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Reflexive pronouns (pronoms réfléchis) are a subcategory of personal pronouns. They take the forms me, te, se, nous, vous, se and are used with pronominal verbs. They always refer back to the subject of the sentence.
Reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nous, vous, se) refer back to the subject and are used with pronominal verbs: Je me lave (I wash myself), Ils se parlent (They talk to each other). In compound tenses, the past participle agrees with the reflexive pronoun when it is a direct object: Elle s'est lavée.
Je me réveille tous les jours à 7 heures.
pronominal verb se réveiller in the present tense
Assieds-toi !
pronominal verb s’asseoir in the imperative
| Subject | Reflexive Pronoun | Stressed Form |
|---|---|---|
| je | me (m') | moi |
| tu | te (t') | toi |
| il / elle / on | se (s') | soi |
| nous | nous | nous |
| vous | vous | vous |
| ils / elles | se (s') | soi |
Reflexive pronouns always match the subject of the sentence. Before vowels and mute h, me, te, and se become m’, t’, and s’.
Il s'habille vite. (He gets dressed quickly.)
Je me réveille à sept heures chaque matin.
I wake up at seven o'clock every morning.
Nous nous parlons tous les jours au téléphone.
We talk to each other every day on the phone.
Elle s'est levée à six heures ce matin.
She got up at six o'clock this morning.
Vous vous souvenez de ce film ?
Do you remember that movie?
Ils se sont rencontrés à Paris.
They met each other in Paris.
Dépêche-toi ! Le train part dans cinq minutes.
Hurry up! The train leaves in five minutes.
Je lave moi.
Je me lave.
The reflexive pronoun always goes BEFORE the verb in all tenses except the affirmative imperative. Never place it after — that's English word order, not French.
Elle se est lavée.
Elle s'est lavée.
Before a vowel or mute h, me, te, and se MUST contract to m’, t’, and s’. The full form is grammatically incorrect and sounds unnatural.
Ils se sont parlés.
Ils se sont parlé.
No past participle agreement when the reflexive pronoun is an INDIRECT object. Parler à quelqu'un → se parler. Since se is indirect here (they spoke TO each other), the past participle stays invariable.
🪞 The Mirror Rule
Think of reflexive pronouns as a mirror: the action bounces back to the subject. Je ME lave = I wash MYSELF. The pronoun always 'reflects' whoever is doing the action. If the subject changes (Je → Tu), the mirror changes too (me → te). Never use the stressed form moi — that's like holding the mirror in the wrong hand.
In both TEF and TCF Expression Écrite tasks, reflexive pronoun placement errors are among the most common grammar deductions. Examiners specifically test: (1) pronoun-before-verb placement in all non-imperative forms, (2) contraction to m'/t'/s' before vowels, and (3) past participle agreement — it agrees only when the reflexive pronoun is a direct object. The Elle s'est lavée / Elle s'est lavé les mains distinction is tested at B1 level and above.
Two friends getting ready for a party:
Tu t'es déjà habillée ? Moi, je me prépare encore.
Oui, je me suis dépêchée ! On se retrouve à 20h devant le resto ?
D'accord ! Je me maquille vite fait et j'arrive.
Practice French reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nous, vous) with 20 interactive questions on PrepMyFrench. Agreement rules for passé composé with instant scoring.
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