Les verbes pronominaux; Le passé composé des verbes pronominaux

Les verbes pronominaux réfléchis (daily routine) are the main set of verbs we are focusing on this chapter that have a reflexive pronoun with them. These verbs are used when a subject and an object are the same—that is, a person does something to themselves, such as “shave” or “take a bath.” These verbs are found in the dictionary with “se” and have the concept of “to oneself.”

Les verbes pronominaux subjectifs change meaning when they are used with the reflexive pronoun as opposed to when they are used alone. These verbs can also be found in the dictionary starting with “se.” It is important to note that the actual meaning of the verb changes when the pronoun accompanies it.

Les verbes pronominaux réciproques take a reflexive pronoun to indicate two or more subjects involved in doing an action to each other, such as “looking at each other” or “talking to each other.”

Because not all of the actions have to be reciprocal (love vs love each other), some of these verbs are found in the dictionary as stand-alone verbs. The reflexive pronoun is added to make the action reciprocal.