Building Sentences: Reflexive & Imperative Verbs in French 🪞
Imagine you’re a mirror that can talk. When you say “I wash myself,” the mirror shows you doing things TO yourself. That’s what reflexive verbs are all about!
The Magic Mirror Analogy 🪞
Think of French sentences like looking in a mirror:
- Regular verbs: You throw a ball to your friend → Je lance la balle
- Reflexive verbs: You throw the ball back to yourself (in the mirror!) → Je me lance
The action bounces back to YOU, just like your reflection!
1. Reflexive Verb Formation
What Makes a Verb “Reflexive”?
A reflexive verb has a tiny helper word (called a reflexive pronoun) that shows the action comes back to the person doing it.
Regular: Je lave (I wash... something)
Reflexive: Je ME lave (I wash MYSELF)
The Reflexive Pronoun Family
| Person | Pronoun | Example |
|---|---|---|
| je | me | je me réveille (I wake myself up) |
| tu | te | tu te lèves (you get yourself up) |
| il/elle | se | elle se coiffe (she does her hair) |
| nous | nous | nous nous habillons (we dress ourselves) |
| vous | vous | vous vous lavez (you wash yourselves) |
| ils/elles | se | ils se couchent (they go to bed) |
The Pattern
Subject + Reflexive Pronoun + Verb
↓ ↓ ↓
Je + me + lave
Simple Example:
- Je me brosse les dents = I brush my teeth (literally: I brush myself the teeth)
2. Daily Routine Verbs 🌅
These verbs describe what you do every morning and night. They’re your best friends for talking about your day!
Morning Routine
| French | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| se réveiller | to wake up | Je me réveille à 7h |
| se lever | to get up | Tu te lèves vite! |
| se laver | to wash | Elle se lave le visage |
| se doucher | to shower | Nous nous douchons |
| se brosser | to brush | Je me brosse les cheveux |
| s’habiller | to get dressed | Vous vous habillez |
| se coiffer | to do one’s hair | Il se coiffe bien |
| se maquiller | to put on makeup | Elle se maquille |
Evening Routine
| French | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| se déshabiller | to undress | Je me déshabille |
| se coucher | to go to bed | Ils se couchent tĂ´t |
| s’endormir | to fall asleep | Tu t’endors vite |
Story Time! đź“–
Little Pierre’s morning:
Pierre se réveille à 7 heures. Il se lève lentement. Dans la salle de bain, il se lave le visage et se brosse les dents. Puis il s’habille et prend son petit-déjeuner!
3. Reciprocal Verbs đź’•
These are SUPER special! When TWO or more people do something TO EACH OTHER, we use the same reflexive pronouns.
The Difference
Reflexive: Elle se regarde (She looks at HERSELF)
Reciprocal: Ils se regardent (They look at EACH OTHER)
Common Reciprocal Verbs
| French | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| se parler | to talk to each other | Nous nous parlons |
| se regarder | to look at each other | Ils se regardent |
| s’embrasser | to kiss each other | Elles s’embrassent |
| se rencontrer | to meet each other | Vous vous rencontrez |
| se téléphoner | to call each other | Nous nous téléphonons |
| s’aimer | to love each other | Ils s’aiment |
Picture This! 🎬
graph TD A[Marie] -->|s'aiment| B[Paul] B -->|s'aiment| A
Marie et Paul s’aiment = Marie and Paul love EACH OTHER
4. Imperative Formation 📢
The imperative is for giving commands: “Do this!” “Eat that!” “Go there!”
Basic Rules
French uses 3 forms for commands:
- tu form → talking to ONE friend
- nous form → “let’s” do something
- vous form → polite or talking to many people
Making Commands
Take the present tense, remove the subject pronoun, and you’re done!
| Present | Command |
|---|---|
| Tu parles | Parle! (Speak!) |
| Nous mangeons | Mangeons! (Let’s eat!) |
| Vous allez | Allez! (Go!) |
The -ER Verb Twist! ⚠️
For -ER verbs in the tu form, drop the final -s:
Tu manges → Mange! (not "Manges!")
Tu regardes → Regarde! (not "Regardes!")
Tu parles → Parle!
Three Irregular Friends
| Verb | Tu | Nous | Vous |
|---|---|---|---|
| ĂŞtre | Sois! | Soyons! | Soyez! |
| avoir | Aie! | Ayons! | Ayez! |
| savoir | Sache! | Sachons! | Sachez! |
Examples:
- Sois gentil! = Be nice!
- Ayez patience! = Have patience!
- Sachons la vérité! = Let’s know the truth!
5. Negative Imperative đźš«
Want to tell someone NOT to do something? Wrap the verb in ne… pas!
The Pattern
NE + verb + PAS
Parle! → Ne parle pas!
Mangez! → Ne mangez pas!
Allons! → N'allons pas!
Examples in Real Life
| Positive | Negative |
|---|---|
| Mange! (Eat!) | Ne mange pas! (Don’t eat!) |
| Parlez! (Speak!) | Ne parlez pas! (Don’t speak!) |
| Allons! (Let’s go!) | N’allons pas! (Let’s not go!) |
| Écoute! (Listen!) | N’écoute pas! (Don’t listen!) |
Story Time! đźŽ
A teacher in class:
“Écoutez bien, les enfants! Ne parlez pas pendant l’examen! Soyez calmes et n’ayez pas peur!”
6. Imperative with Pronouns 🔄
This is where it gets fun! When you add pronouns to commands, the order changes!
Positive Commands: Pronoun AFTER
Regarde-moi! (Look at me!)
Donne-le-moi! (Give it to me!)
Parlez-lui! (Talk to him/her!)
The pronoun attaches with a hyphen (-).
Negative Commands: Pronoun BEFORE
Ne me regarde pas! (Don't look at me!)
Ne le lui donne pas! (Don't give it to him!)
Ne leur parlez pas! (Don't talk to them!)
Visual Guide
graph TD A[POSITIVE] --> B["Verb + hyphen + pronoun"] B --> C["Donne-moi!"] D[NEGATIVE] --> E["Ne + pronoun + verb + pas"] E --> F["Ne me donne pas!"]
Special: Me → Moi, Te → Toi
In positive commands, me becomes moi and te becomes toi:
Regarde-moi! (not "Regarde-me!")
Lève-toi! (not "Lève-te!")
But in negative commands, they stay me and te:
Ne me regarde pas!
Ne te lève pas!
7. Reflexive with Body Parts đź‘‹
Here’s a French secret: When talking about YOUR OWN body parts, use the (le/la/les) instead of “my”!
The Rule
English: I brush MY teeth
French: Je me brosse LES dents
↑
(THE, not my!)
Why? The Logic!
The me already shows it’s YOUR teeth. Saying “my” would be repetitive!
Common Examples
| English | French |
|---|---|
| I wash my hands | Je me lave les mains |
| She brushes her hair | Elle se brosse les cheveux |
| He breaks his arm | Il se casse le bras |
| They hurt their feet | Ils se font mal aux pieds |
Body Parts Vocabulary
| French | English |
|---|---|
| les mains | hands |
| les dents | teeth |
| les cheveux | hair |
| le visage | face |
| les pieds | feet |
| le bras | arm |
| les yeux | eyes |
Practice Sentences
- Je me lave les mains = I wash my hands
- Tu te brosses les cheveux = You brush your hair
- Elle se maquille les yeux = She puts makeup on her eyes
- Nous nous lavons le visage = We wash our faces
Quick Reference Summary đź“‹
Reflexive Formula
Subject + me/te/se/nous/vous/se + Verb
Imperative Formula
Positive: Verb! (drop tu/nous/vous)
Negative: Ne + verb + pas!
Pronouns in Commands
Positive: Verb-pronoun! (Regarde-moi!)
Negative: Ne pronoun verb pas! (Ne me regarde pas!)
Body Parts Rule
Use LE/LA/LES (not mon/ma/mes) with reflexive + body parts
You Did It! 🎉
Now you can:
- âś… Form reflexive verbs for daily routines
- ✅ Use reciprocal verbs for “each other” actions
- âś… Give commands in French
- âś… Make negative commands
- âś… Use pronouns with imperatives
- âś… Talk about body parts correctly
Remember the mirror: every reflexive verb is just an action bouncing back to you! 🪞