Reflexive and reciprocal pronouns

Kurz erklärt

French reflexive pronouns refer back to the subject: je me lave means that I wash myself. They are also part of many common pronominal verbs, such as se lever and s’appeler. With a plural subject, nous, vous, or se can express a reciprocal action: nous nous aidons can mean we help each other. The context usually makes the meaning clear.

Bildung

Subject + me/m’, te/t’, se/s’, nous, vous, or se/s’ + conjugated verb. Before an infinitive, the pronoun stays with the infinitive: Je vais me coucher.

Verwendung

• Use a reflexive pronoun when the action returns to the subject.
• Learn the pronoun as part of common pronominal verbs such as se réveiller and s’appeler.
• With plural subjects, use nous, vous, or se for actions people do to each other.
• In a negative sentence, ne comes before the pronoun and pas follows the conjugated verb.

Beispiele

• Je me lève à sept heures. — I get up at seven o’clock.
• Elle va se coucher tôt. — She is going to bed early.
• Nous nous téléphonons tous les soirs. — We call each other every evening.
• Vous ne vous connaissez pas ? — Don’t you know each other?

Typischer Fehler

❌ Je lave le matin.

✅ Je me lave le matin.

English can use wash without myself, but French normally uses the reflexive pronoun in se laver when the subject washes themself.

Merke

The reflexive pronoun must match the subject. With a plural subject, the same forms can mean each other.