French · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 18
Ma routineMy routine
The daily routine with pronominal (reflexive) verbs. A pronominal verb has a pronoun that "returns" to the subject: je me lève, tu te lèves, il se lève. The pronoun (me/te/se) goes BEFORE the verb: Je me lève le matin. And the regular -er verbs: travailler (je travaille), étudier (j'étudie), se reposer. New vocabulary: se lever, se doucher, travailler, étudier, se reposer, toujours, hier, nuit.
Dialogue
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Je lève ou je me lève ?— je lève or je me lève?
- LucasMike, à quelle heure te lèves-tu ?Mike, what time do you get up?
- MikeJe lève à sept heures.I get up at seven. (slip: se lever is reflexive — you need "me": "Je me lève à sept heures")
- LucasAvec le pronom : je me lève. L'action revient à toi.With the pronoun: je me lève. The action returns to you.
- MikeAh, je me lève à sept heures et je me douche.Ah, I get up at seven and shower.
Dialogue
i
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Une journée normale— A Normal Day
- CamilleLucas, tu te lèves tôt ?Lucas, do you get up early?
- LucasOui, je me lève à six heures et je me douche.Yes, I get up at six and shower.
- CamilleEt l'après-midi ?And in the afternoon?
- LucasJe travaille l'après-midi et je me repose toujours le soir.I work in the afternoon and always rest in the evening.
Vocabulary
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- se lever
verbto get up
- se doucher
verbto shower
- travailler
verbto work
- étudier
verbto study
- se reposer
verbto rest
- toujours
adverbalways
- hier
adverbyesterday
- nuit
n.f.night (f)
Grammar
i
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Pronominal (reflexive) verbs
Explanation
Many routine actions are pronominal: the action "returns" to the subject (you get yourself up). The infinitive has "se": se lever, se doucher, se reposer. When conjugating, "se" becomes a pronoun (me/te/se) BEFORE the verb: je me lève, tu te lèves, il se lève, nous nous levons. The English mistake is to forget the pronoun: "je lève à sept heures" → "je me lève à sept heures". Regular -er verbs (non-pronominal) conjugate without a pronoun: je travaille, tu étudies, il travaille. For the moment: le matin, l'après-midi, le soir.
Examples
- Je me lève à sept heures.I get up at seven.
- Je me douche le matin.I shower in the morning.
- Je travaille l'après-midi et je me repose le soir.I work in the afternoon and rest in the evening.
- Je me lève toujours tôt.I always get up early.
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