Grammar: Passé Composé reflexive

Reflexive verbs (called “verbes pronominaux” in French) are always conjugated with être in the Passé Composé.

Se réveiller	Meaning
je me suis réveillé	I woke up, have woken up
tu t’es réveillé	you woke up, have woken up
il s’est réveillé	he woke up, has woken up
nous nous sommes réveillés	we woke up, have woken up
vous vous êtes réveillés	you woke up, have woken up
ils se sont réveillés	they woke up, have woken up

Agreement in number & gender

Their past participles must always agree in number and gender with the reflexive pronoun’s number and gender.

Example	Meaning	Gender/Number
Je me suis demandé	I wondered, have wondered	masculine/singular
Elle s’est couchée	She went to bed	feminine/singular
Vous vous êtes bien amusés	You enjoyed yourselves, you have enjoyed yourselves	masculine/plural
Elles se sont disputées	They had an argument	feminine/plural
Il s’est rasé	He shaved, has shaved	masculine/singular
Tu t’es dépêchée	You hurried up	feminine/singular

Negative

To make a reflexive verb negative in the Passé Composé, correct positioning is important. The “ne” is placed before the reflexive pronoun and “‘pas” is placed after the conjugated part of être.

Example	Meaning	Gender/Number
Je ne me suis pas demandé	I didn’t wonder, haven’t wondered	masculine/singular
Elle ne s’est pas couchée	She didn’t go to bed, hasn’t gone to bed	feminine/singular
Vous ne vous êtes pas bien amusés	You didn’t enjoy yourselves, haven’t enjoyed yourselves	masculine/plural
Elles ne se sont pas disputées	They didn’t have an argument, haven’t argued	feminine/plural
Il ne s’est pas rasé	He didn’t shave, hasn’t shaved	masculine/singular
Tu ne t’es pas dépêchée	You didn’t hurry up, haven’t hurried up	feminine/singular