A pronominal verb in French includes an object pronoun, called a reflexive pronoun. Pronominal verbs include a reference to "self," and they can have somewhat different meanings than corresponding verbs that do not include the reflexive pronoun:
There are three types of pronominal verbs: reflexive, reciprocal, and idiomatic.
The reflexive pronouns include:
With reflexive pronominal verbs, the action refers to the subject:
| Les hommes se réveille ce matin. | — The men woke (themselves) up this morning. |
The following are some common pronominal verbs along with some corresponding verbs. Note that the infinitive includes se/s':
| abaisser | — to lower; to reduce; to humiliate; to humble |
| s’abaisser | — to lower oneself; to reduce oneself; to humiliate oneself; to humble oneself |
| s’abstenir | — to abstain |
| aller | — to go |
| s’en aller | — to go away |
| amuser | — to amuse; to entertain |
| s’amuser | — to have a good time; to amuse oneself; to enjoy oneself |
| appeler | — to call; to name; to appeal |
| s’appeler | — to be named; to call oneself |
| arrêter | — to arrest, stop, halt |
| s'arrêter | — to stop oneself; to pause |
| s’asseoir | — to sit down |
| assurer | — to assure, ensure, insure; to guarantee |
| s'assurer | — to make sure; to assure onself |
| battre | — to hit; to strike |
| se battre | — to fight |
| blesser | — to harm, hurt, injure, wound, offend |
| se blesser | — to harm oneself; to hurt oneself; to injure oneself; to wound oneself |
| cacher | — to hide |
| se cacher | — to hide oneself |
| casser | — to break |
| se casser | — to break (a bone, a body part) |
| coucher | — to put to bed; to lay; to flatten |
| se coucher | — to go to bed; to lie down |
| se débrouiller | — to manage; to improvise; to get by |
| se dépêcher | — to hurry; to hasten |
| s’éloigner | — to move away; to go away; to step back; to withdraw |
| s’enfuir | — to run away; to escape; to flee |
| ennuyer | — to bore, annoy, weary |
| s’ennuyer | — to be bored |
| s’envoler | — to fly off; to fly away |
| xxxxxx | — xxxxxx |
| xxxxxx | — xxxxxx |
| xxxxxx | — xxxxxx |
| xxxxxx | — xxxxxx |
| xxxxxx | — xxxxxx |
| xxxxxx | — xxxxxx |
| xxxxxx | — xxxxxx |
| xxxxxx | — xxxxxx |
| xxxxxx | — xxxxxx |
| xxxxxx | — xxxxxx |
| xxxxxx | — xxxxxx |
| xxxxxx | — xxxxxx |
| xxxxxx | — xxxxxx |
| xxxxxx | — xxxxxx |
| xxxxxx | — xxxxxx |
| xxxxxx | — xxxxxx |
| xxxxxx | — xxxxxx |