French 1 Quiz: Reflexive Verbs
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Reflexive VerbsQuestion 1 of 9

Sophie is filling out a form at her school that asks her to describe her daily schedule. She writes one sentence for each activity using reflexive verbs.

Sophie wants to write 'My friends and I wash up at 7 AM.' Which sentence should she write?

Mes amis et moi se lavent à sept heures du matin.
Mes amis et moi nous lavons à sept heures du matin.
Mes amis et moi me lave à sept heures du matin.
Mes amis et moi nous lavez à sept heures du matin.
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French 1 Quiz

French 1 Quiz: Reflexive Verbs

Practice Reflexive Verbs in French 1 with focused quiz questions that help you check what you know, review explanations, and build confidence with test-style prompts.

What this quiz covers

This quiz focuses on Reflexive Verbs, giving you a quick way to practice the rules, question types, and explanations that matter most for French 1.

How to use this quiz

Try each quiz question before looking at the correct answer. Use the explanations to review missed ideas, then come back to similar questions until the pattern feels familiar.

All questions

Question 1

Sophie is filling out a form at her school that asks her to describe her daily schedule. She writes one sentence for each activity using reflexive verbs.

Sophie wants to write 'My friends and I wash up at 7 AM.' Which sentence should she write?

  1. Mes amis et moi se lavent à sept heures du matin.
  2. Mes amis et moi nous lavons à sept heures du matin. (correct answer)
  3. Mes amis et moi me lave à sept heures du matin.
  4. Mes amis et moi nous lavez à sept heures du matin.
Explanation: When using reflexive verbs in French, two things must align perfectly: the reflexive pronoun and the verb conjugation, both matching the grammatical subject. Here, the subject is "Mes amis et moi" — which functions as a nous (we) subject. This means you need the nous reflexive pronoun nous AND the nous verb ending -ons. The reflexive verb se laver conjugated for nous becomes: nous nous lavons. So the full correct sentence is "Mes amis et moi nous lavons à sept heures du matin" — answer B. Here's why the other options fail. Answer A uses se lavent, which is the ils/elles (third-person plural) conjugation, and keeps the base pronoun se instead of swapping it for nous. "Mes amis et moi" is a first-person plural subject — it's never conjugated as ils/elles. Answer C uses me lave, the je (first-person singular) reflexive form. While "moi" appears in the subject, the compound subject "Mes amis et moi" is plural, not singular — you can't reduce it to just yourself. Answer D uses nous lavez, which mixes the nous reflexive pronoun correctly but pairs it with the vous conjugation (-ez ending). That mismatch makes it grammatically impossible. A useful tip: whenever you see a compound subject like "X et moi," immediately identify it as nous and apply both the nous reflexive pronoun and the -ons ending together. Think of the pronoun and ending as a matching pair — they always travel together.

Question 2

A student wants to say 'We get dressed quickly on Mondays.' Which sentence is correct?

  1. Nous nous habillons vite le lundi. (correct answer)
  2. Nous habillons vite le lundi.
  3. Nous se habillons vite le lundi.
  4. Nous nous habille vite le lundi.
Explanation: When you want to express an action someone does to themselves in French — like getting dressed, washing up, or waking up — you need a reflexive verb. These verbs require a reflexive pronoun that matches the subject. For nous, that pronoun is nous, placed directly before the verb. The verb here is s'habiller (to get dressed). To conjugate it for nous, you replace the infinitive pronoun se with nous and conjugate the verb normally: nous nous habillons. Option A does exactly this — "Nous nous habillons vite le lundi" — making it the correct sentence. The double nous looks surprising at first, but the first is the subject and the second is the reflexive pronoun. Option B, "Nous habillons vite le lundi," drops the reflexive pronoun entirely. Without it, the sentence means "We dress (someone else) quickly on Mondays" — a completely different meaning, as if you're dressing other people. Option C, "Nous se habillons vite le lundi," uses the wrong reflexive pronoun. Se is only used with third-person subjects (il, elle, ils, elles), not with nous. Option D, "Nous nous habille vite le lundi," has the correct reflexive pronoun but conjugates the verb incorrectly. Habille is the third-person singular form (il/elle habille), not the nous form, which must be habillons. A handy tip: whenever you see a reflexive verb (se lever, se coucher, s'habiller), always match the reflexive pronoun and the verb ending to your subject — both must agree.

Question 3

Which sentence best translates 'Are you (informal singular) getting bored?' using the reflexive verb 's'ennuyer'?

  1. Tu s'ennuies ?
  2. Tu t'ennuies ? (correct answer)
  3. T'ennuies tu ?
  4. Tu te ennuies ?
Explanation: When working with French reflexive verbs like s'ennuyer (to get bored), the key is understanding how reflexive pronouns must agree with the subject. Each subject pronoun has its own matching reflexive pronoun, and they must pair correctly every time. For tu (informal singular "you"), the matching reflexive pronoun is te — but here's the catch: te contracts to t' when the verb begins with a vowel or silent h. Since ennuyer begins with a vowel, te becomes t', giving you tu t'ennuies. This makes B the correct translation of "Are you getting bored?" Looking at the wrong answers, A (Tu s'ennuies) uses s', which is the third-person reflexive pronoun (for il/elle/on/ils/elles). Pairing it with tu is a mismatch — like putting the wrong key in a lock. C (T'ennuies tu) attempts inversion to form a question, but reflexive verb inversion requires the full pronoun: T'ennuies-tu? would actually be grammatically valid in formal French, but the missing hyphen and awkward structure make this option incorrect as written. D (Tu te ennuies) makes a very common error — it uses te without contracting it before the vowel. In French, te must become t' before a vowel sound, so te ennuies is not acceptable. A handy tip: always memorize reflexive pronouns alongside subject pronouns as pairs — je/me, tu/te, il-elle/se — and remember that me, te, and se all contract before vowels.

Question 4

Which of the following sentences uses 'se reposer' (to rest) correctly in a negative construction?

  1. Il ne repose pas se le week-end.
  2. Il se ne repose pas le week-end.
  3. Il ne se repose pas le week-end. (correct answer)
  4. Il ne se repos pas le week-end.
Explanation: When working with reflexive verbs in French, you need to track two things simultaneously: the placement of the reflexive pronoun and the placement of the negation words. This question tests both at once. Reflexive verbs like se reposer require a reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nous, vous, se) that attaches to the subject and sits directly before the conjugated verb. In a negative sentence, the negation wraps around the verb using ne...pas — but here's the critical rule: the reflexive pronoun is considered part of the verb cluster, so ne comes before the pronoun, and pas comes after the conjugated verb. That gives you the correct word order: sujet + ne + pronom réfléchi + verbe conjugué + pas. Option C, Il ne se repose pas le week-end, follows this pattern perfectly — ne precedes se, and pas follows repose. This is your answer. Option A incorrectly separates se from the verb entirely, placing it after pas as if it were a separate phrase — se must stay attached before the verb. Option B swaps the order of ne and se, placing se before ne, which reverses the required sequence. Option D uses repos instead of the correctly conjugated repose — always remember that il requires the third-person singular conjugation. A helpful memory trick: think of ne + se + verb + pas as a sandwich where ne and pas are the bread, and the reflexive pronoun always stays inside with the verb, never outside the sandwich.

Question 5

Marie parle à sa mère au téléphone. Elle dit : « Ce matin, je   à sept heures, puis je   les dents avant le petit-déjeuner. »

Which pair of reflexive verbs correctly completes Marie's sentence in the correct order?

  1. me réveille / me brosse (correct answer)
  2. me brosse / me réveille
  3. me lève / me lave
  4. me couche / me brosse
Explanation: When completing a sentence about a morning routine, you need to think about two things: the meaning of each reflexive verb, and the logical order of daily actions. French reflexive verbs describing routines use a pronoun (me, te, se) that matches the subject — here, Marie uses "me" throughout. The sentence describes what Marie did first thing in the morning, so the sequence matters. Se réveiller means "to wake up," and se brosser les dents means "to brush one's teeth." Waking up naturally comes before brushing teeth, making answer A) me réveille / me brosse the correct and logical pairing. Notice that in the present tense used here (she's narrating as if reliving it), the verb forms are "me réveille" (I wake up) and "me brosse" (I brush). B) me brosse / me réveille reverses the order — brushing teeth before waking up makes no logical sense. Always ask yourself: could this actually happen in this sequence? C) me lève / me lave uses "se lever" (to get up) and "se laver" (to wash/bathe). While both are real morning routine verbs, neither matches the second action described — brushing teeth — so this pair doesn't fit the context of the sentence. D) me couche / me brosse pairs "se coucher" (to go to bed) with brushing teeth. Going to bed is a nighttime activity, not a morning one, making this contextually wrong. A helpful tip: memorize common reflexive routine verbs in chronological order — se réveiller → se lever → se laver → se brosser les dents — so sequence questions become much easier to spot.

Question 6

Luc asks his friend: « À quelle heure est-ce que tu te couches normalement ? » His friend wants to answer: 'I usually go to bed at 10:30 PM.'

Which response correctly answers Luc's question using a reflexive verb?

  1. Je me coucher normalement à vingt-deux heures trente.
  2. Je couche normalement à vingt-deux heures trente.
  3. Tu te couches normalement à vingt-deux heures trente.
  4. Je me couche normalement à vingt-deux heures trente. (correct answer)
Explanation: When you see a question involving verbs like se coucher, se lever, or se laver, you're dealing with reflexive verbs — verbs where the subject performs the action on themselves. These verbs require two things: the correct subject pronoun AND a matching reflexive pronoun placed before the verb. For se coucher ("to go to bed"), the first-person singular conjugation is je me couche. The subject pronoun je must pair with the reflexive pronoun me, and the verb itself must be fully conjugated — not left in infinitive form. Since Luc's friend is speaking about themselves, je is the correct subject, making D) Je me couche normalement à vingt-deux heures trente the correct answer. Looking at why the other choices fail: A) uses me coucher, which is the infinitive form of the verb — you can't use an infinitive as your main conjugated verb in a statement like this. B) drops the reflexive pronoun me entirely, turning se coucher into coucher, which changes the meaning (and frankly doesn't make clean grammatical sense in this context — reflexive verbs need their pronoun). C) uses tu te couches, which is the second-person conjugation — that would be Luc's original question turned back on itself, not a first-person answer. A helpful tip: whenever you conjugate a reflexive verb, check two things — is the subject pronoun correct, and does the reflexive pronoun match it? They must agree: je/me, tu/te, il-elle/se, etc. Don't let answer choices that drop or swap either pronoun fool you.

Question 7

A student reads the following sentences and must identify which one contains a correctly used reflexive verb: (1) « Elle se souvient de son enfance. » (2) « Il se mange une pizza. » (3) « Nous nous partons à midi. » (4) « Tu te regardes dans le miroir. »

Which sentences use reflexive verbs correctly?

  1. Sentences 1 and 4 only — 'se souvenir de' and 'se regarder' are both valid reflexive constructions. (correct answer)
  2. Sentences 1, 2, and 4 — all three correctly attach a reflexive pronoun to a verb that can be used reflexively.
  3. Sentences 2 and 3 only — both use reflexive pronouns with action verbs that require a direct or indirect object.
  4. Sentences 3 and 4 only — both correctly use reflexive verbs with first- and second-person subjects.
Explanation: When you encounter questions about reflexive verbs in French, ask yourself two things: Does the verb logically allow a reflexive action (the subject acts on itself)? And is the reflexive pronoun grammatically matched to the subject? Sentence 1, "Elle se souvient de son enfance," uses se souvenir de, which is an essentially pronominal verb — it only exists in reflexive form and means "to remember." The pronoun se correctly matches elle. Sentence 4, "Tu te regardes dans le miroir," is a textbook reflexive construction: you look at yourself in the mirror. The pronoun te correctly matches tu, and the action logically reflects back on the subject. Both sentences are grammatically and semantically sound, making A the correct answer. Answer B is tempting because it includes sentences 1 and 4, but adding Sentence 2 is the problem. "Il se mange une pizza" is incorrect — manger is a transitive verb where the subject eats something external, not itself. Adding se here creates a nonsensical or ungrammatical construction in standard French. You cannot reflexivize a verb simply by attaching a pronoun. Answer C incorrectly validates sentences 2 and 3. Beyond the issue with Sentence 2 above, Sentence 3 — "Nous nous partons à midi" — is flat-out wrong. Partir is not a reflexive verb; it never takes a reflexive pronoun. Adding nous before it is grammatically invalid. Answer D fails because Sentence 3 remains incorrect regardless of subject-pronoun agreement. Study tip: Memorize common essentially pronominal verbs (se souvenir, s'en aller, se méfier) separately — these always require the reflexive pronoun and can't exist without it.

Question 8

Which sentence correctly uses a reflexive verb to express that Paul and Sophie call each other often?

  1. Paul et Sophie se téléphoner souvent.
  2. Paul et Sophie se téléphone souvent.
  3. Paul et Sophie nous téléphonons souvent.
  4. Paul et Sophie se téléphonent souvent. (correct answer)
Explanation: When you see a question about reflexive verbs in French, your first instinct should be to check two things: the reflexive pronoun and the verb conjugation. Both must agree with the subject. Here, the subject is Paul et Sophie — a third-person plural subject (ils/elles). The verb se téléphoner (to call each other) is a reciprocal reflexive verb, and like all reflexive verbs, it needs a matching reflexive pronoun and proper conjugation. For a third-person plural subject, the reflexive pronoun is se, and téléphoner conjugates as téléphonent. That makes D — "Paul et Sophie se téléphonent souvent" — the correct answer. Now let's look at what goes wrong in the other choices. A uses se téléphoner, which is the infinitive form — you can't use an infinitive as a main conjugated verb in a sentence. This is a classic trap: it looks complete but is grammatically unfinished. B writes se téléphone, which is the third-person singular conjugation (il/elle téléphone), but the subject Paul et Sophie is plural — a subject-verb agreement error. C swaps in nous téléphonons with the pronoun nous, but the subject is Paul et Sophie (third person), not nous (first-person plural). Mixing a third-person subject with a first-person conjugation is a pronoun-agreement mistake. A handy study tip: always identify the subject first, then confirm that both the reflexive pronoun and the verb ending match it. On French conjugation questions, wrong answers almost always break one of those two rules.

Question 9

A student writes: « Vous vous appellez comment ? » to ask someone's name. What is the error in this sentence?

  1. The word 'comment' is misplaced; it should appear before the reflexive pronoun, giving 'Vous comment vous appelez ?'
  2. The reflexive pronoun 'vous' is wrong; it should be replaced with 'se' for the second-person subject.
  3. The verb 'appeler' is misspelled; the correct form for 'vous' is 'appelez,' not 'appellez.' (correct answer)
  4. The sentence is missing the auxiliary verb 'être'; reflexive verbs always require 'être' before the main verb.
Explanation: When conjugating reflexive verbs in French, you need to get two things right: the reflexive pronoun and the verb spelling. The verb s'appeler is a common introductory verb, but its conjugation trips up many students because of a subtle spelling rule. The infinitive appeler belongs to a group of -er verbs that double their consonant in certain conjugations. For the vous form, however, no doubling occurs — the correct spelling is appelez, following the regular -er pattern (vous parlez, vous mangez, vous appelez). The student wrote appellez with a double l, which is the error. So C is correct: the verb is simply misspelled. As for the distractors — A suggests moving comment before the reflexive pronoun, but Vous vous appelez comment ? is a perfectly natural word order in informal French; comment can appear at the end as a tag question. B claims the reflexive pronoun should be se instead of vous, but se is the third-person reflexive pronoun (il/elle/ils/elles se...). For a vous subject, the reflexive pronoun is always vous — so B reflects a misunderstanding of pronoun agreement. D suggests reflexive verbs require an auxiliary être before the main verb, but that rule applies only to compound tenses (like passé composé). In the present tense, reflexive verbs need no auxiliary at all. A helpful tip: when spelling appeler in the present tense, remember that only the je, tu, il/elle, and ils/elles forms double the l — nous and vous stay regular. Watch for this pattern with similar verbs like jeter.