French Passive Reflexive - Lawless French Grammar

Verbes pronominaux passifs


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Remember how much your grammar teachers hated the passive voice? French speakers hate it even more. Nonetheless, they recognize that passive constructions are sometimes needed to avoid specifying the subject of a verb’s action, and one of the ways to do this is with the passive reflexive.

Par exemple…

La fenêtre s’ouvre difficilement.		The window is difficult to open.
Les pommes se vendent ici.		Apples are sold here, We sell apples.
Ça se voit.		That’s obvious, We can see that.
Ça ne se fait pas.		That’s not done, People don’t do that.
La question ne se pose pas.		It’s a rhetorical question.

Characteristics of the passive reflexive

Uses a non-pronominal verb in a passive sense
Requires the reflexive pronoun se
Has a verb in the third person singular or plural
Is often equivalent to the English passive voice

Passive reflexive vs Passive voice

There is a slight difference in meaning between the French passive reflexive and passive voice.

La fenêtre s’ouvre difficilement sounds like either something happening right now or a general, ongoing fact. "The window is difficult to open" (I’m having a hard time right now) or "The window is (always) difficult to open."

In comparison, La fenêtre est ouverte difficilement indicates that someone had a hard time opening it: "The window was difficult to open."

You can’t use the passive reflexive with verbs that are already reflexive, like se réveiller. For those, if you want to avoid naming the subject, you have to convert the reflexive to passive.

Passive reflexive in other tenses

The passive reflexive can be used in any tense or mood.

Par exemple…

Cela s’est réparé facilement.		That was easily repaired.
Ce plat se mangeait lors de grands banquets.		That dish was eaten at big banquets.
Les portes s’ouvriront dans deux semaines.		The (store) doors will open in two weeks.
Les étudiants doivent se faire à manger.		Students have to make food for themselves.