2. Reflexive Verbs
In this unit, we are discussing our
typical morning routines:
I wake up
I get up
I brush my hair
In French, you need to use a special kind of verb
to talk about your morning routine:
REFLEXIVE VERBS
3. Reflexive Verbs
Reflexive verbs in French are tricky, because they
require you to be very SPECIFIC.
For example:
In English, we can just say: I get up
But in French, we have to say: I get myself up
Another example:
In English, we can say: You wash off
But in French, we have to say: You wash yourself off
4. How to be specific
So if I need to be so specific with these reflexive
verbs in French, how do I do it?
You have to add a little word (called a pronoun)
in front of the verb.
Je me lève = I get myself up (me = myself, me)
Tu te lèves = You get yourself up (te = yourself, you)
By adding in the little words me & te in the
sentences above, you are being specific, and that is
exactly what you need to do in French!
5. Reflexive Verbs
Now, be careful, you can’t just tell yourself to add “me” in front
of every reflexive verb. You have to add a different pronoun
depending upon who is the subject in your sentence.
Je me lève = I get myself up (me = myself, me)
Tu te lèves = You get yourself up (te = yourself, you)
Il se lève = He gets himself up (se = himself)
Elle se lève = She gets herself up (se = herself)
Nous nous levons = We get ourselves up (nous = ourselves)
Vous vous levez = You all get yourselves up (vous = yourselves)
Ils se lèvent = They get themselves up (se = themselves)
Elles se lèvent = They (feminine) get themselves up (se = themselves)
6. Reflexive Verbs
Reminder: don’t forget what you learned in
French 1! Most reflexive verbs are –ER verbs, so
you have to make sure that you are conjugating
the verb as well with the correct ER verb ending!
Je me lève Nous nous levons
Tu te lèves Vous vous levez
Il se lève Ils se lèvent
Elle se lève Elles se lèvent
7. Ok, so how do I know?
How do you know which verbs
are reflexive in French?
Luckily for us, most of the verbs that are reflexive in
French have to do with your daily routine
(getting ready for the day, getting ready for bed).
A little bit of memorization and practice, and you
will have it in no time!
8. List of Common Reflexive Verbs
Je me réveille Je me rase
Je me lève Je me maquille
Je me brosse les dents Je me regarde
Je me lave/Je me baigne (dans le miroir)
Je me lave les cheveux Je me dépêche
Je me sèche/Je m’essuie Je me déshabille
Je m’habille Je me couche
Je me brosse les cheveux Je m’amuse
Je me peigne
9. Last Question…
What if I want to make the sentence negative to say
that I do not do something?
You still need our helpers: ne… pas
BUT you have to put them around the entire verb
(including our new pronoun friend)!
Je me regarde Je ne me regarde pas
Il se rase Il ne se rase pas
Nous nous couchons Nous ne nous couchons pas
