Les verbes rflchis Telling what people do for

Les verbes réfléchis Telling what people do for themselves

Les normes: Communication 1. 2 Comparisons 4. 1 Les questions essentielles: n What do reflexive verbs show? n What makes a verb reflexive? n How are reflexive verbs conjugated? n

Reflexive verbs: n In French, when the subject (the doer) of the verb is also the direct object (the receiver of the action) the verb must be ‘reflexive’

Compare the sentences: n n Anne brosse le chien. Who is she brushing? n n Anne se brosse les cheveux. Who is she brushing?

What is the difference? n In this picture Anne is performing the action and the dog is receiving it. n n In this picture Anne is doing AND receiving the action. Because of this, the verb must be reflexive.

How to make a verb reflexive In the sentence: Anne se brosse les cheveux. the pronoun se refers to Anne and is called a ‘reflexive pronoun’. The use of a reflexive pronoun indicates that the action of the verb is reflected back to the subject n

n Each subject pronoun has its own corresponding pronoun.

Se laver: To wash (one’s self) n n Je me lave I wash (myself) Tu te laves You wash (yourself) Il (Paul) se lave He washes (himself) Elle (Anne) se lave She washes (herself) n n Nous nous lavons We wash (ourselves) Vous vous lavez You wash (yourself/selves) n Ils se lavent They wash (themselves) n Elles se lavent They wash (themselves)

S’habiller – to get (one’s self) dressed n n n Je m’habille Tu t’habilles Il (Paul) s’habille Elle (Anne) s’habille** ** Anne gets dressed, is getting dressed, does get dressed n n Nous nous habillons Vous vous habillez Ils s’habillent Elles s’habillent

Body parts! When a reflexive verb is followed by a body part, in French the definite determiners (le, la, l’, les) are used, not the possessive adjective (my, your, his etc. ) n I brush my hair n Je me brosse les cheveux n

In a negative sentence: n The ne is placed in front of the reflexive pronoun and the pas goes after the verb: Je me réveille mais je ne me lève pas tout de suite n Nous ne nous rasons pas tous les jours n

Some common reflexive verbs: n n n Se révéiller – to wake up Se lever – to get up Se coucher – to go to bed S’endormir – to go to sleep Se laver (les mains)– to wash (hands) Se brosser ( les dents) – to brush (teeth) Se raser - to shave Se peigner – to comb one’s hair Se maquiller – to put on make up S’habiller – to get dressed S’appeler – to be named (to call one’s self)

Conjuguez s’endormir! n n n Je m’endors Tu t’endors Il s’endort n n n Nous nous endormons Vous vous endormez Ils s’endorment