<\/a>Reflexive Pronouns<\/h2>\nWhile direct and indirect object pronouns show that the subject is performing an action on another person or thing, reflexive pronouns show that the subject is performing the action on itself<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n| Me<\/td>\n | Myself<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n| Te<\/td>\n | Yourself<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n| Se<\/td>\n | Himself\/Herself\/Itself<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n| Nous<\/td>\n | Ourselves<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n| Vous<\/td>\n | Yourself\/Yourselves<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n| Se<\/td>\n | Themselves<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Here are a few examples. In order to help you understand, practise saying the following sentences aloud.<\/p>\n \n- Je m\u2019<\/strong>appelle Laura – My name is Laura (I call myself Laura)<\/em><\/li>\n
- Tu te<\/strong> laves les mains – You wash your hands<\/em><\/li>\n
- Il se<\/strong> l\u00e8ve \u00e0 8 heures – He gets up at 8 o\u2019clock<\/em><\/li>\n
- Nous nous<\/strong> voyons toutes les semaines – We see each other every week<\/em><\/li>\n
- Ils se<\/strong> sont endormis devant la t\u00e9l\u00e9 – They fell asleep in front of the television<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Now, this is where things get even more complicated\u2026<\/p>\n In any sentence you need a subject pronoun even with a reflexive verb, meaning you may have to repeat the pronoun twice. You might get a better understanding of it with other examples, so here the subject pronoun is in red and the reflexive pronoun is in blue.<\/p>\n \n- Comment tu<\/span> t\u2019<\/span>appelles ? What\u2019s your name? (Informal)
\nWhat\u2019s your name? (literally: How do you call yourself?)<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n- Comment vous<\/span> vous<\/span> appelez ? What’s your name? (Polite)
\nWhat\u2019s your name? (literally: How do you call yourself?)<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n- Ils<\/span> se<\/span> sont tromp\u00e9s d’adresse
\nThey got the address wrong<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n- Nous<\/span> nous<\/span> sommes tromp\u00e9s d’adresse
\nWe got the address wrong<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n| Ou<\/td>\n | when, where, which, that<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Que<\/td>\n | whom, what, which, that<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Qui<\/td>\n | who, what<\/p>\n which, that, whom<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Dont<\/td>\n | of which, from which, that<\/p>\n whose<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Lequel(s) \/ Laquelle(s)<\/td>\n | what, which, that<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n We\u2019re often taught that \u201cqui\u201d means \u201cwho\u201d and \u201cque\u201d means \u201cthat\u201d. This is true in some cases, but it isn\u2019t always that simple. Both can be used to mean THAT.<\/p>\n \u201cQue\u201d is used to replace the direct object in a sentence:<\/p>\n \n- Le livre que<\/strong> j\u2019ai lu – The book that I read<\/em><\/li>\n
- La personne que<\/strong> je cherche – The person that I\u2019m looking for<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\u201cQui\u201d replaces the subject:<\/p>\n \n- Le livre qui<\/strong> parle de la deuxi\u00e8me guerre mondiale
\nThe book that talks about the Second World War<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n- La personne qui<\/strong> chante
\nThe person that is singing\/the person who is singing<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\nAs you can see, unlike in English, both of these pronouns can replace a person or an object. \u201cQue\u201d should be used in a sentence alongside a subject and verb, while \u201cqui\u201d must be followed by a conjugated verb.<\/p>\n Relative pronouns often replace the indirect object, but the pronoun that is required varies depending on the preposition or lack thereof.<\/p>\n When a person<\/strong> is the indirect object in a sentence and comes after a preposition, you can replace the person with \u201cqui\u201d. This is the equivalent of \u201cwhom\u201d in English.<\/p>\n\n- Elle habite avec cet homme – l\u2019homme avec qui<\/strong> elle habite
\nShe lives with this man – the man with whom she lives<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n- Tu enseignes l\u2019anglais aux enfants – les enfants \u00e0 qui<\/strong> tu enseignes l\u2019anglais
\nYou teach English to children – the children to whom you teach English<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\u201cLequel\u201d, its feminine equivalent \u201claquelle\u201d, and the plurals \u201clequels\u201d and \u201claquelles\u201d are to replace an indirect object that is a thing (not a person) that follows a preposition.<\/p>\n We cannot use \u201clequel\u201d or variations of it after the prepositions \u201cde\u201d and \u201ca\u201d or \u201cau\u201d. These must be transformed into the following:<\/p>\n a + lequel = auquel<\/p>\n de + lequel = duquel<\/p>\n \n- J\u2019ai couru dans la rue – la rue dans laquelle<\/strong> j’ai couru
\nI ran in the street – the street in which I ran<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n- Vous faites la danse au spectacle – le spectacle auquel<\/strong> vous faites la danse
\nYou dance in the show – the show in which you dance<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n- Je pense \u00e0 la po\u00e9sie – la po\u00e9sie auquelle<\/strong> je pense
\nI\u2019m thinking of poetry – the poetry about which I\u2019m thinking<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n- Je me suis gar\u00e9 pr\u00e8s du magasin – le magasin pr\u00e8s duquel<\/strong> je me suis gar\u00e9
\nI parked next to the shop – the shop near which I parked<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\nDont<\/strong><\/p>\nDont<\/em> replaces any object, be it a person or a thing, that follows the word \u201cde\u201d.<\/p>\n\n- Hier je parlais d\u2019un professeur – c\u2019est le professeur dont je parlais hier
\nYesterday I was talking about a teacher – that\u2019s the teacher that\/whom I was talking about yesterday<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\nDont<\/em> can show possession, as the French pronoun equivalent of \u201cwhose\u201d.<\/p>\n\n- J’ai trouv\u00e9 le cahier d\u2019un \u00e9l\u00e8ve – c\u2019est l’\u00e9l\u00e8ve dont j’ai trouv\u00e9 le cahier.
\nI found a student\u2019s workbook – that\u2019s the student whose workbook I found<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\nDont<\/em> can also mean \u201cincluding\u201d, when you wish to refer to one thing in a group.<\/p>\n\n- Je fais partie d\u2019un groupe de musique – le groupe de musique dont je fait partie
\nI\u2019m in a band – the band which I\u2019m in<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n- Il y a 9 \u00e9pisodes dans la s\u00e9rie, dont 3 se d\u00e9roulent \u00e0 Londres.
\nThere are 9 episodes in the series, of which 3 take place in London<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\nDont vs duquel<\/strong><\/p>\nWhen \u201cde\u201d is on its own, replace it with \u201cdont\u201d.<\/p>\n When \u201cde\u201d is part of another preposition, such as \u201cpres de\u201d, \u201ca cote de\u201d, you need \u201cduquel\u201d.<\/p>\n O\u00f9<\/strong><\/p>\nO\u00f9<\/em> is a question word meaning \u201cwhere\u201d. It\u2019s also a relative pronoun that can be used in the same way we use it in English.<\/p>\n\n- J’\u00e9tudie \u00e0 cet universite – L’universit\u00e9 o\u00f9<\/strong> j’\u00e9tudie
\nI study at this university – the university where I study<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\nThe word \u201co\u00f9\u201d seems quite straightforward so far, it means, \u201cwhere\u201d, right? I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it does have one additional meaning that may confuse you…<\/p>\n Where<\/em> can mean when<\/em>.<\/p>\nThe word \u201cwhen\u201d has a French equivalent as an interrogative pronoun: Quand<\/em>. When asking questions, you must of course use quand<\/em>, however, it is not a relative pronoun. This means that when you want to use it as a relative pronoun you must instead use \u201co\u00f9\u201d.<\/p>\n\n- Octobre est le mois o\u00f9 on f\u00eate halloween
\nOctober is the month when we celebrate Halloween, <\/em>or <\/span>October is the month that we celebrate Halloween in<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n- Je m\u2019en souviens du moment o\u00f9 il est parti
\nI remember the moment that he left<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\nO\u00f9<\/em> can be used after a preposition too, for example:<\/p>\n\n- Je viens de ce village – le village d’o\u00f9 je viens
\nI come from this village – the village that\/where I come from<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n | |
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