In French grammar, verbs called pronominal verbs use an extra pronoun. The extra pronouns are reflexive, meaning they typically reflect the subject of the verb, like (to) oneself does to a verb in English. The verbs fall into three categories:
Reflexive verbs: Express an action done by the subject to itself, such as Je me regarde (I look at myself).
Reciprocal verbs: Indicate that two subjects are doing something to one another, as in Ils se parlent (They talk to each other).
Idiomatic pronominal verbs: The extra pronoun indicates neither to oneself nor to one another, like tu te souviens (you remember).
You can identify a pronominal verb by its infinitive; it always has the pronoun se right before the infinitive, like in se préparer (to get oneself ready). These verbs are otherwise conjugated as if they didn't have a reflexive pronoun. The only difference is that you also conjugate the added pronoun.
Here's how to match the reflexive pronouns to the subjects.
| Subject | Reflexive Pronoun | English Translation |
|---|---|---|
| je | me (m' before a vowel or a mute -h) | myself |
| tu | te (t' before a vowel or a mute -h) | yourself |
| il/elle/on | se (s' before a vowel or a mute -h) | himself/herself/oneself |
| nous | nous | ourselves |
| vous | vous | yourselves |
| ils/elles | se (s' before a vowel or a mute -h) | themselves |
To form the present tense of a pronominal verb, conjugate the verb in the present tense to match your subject; then change the reflexive pronoun to match the subject and place it immediately before the verb. Here's a present tense conjugation of se laver (to wash oneself) as an example:
je me lave (I wash)
tu te laves (you [singular informal] wash)
il/elle/on se lave (he/she/one washes)
nous nous lavons (we wash)
vous vous lavez (you [plural and singular formal] wash)
ils/elles se lavent (they [masculine and feminine] wash)
If a sentence has two verbs (one conjugated, the other in the infinitive), as in I want to wash myself or I'm going to wash myself, place the correct form of the reflexive pronoun before the infinitive like so: Je vais me laver.