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• Reflexive verbs describe an action that you do to yourself or that reflects back to you.

• Reflexive verbs require a reflexive pronoun, which changes depending on who is doing the action.

• The verb parts of regular reflexive verbs in French are conjugated in the same way as regular -er, -ir and -re verbs.

• The infinitives of reflexive verbs in French are always preceded by se or ��’.

• Higher Tier only - The plural reflexive pronouns are nous, vous and se.

• Higher Tier only - Reciprocal verbs are used when the action of the verb is exchanged between two or more subjects. They have a reflexive pronoun as well as a subject pronoun.

Reflexive verbs describe an action that you do to yourself or something that reflects back to you. They have to include a reflexive pronoun, which changes depending on who is doing the action.

Reflexive infinitives in French are easy to spot as they are preceded by the reflexive pronoun se, or ��’ if the next letter is a vowel or silent h.

For example:

Demander means ‘to ask’, while the reflexive verb se demander means ‘to ask oneself’ or ‘to wonder’.

Here is the conjugation of the reflexive verb se lever (to get up) with the reflexive pronouns for each person:

For example:

Je me ��è���� à sept heures. – I get up at 7 o’clock.

Elle se ��è���� très tôt. – She gets up very early.

Reflexive verbs are often used for daily routine activities. For example, se doucher (to shower oneself/have a shower) and se coucher (to go to bed) are also reflexive verbs.

When a reflexive verb starts with a vowel or a silent h, the reflexive pronoun before it is shortened.

Me becomes ��’, te becomes ��’ and se becomes ��’. The infinitive se also becomes ��’.

For example, ��’amuser means ‘to enjoy oneself’. This is how it is conjugated:

Another example of a verb where the reflexive pronoun is shortened is ��’entendre which means 'to get on (with)’.

For example:

Je ��’entends bien avec ma sœur. – I get on well with my sister.

Practise what you've learned about present tense reflexive verbs in French with this quiz.

The reflexive verb se blesser means ‘to hurt oneself’.

This is its full conjugation, including the reflexive pronouns for nous, vous, ils and elles:

Other useful reflexive verbs to learn are se comporter (to behave) and se souvenir (to remember).

For example:

Nous nous comportons bien au collège. – We behave well at school.

Elles se souviennent de l’adresse. – They remember the address.

Reciprocal verbs have a subject pronoun and a corresponding reflexive pronoun.

The reflexive pronoun shows that the action of this type of verb is exchanged between two or more subjects. In English, ‘each other’ is normally used as the equivalent expression.

Reciprocal verbs are used in the plural verb forms.

For example:

��DzԲԲ�î�ٰ��� means 'to know' (a person) or 'to be familiar with' (something).

Se connaître means 'to know each other'.

• Nous nous connaissons. – We know each other.

Comprendre means to understand.

Se comprendre means to understand each other.

• Ils se comprennent. – They understand each other.

Parler means to speak.

Se parler means to speak to each other.

• Vous vous parlez ? – Are you speaking to each other?

Practise what you've learned about present tense reflexive verbs in French with this Higher Tier quiz.

Now you’ve learned about present tense reflexive verbs in French, why not explore infinitives?