français · A1 · vocabulary · 4 minutes
Daily routine
Move through a normal day with reflexive and ordinary verbs.
Understand the choice
Learn the day as a sequence and keep reflexive status attached to each infinitive. Se lever, se doucher, s’habiller, and se coucher use me for je; prendre, partir, travailler, and dîner do not.
Core rule: A reflexive verb needs a matching pronoun before the conjugated form; ordinary routine verbs do not.
Notice it in context
Je me lève, je prends mon petit-déjeuner et je pars à huit heures.
I get up, have breakfast, and leave at eight.
Me belongs to reflexive se lever; prends and pars are irregular but non-reflexive.
Elle se douche avant de travailler.
She showers before working.
Se matches elle; avant de is followed by an infinitive.
Nous dînons puis nous nous couchons tard.
We have dinner, then go to bed late.
The first nous is the subject; the second is the reflexive pronoun.
What to remember
- Petit-déjeuner can be a noun or a verb; prendre le petit-déjeuner is universally clear.
- Dîner is the evening meal in France, but meal names vary across Francophone regions.
Common trap: Do not add a reflexive pronoun to partir: je me pars is wrong. Say je pars.