French 4.3. Reflexive Pronouns & Verbs

A verb is considered reflexive if the subject and the object of the verb are the same. This means that the subject is doing the action to itself, not to something or someone else. For instance, “I wash myself” is reflexive, while “I wash my car” is not reflexive.

Some verbs in French are commonly used in the reflexive form. Let us take a look at one example that you may be familiar with. The verb “appeler” means “to call,” e.g., “Ma mère m’appelle tous les vendredis” (My mom calls me every Friday).

However, the reflexive form of the verb “s’appeler,” which literally means “to call oneself,” is used to express one’s name. For instance, “Je m’appelle Pierre” means “My name is Pierre,” which is literally “I call myself Pierre.”

A reflexive verb is formed by preceding the verb in the infinitive with “se” or “s’” before a vowel or mute “h,” often translated as “oneself.”

Conjugation

There are many verbs in French that have reflexive forms. We will discuss some examples; however, let us first learn how to conjugate reflexive verbs. Consider the verb “se laver” (to wash oneself) as an example.

As shown in the table, we add the object personal pronoun before the verb. Note that the subject and object personal pronouns are of the same gender and number because the subject and the object are essentially the same.

Examples

Remember that when the verb is used in reflexive form, the infinitive is preceded with “se,” e.g., “se laver.” Here are more examples of reflexive verbs.

Let us look at some sentence examples:

One can add the reflexive pronoun to verbs that are not usually reflexive to make them reflexive, for example:

Some verbs are used only in reflexive form, such as “se suicider” (to commit suicide).

Change of Meaning in Reflexive Form

Some verbs change their meaning when they are used in reflexive form, for example:

Auxiliary “Être” in Conjugation of Compound Tenses

Finally, keep in mind that all reflexive verbs use the auxiliary “être” when conjugated in the compound past, regardless of the auxiliary used by the non-reflexive form of the verb. For example:

Remember that when “être,” is used as an auxiliary, the past participle takes the treatment of an adjective and must agree in gender and number with the subject.

Next: Expressions Using “Avoir” & “Faire”

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