A guide to French reflexive verbs

We use reflexive verbs when the subject of a sentence performs an action on itself - in other words, when the subject and object are the same.

Reflexive verbs require a reflexive pronoun, which must match the subject. Below is a list of reflexive pronouns:

Note that me, te and se become m’, t’ and s’ before a vowel or h. See the following examples:

Je m’inquiète pour toi. - I worry about you.

Tu t’habilles élégamment. - You dress elegantly.

Ils s’intéressent à la musique. - They are interested in music.

Reflexive pronouns must come before the reflexive verb, as in the following examples using the verb laver (to wash):

• je me lave (I wash/am washing myself)
• tu te laves (you wash/are washing yourself)
• il se lave (he washes/is washing himself)
• elle se lave (she washes/is washing herself)
• on se lave (one washes/is washing oneself)
• nous nous lavons (we wash/are washing ourselves)
• vous vous lavez (you wash/are washing yourselves)
• ils se lavent (they wash/are washing themselves)
• elles se lavent (they wash/are washing themselves)

Note that most reflexive verbs can also be used as non-reflexive verbs. For example:

Il se lave. - He washes himself.

Il lave la voiture. - He washes the car.

Finally, please note that reflexive verbs must always follow a reflexive pronoun. In English, we can sometimes use a verb reflexively without a pronoun, but this is not the case in French.

I wash. - Je me lave.

I wake up. - Je me réveille.

To see how these verbs conjugate, be sure to check out the verb lists on our website.

Note that reflexive verbs always conjugate with the auxiliary verb être, not avoir. The past participle usually agree in gender and number with the subject.

For example:

Les filles se sont promenées. - The girls went for a walk.

Even a verb which normally conjugates with avoir will conjugate with être when it is reflexive. For example:

Elle a réveillé le chat. - She woke up the cat.

Elle s’est réveillée. - She woke up.

More information on reflexive verbs, their conjugations and exceptions is provided in Lesson 22 of the Complete French Course.

To understand how we turn reflexive verbs negative, check out Lesson 28 of the Complete French Course.