The easiest way to explain reflexive verbs is in the sense of something that you do to yourself (or that others do to themselves). This is not a perfect explanation but you will get the idea with the following examples. All reflexive verbs, in their infinitive form, begin with Se.
Se Raser
Je me rase zhe me rarz I shave myself
Tu te rase tu te rarz You shave yourself
Il se rase il se rarz He shaves himself
On se rase on’ se rarz We shave ourselves
In English we don’t say 'I am shaving myself'. If somebody says ‘I am shaving’ it is taken for granted that he is shaving himself. French however, is often more literal (and precise) than English.
Laver
Je lave la voiture zhe lav lu vwartur I am washing the car.
Tu laves le chien tu lav le shee-u You wash the dog.
Il lave les vetements il lav lay vet-mo’ He is washing the clothes.
On lave par terre on’ lav par tair We’re washing the floor.
Se Laver
Je me lave les mains zhe me lav lay mar I am washing my hands.
Tu te laves les bras tu te lav lay brar You’re washing your arms
Elle se lave les pieds el se lav lay pi-ye She’s washing her feet
On’ se lave le figure o’ se lav le fig-you’r We’re washing our faces.
We also have a reflexive version of the verb APPELLER (Call) which is S’APPELLER. APPELLER is used to call somebody or something.
Appeller
J’appelle les chiens tous les matins. zhu-pel lay shee-u too lay mu-tar
I call the dogs every morning.
.
Tu peux appeller les enfants s’il te plait? tchoo pe u-plee lez o’fon’ see te play?
Can you call the kids (children) please? (intonation)
.
Il appellera sa femme ce soir. il u-pel-era su fum say swar
He will call his wife this evening.
On appelle nos parents toutes les semaines. on u-pel no’ par-on’ toot lay se-mayn
We call our parents every week.
S’APPELLER
S'Appeller is used for what we call ourselves i.e. our names.
Examples;
Je m’appelle Jack zhe mu-pel Jack I call myself Jack (My name is Jack)
In the civilized world of course we say ‘My name is .....’.
‘I call myself’ is just the literal translation so as to be able to understand why we say ‘Je m’appelle .....’
Tu t’appelle Sandra tu tu-pel Sandra You call yourself Sandra (Your name is Sandra)
Elle s’appelle Megan el su-pel Megan She calls herself Megan (Her name is Megan)
Et voila pourquoi on dit ‘Je m’appelle ….’
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