouns) | Negative constructions | ||||
je | me | m' | - | - | myself |
tu | te | t' | toi | te | yourself |
il/elle/on | se | s' | - | - | himself / herself / oneself |
nous | nous | nous | nous | nous | ourselves |
vous | vous | vous | vous | vous | yourself / yourselves |
ils/elles | se | s' | - | - | themselves / each other |
Tip
Now let’s take a look at the types of verbs that use reflexive pronouns.
What are the types of pronominal verbs in French?
There are five types of French pronominal verbs: reflexive verbs, reciprocal verbs, idiomatic verbs, essentially pronominal verbs, and pronominal verbs used in the passive voice. All of these verbs use the reflexive pronouns we studied above.
In their infinitive form, pronominal verbs are preceded by the reflexive pronoun se. When the pronominal verb is conjugated in French, the reflexive pronoun se must change to agree with the subject pronoun. Let’s dive in!
When to use reflexive verbs?
You will use a reflexive pronominal verb when you perform the action to yourself. Many of these verbs describe a routine: se réveiller(to wake up), se lever(to get up), se laver(to wash), etc.
Often the verbs have something to do with an action regarding clothing, like s’habiller(to get dressed), with your state of mind, like se sentir bien(to feel good), or with your body, like se coucher(to go to bed).
Let’s see how to conjugate the verb se raser(to shave) in the present tense:
French | Natural Translation | Literal Translation |
|---|---|---|
se raser | to shave | to shave oneself |
je me rase | I shave | I shave myself |
tu te rases | you shave | you shave yourself |
il/elle/on se rase | he/she/it shaves | he/she/one shaves himself/herself/oneself |
nous nous rasons | we shave | we shave ourselves |
vous vous rasez | you shave | you shave yourself / yourselves |
ils/elles se rasent | they shave | they shave themselves |
Important
If you use a reflexive verb and you mention a body part in the same sentence, French is different from English because we use a definite article with the body part.
reflexive pronoundefinite article
J’ai marché sur un coquillage et je me suis coupé l'orteil !
I walked on a seashell 🐚 and I cut my toe!
Because je me suis coupé already shows that you cut yourself with the reflexive pronoun me, there is no need to clarify again that it is your toe (this would be unnecessary), so we use the definite article le.
Reflexive verbs also have a non-reflexive form. Sometimes they mean the same thing and sometimes not! Let’s look at two examples.
Same meaning: se réveiller(to wake (oneself) up) vs. réveiller(to wake (someone) up)
Elle s’est réveillée à 6h10 ce matin.
She woke up at 6:10 am. (reflexive)
Hélène a réveillé Mila à 7h30.
Helen woke Mila up at 7:30 am. (not reflexive)
If you say je réveille(I wake up) without the reflexive pronoun, it automatically means you are waking up someone else.
Different meaning: se lever(to get (oneself) up) vs. lever(to raise)
Il s’est levé en retard !
He got up late! (reflexive)
À l’école, on doit lever la main.
At school, we must raise our hand. (not reflexive)
Above, we can see that lever and se lever have different meanings with and without the reflexive pronoun. Head over to our list of common French reflexive verbs that have different meanings in their non-reflexive form.
Tip
🔎 If in doubt about meanings, why not check a dictionary?!
When to use reciprocal verbs?
Reciprocal verbs are pronominal verbs that are used when two persons or two groups of people are doing the action to each other. These are verbs like s’aimer(to love each other), se parler(to speak to each other), or se disputer(to argue with each other). Because the action is done between two people or groups, you will use reciprocal pronominal verbs with the plural subject pronouns on or nous(we), vous(you), and ils or elles(they) and the plural reflexive pronouns nous(ourselves), vous(yourselves), and se(themselves).
Les deux chefs d’Etats se sont parlé au téléphone pendant plus d’une heure.
The two heads of state spoke (to each other) on the phone for over an hour.
For more examples of reciprocal verbs, check out our list of common French reciprocal verbs.
When to use idiomatic verbs?
With idiomatic pronominal verbs, the action is not done to oneself. Instead, the reflexive pronoun has a different but very important role: it gives the verb a completely different meaning. For example:
douter = to doubt
se douter = to suspect
Other idiomatic verbs include se dépêcher(to hurry) or se passer(to happen), s’attendre à quelque chose(to expect something), or s’entendre(to get along with).
Je ne m’entends pas bien avec mes voisins.
I don’t get along with my neighbors.
Head over to our list of French pronominal verbs to find out what their non-pronominal form means and for more idiomatic pronominal verbs in French!
Essentially pronominal verbs
Essentially pronominal verbs are verbs that only exist with a reflexive pronoun, meaning that there is no non-pronominal form of the verb. Unlike idiomatic pronominal verbs, there is not a version of an essentially pronominal verb that exists without the reflexive pronoun. For example, with the verb se souvenir(to remember), ❌ souvenir on its own doesn’t exist!
Tu te souviens de la première fois où tu as conduit seul ?
Do you remember the first time you drove alone?
Have a look at our list of French verbs that always have a reflexive pronoun!
Pronominal verbs used in the passive voice
You can also use the reflexive pronoun se with a verb conjugated in the third person (singular or plural) as an alternative to using the passive voice in French. Note that only the reflexive pronoun se can possibly be used for this purpose (and not any other reflexive pronoun, such as me or te), because the verb can only be conjugated in the third person.
Do you remember how in the passive voice, it is the subjectNo definition set for subjectLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. which undergoes the action? To use the reflexive pronoun se as a passive voice alternative, place the reflexive before the verb conjugated in the third person, and after the subject undergoing the action:
Les glaces se vendent bien quand il fait chaud !
Ice cream sells well in hot weather!
We have now covered the various types of pronominal verbs you can encounter. Check out our list of 10 most common French pronominal verbs for each category, packed with examples! Or, practice using pronominal verbs and reflexive pronouns with our exercises!
Let's recap!
When using pronominal verbs and their contained reflexive pronouns, keep the following tips in mind:
The reflexive pronoun must always agree with your subject pronoun. Why not memorize the conjugation of s’appeler in the present tense with all subject pronouns to remember the list of reflexive pronouns?
je m’appelle
tu t’appelles
il/elle/on s’appelle
nous nous appelons
vous vous appelez
ils/elles s’appellent
The infinitive form of pronominal verbs always starts with se (this is the form you see in the dictionary). This must be a trigger for you to remember to adapt the reflexive pronoun according to the subject: se promener(to go for a walk) → je me suis promené(I went for a walk).
A reflexive verb means that the action is done to yourself.
A reciprocal verb means that two people (or two groups) are doing the action to each other.
An idiomatic verb has a different meaning than its non-pronominal form.
An essentially pronominal verb only exists with a reflexive pronoun.
Using the reflexive pronoun se with a verb in the third person singular or plural is an alternative to the passive voice.
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What are pronominal verbs and reflexive pronouns in French~Table of common French pronominal verbsWhat are pronominal verbs and reflexive pronouns in French~Activities
