Describe your morning in English: I wake up, I get up, I shower, I get dressed. In French, almost every one of those verbs is reflexive: the action is done by the subject to itself. Compare Je lave le chien (I wash the dog) with Je me lave (I wash myself, I wash up). The little word me — the reflexive pronoun — shows that the person doing the action is also receiving it. English sometimes says myself and often leaves it out (I get dressed really means I dress myself), but French always includes it. That is why the infinitive of these verbs is listed with se: se laver, se lever, s'habiller. Once you can conjugate them and tell the time, you can describe a whole day: Je me lève à sept heures (I get up at seven o'clock).
| Subject | se lever (to get up) | s'habiller (to get dressed) | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | je me lève | je m'habille | I get up / I get dressed |
| tu | tu te lèves | tu t'habilles | you get up / get dressed |
| il / elle / on | il se lève | elle s'habille | he / she gets up, gets dressed |
| nous | nous nous levons | nous nous habillons | we get up / get dressed |
| vous | vous vous levez | vous vous habillez | you get up / get dressed |
| ils / elles | ils se lèvent | elles s'habillent | they get up / get dressed |
Matching the pronoun to the subject
Each subject has its own reflexive pronoun: je → me, tu → te, il / elle / on → se, nous → nous, vous → vous, ils / elles → se. Before a vowel or a silent h, me, te and se elide to m', t', s': je m'habille, tu t'amuses, il s'appelle (his name is, literally he calls himself). Nous and vous never elide, and with these subjects you say the same word twice: nous nous levons. That looks strange, but the first nous is the subject and the second is the reflexive pronoun.
| Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| se réveiller | to wake up | Je me réveille à six heures. |
| se lever | to get up | Tu te lèves tard le samedi. |
| se doucher | to take a shower | Il se douche le matin. (also prendre une douche) |
| se laver (les mains) | to wash (one's hands) | Nous nous lavons les mains. |
| se brosser les dents | to brush one's teeth | Elle se brosse les dents. |
| s'habiller | to get dressed | Je m'habille vite. |
| se peigner | to comb one's hair | Il se peigne devant le miroir. |
| se dépêcher | to hurry | Je me dépêche pour attraper l'autobus. |
| s'amuser | to have fun | Vous vous amusez bien ? |
| se reposer | to rest | Mes parents se reposent le dimanche. |
| se coucher | to go to bed | Je me couche à dix heures. |
| s'endormir | to fall asleep | Je m'endors vite. (conjugated like dormir: il s'endort, ils s'endorment) |
Reflexive or not? Ask who receives the action
Many of these verbs also exist without se, when the action is done to someone or something else. Je me réveille (I wake up) but Je réveille mon frère (I wake my brother up). Je me lave (I wash myself) but Je lave la vaisselle (I wash the dishes). Without the pronoun, je lève means I lift or I raise (je lève la main, I raise my hand) — so Je lève à sept heures does not mean I get up at seven.
| Situation | Where the pronoun goes | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Negative | ne goes before the pronoun, pas after the verb | Je ne me lève pas tôt. | I don't get up early. |
| Question | pronoun stays right before the verb | Est-ce que tu te couches tard ? | Do you go to bed late? |
| Near future (aller + infinitive) | pronoun goes before the infinitive and matches the subject | Nous allons nous coucher. | We are going to go to bed. |
| Body parts | use le, la, les, not mon, ma, mes | Elle se brosse les dents. | She brushes her teeth. |
Telling time: Quelle heure est-il ?
| Time | French | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| 1:00 | Il est une heure. | heure is feminine, so une, and no s |
| 2:00 | Il est deux heures. | heures with s from 2 on |
| 3:05 | Il est trois heures cinq. | minutes simply follow the hour |
| 4:15 | Il est quatre heures et quart. | quarter past |
| 5:30 | Il est cinq heures et demie. | demie ends in e to agree with heure |
| 5:40 | Il est six heures moins vingt. | after the half hour, count back from the next hour |
| 6:45 | Il est sept heures moins le quart. | quarter to |
| 12:00 noon / midnight | Il est midi / minuit. | no heures |
The 24-hour clock
In French, in Canada and across the French-speaking world, schedules, timetables and official announcements use the 24-hour clock, written with h: 15 h 30 is read quinze heures trente (3:30 p.m.), and 20 h 45 is vingt heures quarante-cinq (8:45 p.m.). Subtract 12 to get the afternoon or evening hour. On the 24-hour clock, French only counts minutes forward — never et quart, et demie or moins: say dix-neuf heures quarante-cinq, not vingt heures moins le quart. Remember heure is feminine: 21 h is vingt et une heures.
| Number | French | Pattern |
|---|---|---|
| 21 / 31 / 41 / 51 | vingt et un, trente et un, quarante et un, cinquante et un | et un for the 1s (et une before heure) |
| 22–29 | vingt-deux, vingt-trois … vingt-neuf | a hyphen joins the tens and units |
| 45 / 59 | quarante-cinq, cinquante-neuf | the most common minute numbers |
| 60 / 70 / 71 | soixante, soixante-dix, soixante et onze | 70 is 60 + 10, 71 is 60 + 11 |
| 80 / 81 | quatre-vingts, quatre-vingt-un | 80 is 4 × 20; the s disappears when a number follows, and there is no et |
| 90 / 97 | quatre-vingt-dix, quatre-vingt-dix-sept | 90 is 4 × 20 + 10 |
In context: a blog post, Ma journée typique
En semaine, je me réveille à six heures et demie, mais je ne me lève pas tout de suite ! Je me lève à sept heures moins le quart. D'abord, je me douche, puis je m'habille et je me brosse les dents. Mon autobus passe à sept heures vingt, alors je me dépêche. Après l'école, je travaille au café de mon oncle de seize heures à dix-huit heures. Le soir, je me repose un peu et je m'amuse avec mes amis en ligne. Je me couche vers dix heures et demie, et je m'endors tout de suite. La fin de semaine, mes parents et moi, nous nous levons beaucoup plus tard ! — Karim, Ottawa
Translation: On weekdays, I wake up at six-thirty, but I don't get up right away! I get up at a quarter to seven. First I shower, then I get dressed and brush my teeth. My bus comes at seven-twenty, so I hurry. After school I work at my uncle's café from four o'clock to six o'clock. In the evening I rest a little and have fun with my friends online. I go to bed around ten-thirty, and I fall asleep right away. On the weekend, my parents and I get up much later! — Karim, Ottawa. Notice je ne me lève pas (ne before the pronoun), les dents (not mes dents), and the work hours given on the 24-hour clock (seize heures, dix-huit heures), the way a work schedule would show them.
Looking ahead: reflexive verbs in the past
In Unit 3 you will learn the passé composé. Reflexive verbs form it with être, and the past participle agrees with the subject: je me suis levé (a boy speaking), je me suis levée (a girl speaking), elle s'est couchée, nous nous sommes amusés. For now, just recognise the pattern: reflexive pronoun, then être, then the participle.