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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. |
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:
- Reflexive verbs – subject acts on itself
- Reciprocal verbs – subjects act on one another
- Idiomatic pronominal verbs – reflexive pronoun changes the meaning of the verb
- Essentially pronominal verbs – verb can only be used 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 |
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.
En español

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