Pronominal Verbs

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Verbes pronominaux

The grammatical term "pronominal" means "relating to a pronoun." You already know that conjugated verbs always need a subject pronoun (except in the case of the imperative), but pronominal verbs need a reflexive pronoun as well.

Par exemple…

Ils se sont mariés.		They got married.
Je me lève.		I’m getting up.
Tu t’endors.		You’re falling asleep.

  English doesn’t have pronominal verbs per se. We can translate Je m’habille as "I’m dressing myself," but we’re far more likely to say "I’m getting dressed" – the fact that it’s myself is implicitly understood. This is not the case in French. If you’re dressing yourself, you need the reflexive pronoun, because without it, you’re automatically saying that you’re dressing someone else.

French students first learn about reflexive verbs, but those are only one of four types of pronominal verbs. Click on the lessons for more information and a list of common verbs:

1. Reflexive verbs – subject acts on itself
2. Reciprocal verbs – subjects act on one another
3. Idiomatic pronominal verbs – reflexive pronoun changes the meaning of the verb
4. Essentially pronominal verbs – verb can only be used pronominally

  Many French verbs can be used reflexively and reciprocally as well as non-pronominally.

Par exemple…

Nous nous voyons dans la glace.		We see ourselves in the mirror.
Nous nous voyons tous les jours.		We see each other every day.
Nous voyons beaucoup de films.		We see lots of movies.

Conjugating pronominal verbs

The infinitive of pronominal verbs is preceded by the impersonal reflexive pronoun se, which must change to agree with the subject of the verb. The verb itself is conjugated as usual according to whether it’s regular, irregular, or stem-changing.

se raser – to shave		se souvenir – to remember		se lever – to get up
je me rase		je me souviens		je me lève
tu te rases		tu te souviens		tu te lèves
il se rase		il se souvient		il se lève
nous nous rasons		nous nous souvenons		nous nous levons
vous vous rasez		vous vous souvenez		vous vous levez
ils se rasent		ils se souviennent		ils se lèvent

  The reflexive pronoun has to match the subject in all tenses and moods.

Par exemple…

Future	Je me lèverai.		I will get up.
Passé composé	Je me suis levé.		I got up.
Infinitive	Je vais me lever.		I’m going to get up.
Present participle	En me levant		While getting up

In addition, pronominal verbs usually require agreement in the compound conjugations.

 Rgardless of whether it’s specified in the dictionary, most transitive verbs, e.g., pincer (to pinch) and blesser (to wound), can be used pronominally. When used this way, these verbs follow the same conjugation rules as "official" pronominal verbs.

 Related lessons

• Reflexive pronouns
• Simple vs compound conjugations
• Introduction to French verbs
   

 En español

• Verbos pronominales
   

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