FlexiLingoIn one line
An extra pronoun goes in front of the verb and says the action comes back to the subject.
The table
| Subject | Pronoun | Example |
|---|---|---|
je /ʒə/ | me /mə/ m' /m/ | je me lave /ʒə mə lav/ |
tu /ty/ | te /tə/ t' /t/ | tu te laves /ty tə lav/ |
il /il/ elle /ɛl/ on /ɔ̃/ | se /sə/ s' /s/ | il se lave /il sə lav/ |
nous /nu/ | nous /nu/ | nous nous lavons /nu nu la.vɔ̃/ |
vous /vu/ | vous /vu/ | vous vous lavez /vu vu la.ve/ |
ils /il/ elles /ɛl/ | se /sə/ s' /s/ | ils se lavent /il sə lav/ |
The verb conjugates as usual. Only a pronoun is added in front.
And the same verb without the pronoun means something else
| With the pronoun | Without it |
|---|---|
Je me lave. /ʒə mə lav/ I wash | Je lave la voiture. /ʒə lav la vwa.tyʁ/ I wash the car |
Je me douche. /ʒə mə duʃ/ I shower | Je douche le chien. /ʒə duʃ lə ʃjɛ̃/ I give the dog a bath |
Il se regarde. /il sə ʁə.ɡaʁd/ He looks at himself | Il regarde la télé. /il ʁə.ɡaʁd la te.le/ He watches TV |
Take the pronoun away and you must supply some other object.
Three jobs this pronoun does
| Type | Meaning | Example | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| reflexive | to yourself | je me lave | /ʒə mə lav/ |
| reciprocal | to each other | ils se regardent they look at each other | /il sə ʁə.ɡaʁd/ |
| inherent | the verb does not exist without it | se souvenir to remember s'en aller to go away | /sə suv.niʁ/ · /sɑ̃.n‿a.le/ |
The common ones
| Verb | Meaning | Verb | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
s'appeler /sa.pə.le/ | to be called | se réveiller /sə ʁe.vɛ.je/ | to wake up | |
se laver /sə la.ve/ | to wash | se lever /sə lə.ve/ | to get up | |
se doucher /sə du.ʃe/ | to shower | se coucher /sə ku.ʃe/ | to go to bed | |
se raser /sə ʁa.ze/ | to shave | s'habiller /sa.bi.je/ | to get dressed | |
se brosser /sə bʁɔ.se/ | to brush | se dépêcher /sə de.pe.ʃe/ | to hurry | |
s'asseoir /sa.swaʁ/ | to sit down | se reposer /sə ʁə.po.ze/ | to rest | |
s'ennuyer /sɑ̃.nɥi.je/ | to be bored | se souvenir de /sə suv.niʁ də/ | to remember |
Exceptions
| Exception | What happens |
|---|---|
In the past, always être /ɛtʁ/ | je me suis lavé /ʒə mə sɥi la.ve/ — never avoir /a.vwaʁ/ |
| And the participle agrees with the subject | elle s'est lavée /ɛl sɛ la.ve/ ils se sont lavés /il sə sɔ̃ la.ve/ |
| But not if a direct object follows | elle s'est lavé les mains /ɛl sɛ la.ve le mɛ̃/ — no e /ə/ |
In the negative the pronoun stays inside ne … pas /nə pa/ | Je ne me lave pas. /ʒə nə mə lav pa/ |
In the positive imperative it moves after the verb, and te /tə/ becomes toi /twa/ | Lave-toi ! /lav.twa/ |
| In the negative imperative it moves back | Ne te lave pas ! /nə tə lav pa/ |
| With two verbs it goes before the infinitive and changes with the subject | Je veux me laver. /ʒə vø mə la.ve/ Tu veux te laver. /ty vø tə la.ve/ |
Examples
| English | French | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| My name is Marie | Je m'appelle Marie. | /ʒə ma.pɛl ma.ʁi/ |
| I wake up at seven | Je me réveille à sept heures. | /ʒə mə ʁe.vɛj a sɛ.tœʁ/ |
| I don't shower | Je ne me douche pas. | /ʒə nə mə duʃ pa/ |
| I want to rest | Je veux me reposer. | /ʒə vø mə ʁə.po.ze/ |
| We got up early | Nous nous sommes levés tôt. | /nu nu sɔm lə.ve to/ |
| Hurry up! | Dépêche-toi ! | /de.pɛʃ twa/ |
Common mistakes
| ❌ | ✅ | Why |
|---|---|---|
J'ai me lavé. | Je me suis lavé. | Reflexives always take être |
Je lave. (meaning "I shower") | Je me lave. | Without the pronoun you are washing something else |
Je ne lave pas me. | Je ne me lave pas. | The pronoun stays inside ne … pas |
Je veux te laver. (meaning "I want to shower") | Je veux me laver. | The pronoun changes with the subject; it is not fixed |
Lave-te ! | Lave-toi ! | In the positive imperative te becomes toi |
And English has this, but only half of it
English says "myself" — but hardly ever
English owns the same tool and has quietly retired it.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
Je me lave. | /ʒə mə lav/ | "I wash" — the "myself" is optional and usually dropped |
Je me réveille. | /ʒə mə ʁe.vɛj/ | "I wake up" — no pronoun at all; English uses a particle instead |
Je m'appelle Marie. | /ʒə ma.pɛl ma.ʁi/ | "My name is Marie" — a completely different structure |
Which produces one predictable mistake: leaving the pronoun out. English gets away with "I wash", "I shave", "I dress"; French does not. Je lave means you are washing something, and the listener will wait to hear what.
Where English still keeps the reflexive, it agrees just as French does — myself, yourself, himself, ourselves — so the idea needs no explaining. It is the frequency that has to change: what is a marked, emphatic form in English is the everyday form in French.
And a semantic hint that usually works: if the action is done to your own body or to your own state, it is probably reflexive. Waking, getting up, dressing, going to bed, resting.
The one you cannot get from meaning at all is s'appeler. Literally "I call myself Marie" — learn it as a phrase and move on.