Tuesday, March 3, 2020
A Guide to French Reflexive Pronouns
A Guide to French Reflexive Pronouns Reflexive pronouns are a special kind of French pronoun which can only be used with pronominal verbs. These verbs need a reflexive pronoun in addition to a subject pronoun because the subject(s) performing the action of the verb are the same as the object(s) being acted upon. These are the French reflexive pronouns:   me / m        me, myself   te / t / toi   you, yourself   se / s          him(self), her(self), it(self), them(selves)   nous           us, ourselves   vous           you, yourself, yourselvesMe, te, and se change to m, t, and s, respectively, in front of a vowel or mute H. Te changes to toi in the imperative.Like object pronouns, reflexive pronouns are placed directly in front of the verb in nearly all tenses and moods:* Nous nous parlons. Were talking to each other.Ils ne shabillent pas. They arent getting dressed. *In the imperative, the reflexive pronoun is attached to the end of the verb with a hyphen. Là ¨ve-toi ! Get up!Aidons-nous. Lets help each other Reflexive pronouns always have to agree with their subjects, in all tenses and moods - including the infinitive and the present participle. Je me là ¨verai. I will get up.Nous nous sommes couchà ©s. We went to bed.Vas-tu te raser ? Are you going to shave?En me levant, jai vu... While getting up, I saw... Be careful not to mix up the third person singular reflexive pronoun se with the direct object le. Se - French Reflexive Pronoun Se, the third person singular and plural reflexive pronoun, is one of the most often misused French pronouns. It can only be used in two kinds of constructions:1. With a pronominal verb: Elle se lave. Shes washing up (shes washing herself).Ils se sont habillà ©s. They got dressed (they dressed themselves).Elles se parlent. Theyre talking to each other. 2. In a passive impersonal construction: Cela ne se dit pas. That isnt said.Lalcool ne se vend pas ici. Alcohol isnt sold here. French learners sometimes get confused about whether to use se or the direct object le. They are not interchangeable - compare the following: Elle se rase. - Shes shaving (herself). Se is the reflexive pronounElle le rase. - Shes shaving it (e.g., the cat). Le is the direct objectIl se lave. - Hes washing (himself). Se is the reflexive pronounIl le lave. - Hes washing it (e.g., the dog or the knife). Le is the direct objectSe lave-t-il le visage ? - Oui, il se le lave. - Is he washing his face? Yes, hes washing it. Se and le work together Note that se may be the direct or indirect object of a French sentence. Ils se voient. - They see each other. Se means each other and is a direct object.Il se lave le visage. - Hes washing his face. (Literally, Hes washing the face of himself) Se means of himself and is an indirect object. ( Visage is the direct object)
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