This lesson we (briefly) revised the present tense of reflexive verbs (les verbes pronominaux). These verbs take an extra pronoun so the infinitive always begins with 'se', e.g. se réveiller, se laver etc. Let's look at se laver as our model verb.
se laver = to get washed (literally to wash oneself)
je me lave = I get washed (literally, I wash myself)
tu te laves = You get washed (you wash yourself)
il se lave etc
elle se lave
nous nous lavons
vous vous lavez
ils se lavent
elles se lavent
Elle se lave
However, if you wash something else the verb is not reflexive, e.g
Je lave la voiture.
Similarly, to go for a walk is se promener, so you would say,
Il se promène sous la pluie
but if you are walking the dog then it's just promener.
Ils promènent le chien
You can therefore, make a verb reflexive. So for example, téléphoner à is to ring (telephone) someone.
Il téléphone à David Cameron peut-être?
but to ring each other is se téléphoner
Ils se téléphonent
Here are two reflexive verbs which came up in conversation on Thursday:
se fàcher = to get angry and se disputer = to argue
Nous nous disputons
Il se fâche
To revise reflexive verbs, go to Façon de Parler, chapter 18, page 263.
Les Devoirs
Voilà, Unité 2, page 28. Activités 1, 2 et À Vous
Page 29, Activité 3
