How French works
A pronominal or reflexive verb is a verb like se lever or se permettre which takes a pronoun which refers back to the verb’s subject .
A reflexive pronoun is one which refers back to the subject of a verb. Reflexive pronouns can be direct object or indirect object , and they come before the head verb or auxiliary : they are me, te, se, nous, vous, se.
As has been mentioned, object reflexive pronouns stand before the head verb in simple tense forms, or before the auxiliary in compound tense forms:
Tous les jours de la semaine je me lève à sept heures
Every weekday I get up at seven o’clock
Je me suis levé de bonne heure ce matin
I got up early this morning
The word order is the same for questions, both affirmative and negative :
T’es-tu / Vous êtes-vous levé de bonne heure ce matin? Ne t’es-tu pas / Ne vous êtes-vous pas levé de bonne heure ce matin ?
Did you / didn’t you get up early this morning?
In affirmative imperative sentences, the reflexive pronoun comes immediately after the head verb . Note that the object reflexive pronoun te is replaced with the disjunctive pronoun toi:
Je me lève → Lève-toi! Levez-vous!
In negative imperative sentences, however, the word order reverts to the regular word order:
Je ne me lève pas → Ne te lève pas!
When used in a compound tense , pronominal verbs always take the auxiliary verb être:
Je me suis levé de bonne heure ce matin
I got up early this morning
Ce jour-là je m’étais levé de bonne heure
That day I had got up early
Je me souviens de m’être levé de bonne heure ce jour-là
I remember having got up early that day
The past participle of pronominal verbs used in compound tenses often takes an agreement :
Elle s’est levée / Elle se souvient de s’être levée
She got up / She remembers getting up
Note, however, that the reason for the agreement is that the reflexive pronoun stands as a preceding direct object to the past participle , and not (as with non-pronominal être verbs such as venir) because the participle agrees with the subject (e.g. elle est venue). Consequently, where the reflexive pronoun is indirect there is no agreement:
Elle s'est lavé le visage avec le gant de toilette
She washed her face with the flannel
For more information on this point, see 12:5
Here pronominal verbs express an action carried out by the subject on or towards itself. This action can be direct, in which case the reflexive pronoun is the direct object of the verb:
Elle s'est lavée avec le gant de toilette
She washed herself with the flannel
Or this action can be indirect, in which case the reflexive pronoun is the indirect object of the verb:
Elle s'est lavé le visage avec le gant de toilette
She washed [“to herself”] her face with the flannel
Reflexive pronouns can be reinforced though the use of the disjunctive pronoun plus –même.
Il ne te critique pas, il se critique lui-même
He’s not criticizing you, he’s criticizing himself
Here pronominal verbs express an action carried out reciprocally by two (or more) parties. This action can be direct or indirect:
Ils se sont rencontrés à une soirée [direct]
They met each other at a party
Les amants se sont dit qu'ils ne se sépareraient jamais [indirect]
The lovers told each other that they would never separate
The expression l’un … l’autre is often used with pronominal verbs in the above context. For more information, see section 4 below.
Pronominal verbs are also used to express a meaning which is often (though not exclusively) rendered in English by the passive .
Ce fromage se vend à 50 francs le kilo
This cheese is sold / sells at 50 francs per kilo
Ce vin se boit frais
This wine is drunk cold
C’est un roman qui se lit facilement
It’s a novel which is easy to read / which reads easily
Dans le mot condamner, le m ne se prononce pas
In the word condamner, the m is not pronounced
Sometimes pronominal form can give a verb a meaning which is not obvious from its non-pronominalized form. Here is a selection of such verbs:
Je doute qu’il ait été à la réunion
I doubt he was at the meeting
Je me doute bien qu’il doit être très déçu
I can well imagine he is very disappointed
Le gouvernement vient d’annoncer une réduction des taux d’intérêt
The government has just announced a cut in interest rates
Cette année s’annonce bonne pour les investisseurs
This year looks like being a good one for investors
Je suis passé te voir hier
I came to see you yesterday
Je me passerais bien de tous ces problèmes
I could do without all these problems
Nous avons inscrit notre fils à l’école du quartier
We have enrolled our son in the local school
Ces mesures s’inscrivent dans la stratégie globale du gouvernement contre le chômage
These measures are part of the gouvernment’s overall strategy against unemployment
S’il est impossible d’arriver à une solution, le gouvernement en imposera une
If it is impossible to achieve a solution, the government will impose one
Quand on est à Paris, une visite à la Tour Eiffel s’impose
When you’re in Paris, a visit to the Eiffel Tower is a must
Some pronominal verbs can express many or all these functions. In this case it is necessary to work out the meaning from the context:
Avec un magnétophone on peut s’entendre parler [reflexive]
With a tape recorder you can hear yourself speak
Ils pouvaient s’entendre à travers le mur [reciprocal]
They could hear each other through the wall
Cette expression s’entend beaucoup chez les jeunes [passive]
This expression is used a lot by young people
Je m’entends très bien avec mon frère [idiomatic]
I get on very well with my brother
Some verbs only exist in pronominal form. These include s’abstenir, s’agenouiller, s’écrouler, s’évanouir, se moquer, s’enfuir, se souvenir, s’emparer. Unlike the above verbs, they generally do not express a sense of reflexivity, reciprocity or passivity, and they are used either with an indirect object or as an intransitive verb .
Suite au récent krach boursier, certaines économies risquent de s’écrouler
As a result of the recent stock market crash, some economies might well collapse
As mentioned in 3.2 above, the expression l’un … l’autre can be used with pronominal verbs expressing reciprocity. Sometimes there is ambiguity with pronominal verbs between their reflexive and their reciprocal senses. For example, in the sentence Les deux filles se regardaient it is impossible to tell whether the subjects are looking at each other, or whether they are each looking at themselves in a mirror.
The expression l’un … l’autre is often used with pronominal verbs in their reciprocal sense as a way of removing this ambiguity, or alternatively to express reciprocity using a non-object preposition (i.e. other than à or de). In these instances the word-order is as follows:
English : to [verb] + one another
French : [verb] + l'un l'autre
Ils se regardaient l'un l'autre
They looked at one another
C'est en s'aidant l'un l'autre qu'ils ont réussi leurs examens
It was through helping each other that they passed their exams
English : to [verb] + [preposition] + one another =
French : [verb] + l'un + [preposition] + l'autre
Ils se sont promis l’un à l’autre qu'ils ne se sépareraient jamais
They promised each other that they would never separate
Il se moquaient l'un de l'autre
They were making fun of one another
Les deux enfants lisaient appuyés l'un contre l'autre
The two children were leaning against each other reading
Note that the construction l’un … l’autre varies in number and gender , according to who is carrying out the reciprocal action.
If the reciprocal action being carried out has two individual subjects, one or both of which are masculine, the construction will have a masculine form:
Pierre et son frère habitent loin l’un de l’autre Pierre et sa soeur habitent loin l’un de l’autre
Pierre and his brother / sister live far (away) from each other
If both individual subjects are feminine, the construction will have a feminine form:
Les deux soeurs habitent loin l’une de l’autre
The two sisters live far (away) from each other
If the reciprocal action is being carried out by plural subjects, the construction will have a plural form:
Tous nos fils / enfants habitent loin les uns des autres
All our sons / children live far (away) from each other
Toutes nos filles habitent loin les unes des autres
All our daughters live far (away) from each other