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The Perfect Tense of Reflexive Verbs

FoundationHigherAQA

Master The Perfect Tense of Reflexive Verbs 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 form the perfect tense with être, keeping the reflexive pronoun before the auxiliary.

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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

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Higher

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Topic overview

All reflexive verbs form the perfect tense with être, without exception, and their participles agree with the subject.

The reflexive pronoun goes before the auxiliary, not before the participle. Je me suis levé means I got up — the order is subject, reflexive pronoun, auxiliary, participle. Writing je suis me levé is wrong.

The agreement follows the normal être rule: je me suis levé for a male, je me suis levée for a female, nous nous sommes levés for a mixed group, elles se sont levées for females. In the negative, ne goes before the reflexive pronoun and pas after the auxiliary: je ne me suis pas levé.

Revision notes

The word order

Subject, reflexive pronoun, auxiliary, participle.

Je me suis levé. Tu t'es levé. Il s'est levé. Nous nous sommes levés. The reflexive pronoun comes before the auxiliary, never after it.

Agreement

The participle agrees with the subject, following the normal être rule.

Je me suis levé for a male, levée for a female. Nous nous sommes levés for a mixed group, levées for females only.

In the negative

Ne goes before the reflexive pronoun; pas goes after the auxiliary.

Je ne me suis pas levé. The order is subject, ne, pronoun, auxiliary, pas, participle. Everything else stays in place.

Key points

  • All reflexive verbs take être.
  • The reflexive pronoun goes before the auxiliary.
  • The order is pronoun, auxiliary, participle.
  • The participle agrees with the subject.
  • Ne goes before the reflexive pronoun.
  • Pas goes after the auxiliary.

Worked examples

Example 1

Translate: I got up, as a female speaker. [2 marks]

Working

Je me suis levéeuse être with the reflexive pronoun before it
The participle takes an extra -e to agree with the female subjectexplain the agreement

Example 2

Make this negative: Je me suis levé. [2 marks]

Working

Je ne me suis pas levéplace ne before the reflexive pronoun
Pas goes after the auxiliary suis, leaving the participle lastexplain the position of pas

Example 3

Give the perfect tense of se coucher for elles. [2 marks]

Working

elles se sont couchéesuse être with the reflexive pronoun se
The participle takes -es to agree with the feminine plural subjectexplain the agreement

Common mistakes

  • Using avoir with a reflexive verb.

    They all take être, without exception.

  • Placing the reflexive pronoun after the auxiliary.

    It goes before: je me suis levé.

  • Forgetting the agreement.

    It follows the normal être rule.

  • Putting pas in the wrong place.

    It goes after the auxiliary, before the participle.

Exam tips

  • Always use être for reflexive verbs.
  • Put the reflexive pronoun before the auxiliary.
  • Agree the participle with the subject.
  • Place ne before the pronoun and pas after the auxiliary.

Key terms

Reflexive verb
A verb taking a reflexive pronoun and être.
Reflexive pronoun
Me, te, se, nous or vous, placed before the auxiliary.
Auxiliary
Être, used for all reflexive verbs.
Agreement
Matching the participle to the subject.

Related topics

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