Skip to content
VirtusAcademy

Reflexive Verbs (Singular)

FoundationHigherAQA

Revise Reflexive Verbs (Singular) for GCSE French with this free worksheet and full mark scheme — Foundation and Higher exam-style practice with worked answers for AQA GCSE French (8652). Reflexive verbs describe actions done to oneself and use a reflexive pronoun before the verb.

Free downloads

These worksheets and mark schemes are original, written for Virtus Academy and checked against the current AQA specification. Every worksheet comes with a full mark scheme.

Foundation

WorksheetFoundation · PDFMark SchemeFoundation · PDF

Higher

WorksheetHigher · PDFMark SchemeHigher · PDF

Topic overview

A reflexive verb needs a pronoun matching its subject, and many French reflexives are not reflexive in English at all.

The singular pronouns are me, te and se, placed before the verb. Je me lave, tu te laves, il se lave. They shorten to m', t' and s' before a vowel: je m'appelle, il s'appelle.

The common reflexives are worth learning as a set: se lever to get up, se coucher to go to bed, s'habiller to get dressed, se laver to wash, s'appeler to be called, se réveiller to wake up, and s'amuser to enjoy oneself. None of these has a reflexive pronoun in English, which is why the pronoun gets dropped.

Revision notes

The pronouns

Me, te, se — matching je, tu and il or elle.

They go before the verb: je me lave, tu te laves, il se lave. They shorten before a vowel: je m'appelle, tu t'appelles, il s'appelle.

The common reflexives

Se lever, se coucher, s'habiller, se laver, s'appeler, se réveiller, s'amuser, se dépêcher.

All describe daily routine, which is why they appear so often in speaking and writing tasks about a typical day.

Not reflexive in English

Je m'appelle Marc translates as my name is Marc.

Je me lève translates as I get up. English has no reflexive pronoun in either, so students omit it in French. The pronoun is not optional.

Key points

  • Reflexive verbs need a matching pronoun.
  • The singular pronouns are me, te and se.
  • They go before the verb.
  • They shorten before a vowel.
  • Many are not reflexive in English.
  • The pronoun cannot be omitted.

Worked examples

Example 1

Complete: Je ___ lève à sept heures. [2 marks]

Working

Je me lève à sept heuresuse the reflexive pronoun matching je
Me is the pronoun for je and goes before the verbexplain the choice and position

Example 2

Translate: his name is Paul. [2 marks]

Working

Il s'appelle Pauluse the reflexive verb s'appeler
Se shortens to s' before the vowel in appelleapply the elision

Example 3

Explain why English speakers often omit the reflexive pronoun. [2 marks]

Working

English has no reflexive pronoun in phrases such as I get upstate the reason
but French requires it because the verb itself is reflexiveexplain the requirement

Common mistakes

  • Omitting the reflexive pronoun.

    Je lève is wrong; it must be je me lève.

  • Using the wrong pronoun for the subject.

    Je me, tu te, il se must correspond.

  • Forgetting the elision.

    Je m'appelle, not je me appelle.

  • Placing the pronoun after the verb.

    It goes before.

Exam tips

  • Match the pronoun to the subject every time.
  • Apply elision before a vowel.
  • Learn the daily routine reflexives as a set.
  • Never drop the pronoun.

Key terms

Reflexive verb
A verb requiring a pronoun matching its subject.
Reflexive pronoun
Me, te or se in the singular.
Elision
Shortening the pronoun before a vowel.
Daily routine
The context where reflexives appear most.

Related topics

Written and reviewed against the current AQA specification. Spotted an error? Let us know.