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Pronominal Verbs

Pronominal Verbs

• They are a type of verb that requires a pronoun between the subject and the conjugated verb.
• Infinitives of pronominal verbs always start with Se or S’ when a vowel or a silent h is followed after.
• Note: Pronouns Me, Te and Se contract to M’, T’ and S’ when a vowel or a silent h is followed after.
• There are three types of pronominal verbs that should be known:
  • Reflexive
    • The verb is acted upon itself.
  • Reciprocal
    • The verb is acted upon itself and someone else.
  • Idiomatic
    • The verb has a different meaning from its non-pronominal counterparts or does not have a non-pronominal counterpart. 
• Pronominal pronouns:

	Person	Subject	Pronoun
Singular	1st	Je	Me
2nd	Tu	Te
3rd	Il/Elle/On	Se
Plural	1st	Nous	Nous
2nd	Vous	Vous
3rd	Ils/Elles	Se

Common pronominal verbs as:
Reflexive	Reciprocal	Idiomatic
Se baigner – To bathe (oneself)	Se parler – To talk to each other	Se dépêcher – To hurry up
Se doucher – To shower (oneself)	Se donner – To give to each other	Se souvenir – To remember
Se brosser – To brush (oneself)	Se voir – To see each other	S’amuser – To have fun
S’habiller – To dress oneself	Se dire – To say to each other	Se demander – To wonder
Se lever – To raise oneself	Se disputer – To argue with each other	S’entendre – To get along
Se réveiller – To wake up	S’aimer – To love each other	S’ennuyer – To get bored
S’appeler – To call oneself	Se detester – To hate each other	Se débrouiller – To manage

The past

• To conjugate in the past using pronominal verbs, you must use the auxiliary verb être followed by the past participle of the main verb. 
• The pronominal pronouns still remain and are placed before the auxiliary verb.
• Note: Pronouns Me, Te and Se contract to M’, T’ and S’ when a vowel or a silent h is followed after.