I can talk about my day: what time I get up, wash, get dressed, and go to bed, put me, te, se in the right place, and say it about “we” in two ways — nous and on.
Things you do to yourself: je me lève
Things you do to yourself: je me lève
To describe your morning and evening, you need reflexive verbs. “Je lave la voiture” — I wash the car; “Je me lave” — I wash (myself).
Forms: je me lève, tu te lèves, il se lève, nous nous levons, vous vous levez, elles se lèvent. Before a vowel or a silent h: je m'habille, tu t'habilles, elle s'habille. The pronoun goes before the verb, and each person has its own.
Negative: ne and pas go around the pronoun and the verb: “Tu ne te laves pas le matin”. Question: intonation or est-ce que: “Est-ce que tu te réveilles tôt ?”
on means “we” in everyday speech, but its verb takes the il and elle form: “On se couche tôt le lundi”.
In se lever and se promener, the unstressed e becomes è: je me lève, tu te promènes — the pattern you know from j'achète.
Frequency: toujours, souvent, parfois go after the verb; souvent and d'habitude can also go at the start or the end of the sentence.
English rarely says “myself”, but French needs se: se promener (to go for a walk), se réveiller (to wake up). Some verbs take no se at all: étudier (to study), commencer (to begin).
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Je lève à sept heures” — without me it means “I lift (something)”.
• NOT “Nous se levons” — nous has its own pronoun.
• NOT “Tu te couches pas tard” — in writing, ne is required.
• NOT “On se lavent le matin” — with on, the verb takes the il and elle form.
Reflexive verbs in the présent (present tense)
Before a vowel sound, including a silent h, the pronoun loses its vowel: me → m', te → t', se → s'.
| Subject | se lever | s'habiller |
|---|---|---|
| je | me lève | m'habille |
| tu | te lèves | t'habilles |
| il / elle / on | se lève | s'habille |
| nous | nous levons | nous habillons |
| vous | vous levez | vous habillez |
| ils / elles | se lèvent | s'habillent |
English “myself” and French se don't match
English rarely says “myself”; French needs se with some verbs and never uses it with others.
| In English | In French | What to remember |
|---|---|---|
| to study | étudier | no se in French |
| to begin, to start | commencer | no se in French |
| to go for a walk | se promener | se in French only |
| to wash (yourself) | se laver | se in French, no “myself” in English |
| to get dressed | s'habiller | se in French, no “myself” in English |
| to wake up | se réveiller | se in French, no “myself” in English |
How often, and where the word goes
Three adverbs go after the verb; d'habitude starts the sentence.
| Adverb | Where it goes | Example |
|---|---|---|
| toujours | after the verb | Théo se lave toujours le matin. |
| souvent | after the verb | Manon se promène souvent à Paris. |
| parfois | after the verb | Julie se couche parfois à minuit. |
| d'habitude | at the start of the sentence | D'habitude, Camille commence tôt. |
| ne … jamais | around the pronoun and the verb | Maxime ne se promène jamais le matin. |
Lesson notes
Things you do to yourself: je me lève
To describe your morning and evening, you need reflexive verbs. “Je lave la voiture” — I wash the car; “Je me lave” — I wash (myself).
Forms: je me lève, tu te lèves, il se lève, nous nous levons, vous vous levez, elles se lèvent. Before a vowel or a silent h: je m'habille, tu t'habilles, elle s'habille. The pronoun goes before the verb, and each person has its own.
Negative: ne and pas go around the pronoun and the verb: “Tu ne te laves pas le matin”. Question: intonation or est-ce que: “Est-ce que tu te réveilles tôt ?”
on means “we” in everyday speech, but its verb takes the il and elle form: “On se couche tôt le lundi”.
In se lever and se promener, the unstressed e becomes è: je me lève, tu te promènes — the pattern you know from j'achète.
Frequency: toujours, souvent, parfois go after the verb; souvent and d'habitude can also go at the start or the end of the sentence.
English rarely says “myself”, but French needs se: se promener (to go for a walk), se réveiller (to wake up). Some verbs take no se at all: étudier (to study), commencer (to begin).
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Je lève à sept heures” — without me it means “I lift (something)”.
• NOT “Nous se levons” — nous has its own pronoun.
• NOT “Tu te couches pas tard” — in writing, ne is required.
• NOT “On se lavent le matin” — with on, the verb takes the il and elle form.