Займенникові (зворотні) дієслова

A pronominal (reflexive) verb comes with an extra pronoun that refers back to the subject: je me lève, literally "I raise myself" - I get up. English uses "myself" far less, so many daily-routine verbs that are plain in English are reflexive in French.

Me, te and se shorten to m', t', s' before a vowel. That is why the first thing you learn to say in French, Je m'appelle..., is a reflexive verb: "I call myself...". Note also the stem changes: je me lève with è, je m'appelle with ll, but nous nous levons, nous nous appelons.

Common reflexive verbs at A1

se lever - to get up, se réveiller - to wake up, se coucher - to go to bed, se laver - to wash, se doucher - to shower, s'habiller - to get dressed, se promener - to go for a walk, se reposer - to rest.

Le dimanche, on se lève tard et on se promène au bord de la Seine. - On Sundays we get up late and go for a walk along the Seine.

The pronoun must match the subject

English speakers forget the pronoun (*je lève à sept heures means "I lift at seven") or keep se for every person (*je se lève). The pronoun changes with the subject every time.

Negative and past

In the negative, ne comes before the pronoun and pas after the verb: Je ne me lève pas tôt. In the passé composé every reflexive verb takes être, and the participle usually agrees with the subject: Je me suis levé (a man), Je me suis levée (a woman), Ils se sont couchés tard.