🪞

8.4. Les verbes pronominaux

Talking About Daily Routines Using Pronominal Verbs

8.4.1. The Main Idea

Pronominal verbs are verbs used with a reflexive pronoun. They often describe things people do to or for themselves.

se réveiller	to wake up
se lever	to get up
se laver	to wash oneself
se doucher	to shower
s’habiller	to get dressed
se coucher	to go to bed

In English, we usually do not say “I wake myself up” or “I dress myself,” but French uses this structure often.

8.4.2. Reflexive Pronouns

me / m’	myself
te / t’	yourself, informal
se / s’	himself / herself / itself
nous	ourselves
vous	yourself / yourselves, formal or plural
se / s’	themselves

Before a vowel sound, me, te, and se become m’, t’, and s’.

8.4.3. Se Réveiller

je me réveille	I wake up
tu te réveilles	you wake up
il se réveille	he wakes up
elle se réveille	she wakes up
nous nous réveillons	we wake up
vous vous réveillez	you wake up
ils se réveillent	they wake up
elles se réveillent	they wake up

8.4.4. Se Lever

je me lève	I get up
tu te lèves	you get up
il se lève	he gets up
elle se lève	she gets up
nous nous levons	we get up
vous vous levez	you get up
ils se lèvent	they get up
elles se lèvent	they get up

8.4.5. S’habiller

je m’habille	I get dressed
tu t’habilles	you get dressed
il s’habille	he gets dressed
elle s’habille	she gets dressed
nous nous habillons	we get dressed
vous vous habillez	you get dressed
ils s’habillent	they get dressed
elles s’habillent	they get dressed

8.4.6. Common Daily Routine Verbs

se réveiller	to wake up
se lever	to get up
se laver	to wash oneself
se doucher	to shower
s’habiller	to get dressed
se brosser les dents	to brush one’s teeth
se coiffer	to do one’s hair
se maquiller	to put on makeup
se raser	to shave
se reposer	to rest
se coucher	to go to bed

8.4.7. Daily Routine Examples

Le matin, je me réveille à sept heures.	In the morning, I wake up at seven.
Ensuite, je me lève.	Then, I get up.
Je me douche.	I shower.
Je me brosse les dents.	I brush my teeth.
Je m’habille.	I get dressed.
Je vais à l’université.	I go to university.
Le soir, je me repose.	In the evening, I rest.
Je me couche à onze heures.	I go to bed at eleven.

8.4.8. Questions About Daily Routine

Tu te réveilles à quelle heure ?	What time do you wake up?
Tu te lèves à quelle heure ?	What time do you get up?
Tu te couches à quelle heure ?	What time do you go to bed?
Tu te douches le matin ?	Do you shower in the morning?
Tu te reposes le soir ?	Do you rest in the evening?

8.4.9. Negative Sentences

Place ne… pas around the reflexive pronoun and the verb.

Je me lève tôt.	I get up early.
Je ne me lève pas tôt.	I do not get up early.
Tu te couches tard.	You go to bed late.
Tu ne te couches pas tard.	You do not go to bed late.
Elle se repose le soir.	She rests in the evening.
Elle ne se repose pas le soir.	She does not rest in the evening.

8.4.10. Core Patterns

subject + reflexive pronoun + verb	daily routine action
Je me réveille.	I wake up.
Je me lève.	I get up.
Je m’habille.	I get dressed.
Je me couche.	I go to bed.
ne + reflexive pronoun + verb + pas	negative form
Je ne me lève pas tôt.	I do not get up early.

8.4.11. Practice

I wake up at seven. |

I get up at seven thirty. |

I shower in the morning. |

I brush my teeth. |

I get dressed. |

I rest in the evening. |

I go to bed at eleven. |

What time do you wake up? |

I do not get up early. |

8.4.12. Answers

I wake up at seven.	Je me réveille à sept heures.
I get up at seven thirty.	Je me lève à sept heures trente.
I shower in the morning.	Je me douche le matin.
I brush my teeth.	Je me brosse les dents.
I get dressed.	Je m’habille.
I rest in the evening.	Je me repose le soir.
I go to bed at eleven.	Je me couche à onze heures.
What time do you wake up?	Tu te réveilles à quelle heure ?
I do not get up early.	Je ne me lève pas tôt.

8.4.13. Short Dialogue

A : Tu te réveilles à quelle heure ?	A: What time do you wake up?
B : Je me réveille à sept heures. Ensuite, je me lève et je me douche.	B: I wake up at seven. Then, I get up and shower.
A : Et le soir ?	A: And in the evening?
B : Le soir, je me repose et je me couche à onze heures.	B: In the evening, I rest and go to bed at eleven.

8.4.14. Checkpoint

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to use common pronominal verbs for daily routines, such as se réveiller, se lever, se doucher, s’habiller, se brosser les dents, se reposer, and se coucher, and place the reflexive pronoun before the verb.

8.4.15. Try It Out

Try saying this in French:

I wake up at seven.

I go to bed at eleven.

‣

Possible answer:

← Previous: 8.3. Les parties du corps

Next: 8.5. Les verbes pronominaux avec deux verbes →

Back to Module 8: Mon corps