Les verbes pronominaux are usually easily recognizable: They are accompanied by a pronoun which agrees with the subject.

These pronouns can be:

• • • • me
      • te
      • se
      • nous
      • vous

For example, take the verb se nourrir, which is another way to say manger (to eat), similar to the English verb to nourish, to feed (oneself.)

You would say:

The previous example showed a special type of verbes pronominaux, namely a verbe pronominal with a direct object.

There are other cases where the pronominal verb has un object indirect.

Take for example the verb se raser (to shave) with the object la barbe (the beard): se raser la barbe (to shave one’s beard):

Finally, notice that some verbs are conjugated in both forms: la forme pronominale (pronominal form) and la forme non-pronominale (non-pronominal form.)

It can also be non-pronominal: “le barbier rase le client” (“the barber shave the client”), or as in the French expression “raser les murs” (“To hug the walls”, meaning to “try to walk undetected in the street.”)

Other verbs are exclusively pronominal: se moquer (to poke fun <at someone>); se souvenir (to remember); s’en aller (to leave), etc.

We’ll go in an upcoming post over more French verbs which are always pronominaux (pronominal.)

In the meantime, don’t forget to take a look at our great Transparent Language tools for learning French, you may find just what you need to improve your français skills.

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