BASIC GRAMMAR
Learn one by one :
Subject pronouns Object pronouns Demonstrative pronouns Interrogative pronouns Possessive pronouns Reflexive pronouns Relative pronouns
French reflexive pronouns are very different from English ones. They always refer to the subject and are of the same person as the subject. This means that, the subject of the verb is also the object of the verb.
For instance, with the verb to wash, we'd say:
I wash the car.
In this case, the object undergoing the action is "the car".
But if you wash your own body, it's your body that will undergo the action, and your body is yourself. At this point, you have to use a pronoun that refers to the subject which is called : reflexive pronoun in French.
Let's consider the following table :
| Subject pronouns | Reflexive pronouns | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| je | me / m' | myself |
| tu | te / t' | yourself |
| il | se / s' | himself |
| elle | se / s' | herself |
| nous | nous | ourselves |
| vous | vous | yourselves |
| ils | se / s' | themselves |
| elles | se / s' | themselves |
In fact, French reflexive pronouns are the objects pronouns used to conjugate pronominal verbs such as :
se couper : to cut oneself
se laver : to wash oneself
se préparer : to prepare oneself
se rebeller : to rebel oneself
Example
je me coupe
: I am cutting myself.
tu te coupes
: you are cutting yourself.
il se coupe
: he is cutting himself.
elle se coupe
: she is cutting herself.
nous nous coupons
: we are cutting ourselves.
vous vous coupez
: you are cutting yourselves.
ils se coupent
: they are cutting themselves.
elles se coupent
: they are cutting themselves.
