Lesson - Section 5: Le corps humain et les verbes réfléchis

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SECTION 1: PRESENT TENSE VERBS

Lesson - Section 5: Le corps humain et les verbes réfléchis

Hi and welcome to the Human Body and reflexive verbs! In order for you all to understand reflexive verbs properly, it is best for you to learn the parts of the human body in French first. These work very much like in English, except for the gender. This is one place where there are a lot of exceptions to the -tion -sion -son -e words are generally feminine here, so please put a lot of attention on the gender of these words. The genders are sometimes not obvious (like la dent). They have been indicated, so without further ado let us allow the shining smile of Alizée do the rest of the talking!

le nez
la bouche
un oeil/les yeux
une oreille
les cheveux
une dent
une lèvre



le coude
le pied
le bras
le genou
la tête
la jambe
la main

Important internal organs you should know:

le coeur - the heart
un estomac - a stomach

Important miscellania you should know:

le doigt/les doigts - the finger/the fingers

Alright! Let's get to the reflexive verbs now. Reflexive verbs in French carry the meaning of doing something to oneself. For example, I am brushing my teeth. However, there are two major differences in French - the word order and the word usage. In order to denote a reflexive verb, a word is added to each of the personal pronouns:

Je me
Tu te
Il se
Elle se
Nous nous
Vous vous
Ils se
Elles se

hear this set of words

In the dictionary, you would find that a reflexive verb written as the infinitive always begins with se or s' in case of élision; for example, se laver (to wash oneself).

After adding the appropriate word to each of the personal pronouns, the verb is conjugated as usual; for example, Il se lave.

Now for the second major difference between French and English reflexive verbs. Taking in to account that you have already included the me/te/se with the personal pronoun, it is no longer necessary to include the possessive with the verb. Namely, in French, it is incorrect to say I wash my hands. In French, if you want to say I wash my hands, you must say I wash the hands.

Par exemple: Je me lave les mains.

Let me say that again: since you have already noted the reflexive sense by adding the extra word after the personal pronoun, you shall not refer to yourself twice (as it would be redundant).

Another example: Elle se lave les cheveux.

Ok! That is all for today's lesson. Now for your homework: Please PM me the answers to the following questions Dictionary will be necessary for some of the following questions.

1. She is brushing her teeth (se brosser).
2. He is brushing his hair (se peigner).
3. You (formal) are washing your hands (se laver).
4. You (plural) are cutting your hair (se couper).
5. I am making myself a croissant.

Je fais
Tu fais
Il fait
Elle fait
Nous faisons
Vous faites
Ils/Elles font

6. You (plural) get along well with Alizée (s'entendre bien avec).
7. You (singular) are phoning yourself (se téléphoner).
8. She does remember (se rapeller).
9. He gets up early (early = tôt; to get up = se lever).
10. We are getting dressed (s'habiller).
11. She is putting on makeup (se maquiller).
12. We love each other (s'aimer).
13. You (plural) meet each other (se rencontrer).
14. We agree with each other (s'accorder).
15. You (informal) sleep at 9pm (se coucher; 9 heures).
16. Name all of the body parts that you have read in this lesson.
17. Differentiate between yeux and oeil.
18. Which of the following is not a correct match?
A: dent - tooth
B: yeux - arm
C: coude - elbow
D: bras - arm
19.Which of the following is not a correct match?
A: lèvre - lip
B: sourire - smile
C: genou - elbow
D: pied - foot
20.Which of the following is not a correct match?
A: estomac - stomach
B: coeur - core
C: oreille - ear
D: cou - neck
21.Which of the following is not a correct match?
A: yeux - single eye
B: cheveux - hair
C: nez - nose
D: tête - head
22.Which of the following is not a correct match?
A: joue - cheek
B: main - hand
C: doigt - finger
D: pied - pedestal
23.Which of the following is not a correct match?
A: foie - liver
B: poumon - lung
C: sang - blood
D: bouche - goat
24.Which of the following is not a correct match?
A: visage - face
B: bras - arm
C: oreille - face
D: nez - nose
25.Unscramble the following selection:
A: menton - toe
B: poignet - shoulder
C: orteil - chin
D: épaule - wrist