Chapter 5 Reflecting on Pronominal Verbs (Reflexive, Reciprocal, and Idiomatic) In This Chapter ᮣ Explaining reflexive verbs ᮣ Clarifying reciprocal verbs ᮣ Discussing idiomatic verbs T he pronominal verb is one of the trickiest concepts for native English-speakers to under- stand. You may be scratching your head, wondering how you can tell whether a verb is pronominal or not. Don’t worry. You can easily tell because the infinitive is preceded by the pronoun se (or s’ if the verb begins with a vowel or a mute h). For example, se laver (to wash oneself), s’amuser (to have fun), and s’habiller (to get dressed) are all pronominal verbs. This chapter focuses on the three types of pronominal verbs: reflexive, reciprocal, and idiomatic. They may seem tricky, but you do catch a few breaks: You conjugate pronominal verbs the same way you conjugate regular French verbs, and the pronominal pronouns (which each verb has) are the same whether the verb is reflexive, reciprocal, or idiomatic. If you want more information about reflexive verbs and giving commands, check out Chapter 8, and see Chapter 7 for information on using reflexive verbs when answering negatively. Understanding Reflexive Verbs Every pronominal verb has a pronominal pronoun in front of it. With reflexive verbs, this pronoun is often referred to as the reflexive pronoun. The addition of the reflexive pronoun doesn’t necessarily change the meaning of the verb, but it alerts you that the subject is doing the action on itself. Laver (to wash) and se laver (to wash oneself) are a great example. Je lave la voiture means I’m washing the car. The subject, je, is performing an action on something or someone else — in this case, la voiture. Add a reflexive pronoun and you get Je me lave, which means I wash/am washing myself. Now the subject is performing the action on itself. Before you can conjugate reflexive verbs, you need to know about their unique pronouns. Table 5-1 shows a list of subject pronouns and their corresponding reflexive pronouns. You use these pronouns when you want to imply that the subject is doing the action on itself. 09_773883 ch05.qxp 8/2/06 1:27 PM Page 61 Table 5-1 Subject Pronouns and the Corresponding Reflexive Pronouns Subject Pronouns Reflexive Pronouns je me tu te il/elle/on se nous nous vous vous ils/elles se I conjugate the verb laver first as nonreflexive and then as reflexive so that you can compare the two. Remember that laver is a regular -er verb. (You can check out Chapter 2 for more about present-tense regular verb conjugations.) laver ( to wash something or someone ) je lave nous lavons tu laves vous lavez il/elle/on lave ils/elles lavent Je lave le bébé. ( I am washing the baby. ) se laver ( to wash oneself ) je me lave nous nous lavons tu te laves vous vous lavez il/elle/on se lave ils/elles se lavent Elle se lave. ( She washes/is washing herself. ) With Je lave la voiture and Je lave le bébé, the subject is performing the action on something (the car) or someone (the baby) else. However, with Je me lave, the sub- ject is doing the action on itself. Thus, you use a reflexive verb. Drop the e from the pronouns me, te, and se and add an apostrophe before a verb that begins with a vowel or a mute h. The verb s’habiller (to dress) serves as an example. s’habiller ( to dress oneself/to get dressed ) je m’habille nous nous habillons tu t’habilles vous vous habillez il/elle/on s’habille ils/elles s’habillent Nous nous habillons. ( We get/are getting dressed. ) The following verbs in Table 5-2 can be reflexive or nonreflexive. When the subject is doing the action not on itself but on someone or something else, don’t use a reflexive pronoun. When the subject is doing the action on itself, use the reflexive pronoun. 62 Part I: Living in the Here and Now: The Present Indicative 09_773883 ch05.qxp 8/2/06 1:27 PM Page 62 Table 5-2 Common French Reflexive Verbs Verb Translation s’appeler to call oneself, to be named s’arrêter to stop oneself s’habiller to dress oneself, to get dressed se baigner to bathe oneself se brosser to brush oneself se coiffer to do/style one’s hair se coucher to go to bed, to put oneself to bed se couper to cut oneself se laver to wash oneself se lever to get up, to get oneself up se maquiller to put makeup on oneself se peigner to comb one’s hair (literally, to comb oneself ) se promener to take oneself for a walk, to stroll se raser to shave oneself se réveiller to wake oneself up When you use a part of the body with a reflexive verb, you need definite articles before the part of the body rather than the possessive adjectives that you use in English. A definite article means the in English and in French is le (masculine singu- lar), la (feminine singular), l’ (masculine or feminine singular beginning with a vowel or mute h), or les (masculine or feminine plural). For example, I wash my face in French is “Je me lave la figure.” It literally means I wash the face to myself. Now it’s your turn to take a stab. The following practice exercises can help you get a better grasp of reflexive verbs. In these exercises, determine whether the subject is doing the action on itself or on someone/something else. Choose the reflexive or non- reflexive verb and conjugate it in the sentence. I provide the translations in the Answer Key. Q. Elle _________________ (peigner/se peigner) les cheveux. A. Elle se peigne les cheveux. (She is combing her hair.) Q. Nous _________________ (brosser/se brosser) les dents. A. Nous nous brossons les dents. (We are brushing our teeth.) 1. Elle _________________ (maquiller/se maquiller) la poupée. 2. Je _________________ (réveiller/se réveiller) à six heures. 3. Tu _________________ (couper/se couper) ton bifteck. 4. Ils _________________ (laver /se laver). 5. Nous _________________ (brosser/se brosser) les cheveux. 63 Chapter 5: Reflecting on Pronominal Verbs (Reflexive, Reciprocal, and Idiomatic) 09_773883 ch05.qxp 8/2/06 1:27 PM Page 63 Looking At Reciprocal Verbs Reciprocal verbs are another type of pronominal verb and they reciprocate the action of the subject pronouns. The meaning is each other or to each other. Nous nous aimons (we love each other) and ils se parlent (they are speaking to each other) are two examples. Because the subject pronoun on can often refer to a plural subject pro- noun like we or even they, it can also be used in reciprocal constructions. Check out the following examples: On s’écrit tous les jours. (We write to each other every day.) On se voit souvent. (We see each other often.) Remember that even when on has a plural meaning, you always conjugate the verb in the third person singular. Table 5-3 lists the common reciprocal verbs. Table 5-3 Common French Reciprocal Verbs Verb Translation s’aimer to love each other s’écrire to write to each other s’embrasser to kiss each other se comprendre to understand each other se connaître to know each other se dire to say to each other se disputer to argue with each other se parler to speak to each other se promettre to promise each other se quitter to leave each other se regarder to look at each other se rencontrer to meet each other se retrouver to find each other se téléphoner to call each other se voir to see each other After you’ve had a chance to familiarize yourself with reciprocal verbs, take a moment to try the following practice exercises. In these exercises, conjugate the following verbs and then translate the sentences. Q. Nous _________________ (se rencontrer) souvent. A. Nous nous rencontrons souvent. (We meet each other often.) 64 Part I: Living in the Here and Now: The Present Indicative 09_773883 ch05.qxp 8/2/06 1:27 PM Page 64 6. Ils _________________ (se promettre). __________________________________________________________________________________ 7. Vous _________________ (se dire) au revoir. __________________________________________________________________________________ 8. Nous _________________ (se voir). __________________________________________________________________________________ 9. On _________________ (s’écrire). __________________________________________________________________________________ 10. Elles _________________ (se comprendre). __________________________________________________________________________________ Attempting Idiomatic Verbs The last type of pronominal verbs is idiomatic — those verbs whose meaning can’t be understood from the usual meaning of the verb. In other words, the same verb has one meaning when it is nonpronominal and a different meaning when it is pronominal. To help you understand the difference between the idiomatic and the usual meaning of a verb, check out the following example: Il ennuie sa soeur. (He is bothering his sister.) Il s’ennuie. (He is bored.) As you notice from the preceding example, when you use the verb ennuyer in its non- pronominal form, it means something completely different than in its pronominal form. This is the case for all idiomatic pronominal verbs. These verbs become idiomatic when you use them in their pronominal form because their meaning changes, some- times even drastically. You can’t translate idiomatic expressions word for word because separately they have a different meaning than when they’re idiomatic. If you already know that ennuyer means to bother, you may have difficulty translating il s’ennuie correctly. Why does it refer to boredom instead? That’s just the nature of idiomatic verbs or expressions in any language. Imagine trying to tell a nonnative English-speaker that she’s the “apple of your eye” or that you “got up on the wrong side of the bed,” and you’ll see what I mean. To a native speaker, it’s a common enough phrase; translated literally into another language, it doesn’t make much sense. The bottom line: If you’re aware of what an idiom is and you try to remember the idioms in this chapter, you’ll end up understanding more French and sounding more like a native when you speak. These idiomatic verbs include the pronominal pronouns, just like the reflexive and reciprocal verbs do, and are conjugated the same way. Table 5-4 compares the “plain” usual verb with its idiomatic counterpart. 65 Chapter 5: Reflecting on Pronominal Verbs (Reflexive, Reciprocal, and Idiomatic) 09_773883 ch05.qxp 8/2/06 1:27 PM Page 65 Table 5-4 Comparing the Usual Verb with the Idiomatic Verb Usual Verb Translation Idiomatic Verb Translation aller to go s’en aller to go away, to leave amuser to amuse, to entertain s’amuser to have fun débrouiller to disentangle se débrouiller to manage demander to ask se demander to wonder dépêcher to dispatch se dépêcher to hurry, to be in a hurry douter to doubt se douter de to suspect ennuyer to bother s’ennuyer to be bored entendre to hear s’entendre to get along inquiéter to disturb someone s’inquiéter to become worried mettre to put, to place se mettre à + infinitive to begin ( to do something ) occuper to occupy, to hold s’occuper de to be in charge of, to take care of, to deal with passer to go, to pass se passer de to do without rappeler to call back se rappeler to remember, to recall rendre to give back, to return se rendre compte de to realize servir to serve se servir de to use tromper to deceive, to disappoint se tromper de to be mistaken, to be wrong Try translating these sentences and conjugating the pronominal verbs. Q. Mom takes care of the children. A. Maman s’occupe des enfants. 11. We get along. __________________________________________________________________________________ 12. I am going away. __________________________________________________________________________________ 13. They are seeing each other. __________________________________________________________________________________ 14. David is in a hurry. __________________________________________________________________________________ 15. We are bored. __________________________________________________________________________________ 66 Part I: Living in the Here and Now: The Present Indicative 09_773883 ch05.qxp 8/2/06 1:27 PM Page 66 In the following group of practice exercises, conjugate the verb and then translate the sentence. In each question, I add some adverbs after the verbs to make the sentences more interesting. (Check out Chapter 2 for common adverbs.) Q. Nous _________________ (s’écrire) souvent. __________________________________________________________________________________ A. Nous nous écrivons souvent. We write to each other often. 16. Tu _________________ (s’énerver) rarement. __________________________________________________________________________________ 17. Vous _________________ (se disputer) souvent. __________________________________________________________________________________ 18. Je _________________ (s’habiller) vite. __________________________________________________________________________________ 19. Ils _________________ (se coucher) tard. __________________________________________________________________________________ 20. Nous _________________ (s’entendre) bien. __________________________________________________________________________________ 67 Chapter 5: Reflecting on Pronominal Verbs (Reflexive, Reciprocal, and Idiomatic) 09_773883 ch05.qxp 8/2/06 1:27 PM Page 67 68 Part I: Living in the Here and Now: The Present Indicative Answer Key In this section you can find all the answers to the problems in this chapter. I also provide the translations for these questions to help you understand what you’re conjugating. a Elle maquille la poupée. (She puts makeup on the doll.) b Je me réveille à six heures. (I get up at 6 o’clock.) c Tu coupes ton bifteck. (You are cutting your steak.) d Ils se lavent. (They get/are getting washed.) e Nous nous brossons les cheveux. (We are brushing our hair.) f Ils se promettent. (They promise each other.) g Vous vous dites au revoir. (You are saying goodbye to each other.) h Nous nous voyons. (We see each other.) i On s’écrit. (We write to each other, or they write to each other.) j Elles se comprennent. (They understand each other.) k Nous nous entendons. l Je m’en vais. m Ils se voient. n David se dépêche. o Nous nous ennuyons. p Tu t’énerves rarement. You rarely become irritated. q Vous vous disputez souvent. You argue with each other often. r Je m’habille vite. I get dressed quickly. s Ils se couchent tard. They go to bed late. t Nous nous entendons bien. We get along well. 09_773883 ch05.qxp 8/2/06 1:27 PM Page 68 . French is le (masculine singu- lar), la (feminine singular), l’ (masculine or feminine singular beginning with a vowel or mute h), or les (masculine or feminine plural). For example, I wash. bien. __________________________________________________________________________________ 67 Chapter 5: Reflecting on Pronominal Verbs (Reflexive, Reciprocal, and Idiomatic) 09_773883 ch 05. qxp 8/2/06 1:27 PM Page 67 68 Part I: Living in the Here and Now: The Present Indicative Answer. bored. __________________________________________________________________________________ 66 Part I: Living in the Here and Now: The Present Indicative 09_773883 ch 05. qxp 8/2/06 1:27 PM Page 66 In the following group of practice exercises, conjugate the verb and then translate the sentence.