1. Using the reflexive verbs you learned this week, record in French all the things you do before you go to school (you should have 10 things). (Wake up, take a shower, brush teeth, comb hair etc.)
2. Using "il y a" (covered on day two of this week), record yourself describing in French what is in the room you are in right now (if you are in your bedroom, describe what is in it. If you are in the kitchen, describe what is in it etc...) You should record at least five sentences. If you forgot some of the vocabulary to complete this task, refer back to lesson 101 "at home" from two weeks ago.
Answers
Answer:
The French reflexive verbs – also called reflexive or reciprocal verbs – in common words the French “se” verbs are very common in French, especially for verbs of toiletry: se laver (to wash), se coiffer (to do one’s hair), se maquiller (to apply one’s makeup), se raser (to shave)…
Yet, French reflexive verbs are usually confusing for students of French: what is this “nous nous”, “vous vous” about?
Let’s take a closer look.
Table of Contents
1 – What is a French Reflexive Verb ?
2 – French Reflexive Verb Conjugation
3 – French Reflexive Verbs List
French Reflexive Verbs Exercises
4 – Reflexive, Pronominal, Reciprocal = What’s the Difference?
5 – Nous Nous, Vous Vous ???
6 – Tips About French Pronominal Verbs
7 – How to memorize French reflexive verbs?
8 – Fun French Reflexive Verb Practice
9 – Final Notes About French Reflexive Verbs
1 – What Is A French Reflexive Verb ?
French reflexive verbs offer a twist on a “base verb”. So the first thing to do is to memorize the meaning of the “base verb”.
Let’s look at an example:
A – French Base Verb Example
Let’s take “raser” as our base verb – to shave another person (someone else, not yourself)
Autrefois, le barbier rasait la barbe de mon grand-père.
In the past, the barber shaved my grand-father’s beard.
French verb reflexive se
B – French Reflexive Verb Example
The corresponding reflexive verb is “se raser” – to shave yourself
Mon oncle se rase tous les matins.
My uncle shaves every morning.
The Pronoun “Se” Is Used Before The Verb To Show That My Uncle Doesn’t Shave Someone Else, Or Have Someone Shave Him: He Shaves Himself.
French Pronominal Verbs
2 – French Reflexive Verb Conjugation
Reflexive verbs have a special reflexive pronoun before the verb: “me, te, se, nous, vous, se” (in addition to the French subject pronoun “je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils, elles”).
The full conjugation of the pronominal verb in the present tense is:
Je me rase,
Tu te rases,
Il, elle, on se rase,
Nous nous rasons,
Vous vous rasez,
Ils, elles se rasent.
The reflexive pronouns glide a lot in spoken modern French with the subject pronoun and the verb, so you need to learn their modern glided pronunciation.