Mission: sort out the bathroom rota with your flatmate
Reflexive verbs (se lever, se doucher, s'habiller) for your daily routine, now and in the past.
FrenchA2 · Everyday lifeAbout 5 min: 2 reading, 3 practiceUpdated
- Conjugate reflexive verbs with me, te, se, nous, vous, se
- Describe a daily routine
- Make them negative: je ne me lève pas
- Use them in the passé composé with être: je me suis levé(e)
Everyday life, A2: lesson 1 of 6
- A2 · Everyday life
- Mission: sort out the bathroom rota with your flatmate 5 min
- Mission: get your lost suitcase back 5 min
- Mission: help a friend choose between two flats 5 min
- Mission: plan Mum's birthday with your brother 5 min
- Mission: shop at the Saturday market 5 min
- Mission: change your plans without upsetting anyone 6 min
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Level Level A2 (around the DELF A2 exam). Real French: sharing a flat and a morning routine.
What it is
Your mission: you've just moved into a flat-share with Inès. There's one bathroom. Tell her what time you get up, shower and leave, and agree who goes first.
Many daily-routine verbs are reflexive: the action comes back to the subject ("I wash myself"). They carry an extra pronoun that matches the subject:
Text description
Present tense of se lever: je me lève (ending -e); tu te lèves (ending -es); il / elle / on se lève (ending -e); nous nous levons (ending -ons); vous vous levez (ending -ez); ils / elles se lèvent (ending -ent).
Me, te, se become m', t', s' before a vowel: je m'habille (I get dressed).
Routine verbs: se réveiller (wake up), se lever (get up), se doucher (shower), se laver (wash), s'habiller (get dressed), se brosser les dents (brush your teeth), se dépêcher (hurry), se coucher (go to bed).
Negative: ne goes before the pronoun: Je ne me lève pas tôt.
Past: reflexive verbs always take être, and the participle usually agrees with the subject: Elle s'est levée à 7 h. Nous nous sommes dépêchés. (Not when a body part follows: elle s'est brossé les dents.)
Quick check
Tap an answer to check it.
« Tu … à quelle heure ? » (se lever)
- tu takes te
- The reflexive pronoun is needed
Show answer
te lèves. tu → te: tu te lèves.
Why it matters
Talking about your day is basic A2 French, and nearly every routine verb is reflexive. Get the pronoun right once and the whole morning, from waking to going to bed, opens up.
Worked example
Agreeing the rota with Inès:
- Inès: Tu te lèves à quelle heure, le matin ?
- You: Je me lève à 6 h 30. Je me douche tout de suite, et je m'habille vers 7 h.
- Inès: Parfait ! Moi, je ne me lève pas avant 7 h 30. Je me douche après toi.
- You: D'accord. Et le soir, tu te couches tard ?
- Inès: Oui, vers minuit. Hier, je me suis couchée à une heure !
Real French: in speech, the ne often disappears but the reflexive pronoun never does: Je me lève pas tôt. And people ask Tu te lèves à quelle heure ? far more than À quelle heure te lèves-tu ?
Common mistake
Leaving out the pronoun: wrong: Je lève à 7 h means "I lift at 7" (lift what?). Say je me lève.
In the past, using avoir: wrong: Je me suis levé is right, wrong: je m'ai levé is wrong. Reflexive verbs always take être.
Quick check
Tap an answer to check it.
"She went to bed at 11."
- Reflexive verbs take être
- The reflexive pronoun is missing (and this means "she is lying down")
Show answer
Elle s'est couchée à 23 h.. se coucher → être, with agreement: s'est couchée.
Key terms
- verbe pronominal
- reflexive verb (se lever, s'habiller)
- se réveiller / se lever
- wake up / get up
- se doucher / s'habiller
- shower / get dressed
- se dépêcher
- hurry
- se coucher
- go to bed
- tout de suite
- straight away
Practise the key terms
Tap a card to turn it over. 6 cards.
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| verbe pronominal | reflexive verb (se lever, s'habiller) |
| se réveiller / se lever | wake up / get up |
| se doucher / s'habiller | shower / get dressed |
| se dépêcher | hurry |
| se coucher | go to bed |
| tout de suite | straight away |
Practice
Recognition drill
Pick the right answer, as fast as you can.
All pairs
Tap a card to turn it over. 6 cards.
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| je | me |
| tu | te |
| il / elle / on | se |
| nous | nous |
| vous | vous |
| ils / elles | se |
Quick quiz
Tap an answer to check it.
Make negative: « Nous nous dépêchons. »
- ne goes before the reflexive pronoun
- Keep the reflexive pronoun
Show answer
Nous ne nous dépêchons pas.. ne + pronoun + verb + pas.
"I got dressed quickly." (a man speaking)
- Reflexive verbs take être
- Use être: je me suis
Show answer
Je me suis habillé vite.. se + être + participle.
Build the sentence
Build "I get up, I shower and I get dressed."
Show answer
Je me lève, je me douche et je m'habille.. Each verb keeps its reflexive pronoun.
Practise speaking
Studyfern has no voice tools of its own. To practise out loud, copy this prompt into a voice-capable AI assistant and talk with it.
Mission role-play. You are Inès, my new French flatmate; there is one bathroom. Speak naturally but clearly, at level A2. Start with « Tu te lèves à quelle heure, le matin ? ». Ask one question at a time about my routine (se réveiller, se lever, se doucher, s'habiller, se coucher), tell me yours, and help me agree who uses the bathroom first. Ask one question in the past too (Hier, tu t'es couché(e) à quelle heure ?). I will make up my answers. After each answer, tell me in English what kind of mistake I made, if any, and let me try again; watch the reflexive pronoun. When we have agreed the morning order and I've given three routine times, say « Mission accomplie ! » and give me one tip. Keep every reply under 3 sentences.
Listen too. Listen to native speakers before and after: see the free listening and shadowing links.
Good to know. AI feedback on pronunciation is hit and miss, so check yourself against native recordings. Many assistants turn your speech into text first, so a vowel or liaison you got wrong may be silently “heard” as the right word. Don't share personal details: use a made-up name and town.
New to this? Read Practising speaking with an AI.
In short
- Reflexive verbs carry me, te, se, nous, vous, se (m', t', s' before a vowel).
- Routine: se réveiller, se lever, se doucher, s'habiller, se coucher.
- Negative: je ne me lève pas.
- Past: always être, with agreement: elle s'est levée.
Mastery check
Answer without looking back. Score 80% or more and the lesson is marked done. Your result is kept only in this browser.
Check yourself
Answer in your head first, then open the answer. Nothing is saved.
How do you say "We go to bed late"?
Show answer
Nous nous couchons tard (or: On se couche tard).
Make negative: « Il se rase. »
Show answer
Il ne se rase pas.
Past of « tu te lèves » (a woman)?
Show answer
Tu t'es levée.
Further reading
- TV5MONDE, Apprendre le français: search "la routine" for short clips about daily routines.
- RFI, Journal en français facile, daily news in simple French.
Finished? Mark it done to fill in your leaf on the French map.