Agreement of Past Participles of PRONOMINAL VERBS

PRONOMINAL VERBS which are either REFLEXIVE or RECIPROCAL are conjugated with ÊTRE.

Ia).    Reflexive verbs

Reflexive verbs indicate an action the subject does to or for himself or herself. In most cases, the reflexive pronoun is a direct object. With these verbs, the past participle agrees with the direct object reflexive pronoun. If the reflexive pronoun is clearly an indirect object, however, there is no agreement with the past participle. To know whether the reflexive pronoun is a direct object or not:

·      Change the auxiliary TO BE into TO HAVE

·      Ask the question QUOI? ou QUI? after the verb

·      If the answer is the reflexive pronoun, then make the past participle agree with the reflexive pronoun.

Examples of reflexive verbs in the Passé composé follow:

Je me suis levé(e) tard ce matin.

(J'AI levé QUI? ME; so ME is the direct object, and the past participle 'levé' must agree with it). since we are not given any context to help us determine whether JE is feminine or masculine, we do write both é(e).

Elle s'est peignée.

(Elle A peigné QUI? SE; so SE is the direct object which replaces 'ELLE', and the past participle 'peigné' must agree in gender -- feminine -- and in number -- singular-- with it = peignée).

Nous nous sommes habillé(e)s.

(Nous AVONS HABILLÉ QUI? NOUS; so NOUS is the direct object which replaces 'NOUS', and the past participle 'habillé' must agree in gender -- ?? -- and in number -- plural-- with it = habillé(e)s). since we are not given any context to help us determine whether NOUS is feminine or masculine, we do write both é(e)s.

Vous vous êtes dépêché(e)(s) de sortir de la maison.

(Vous AVEZ DÉPÊCHÉ QUI? VOUS; so VOUS is the direct object which replaces 'VOUS', and the past participle 'dépêché' must agree in gender -- ?? -- and in number -- plural-- with it = dépêché(e)(s). since we are not given any context to help us determine whether VOUS is feminine or masculine, singular (for politeness) or plural, we do write both é(e)(s).

Ils se sont reposés après la course.

(Ils ONT REPOSÉ QUI? SE; so SE is the direct object which replaces 'ILS', and the past participle 'reposé' must agree in gender -- masculine -- and in number -- plural-- with it = reposés).

Elles se sont couchées tôt.

(Elles ONT COUCHÉ QUI? SE; so SE is the direct object which replaces 'ELLES', and the past participle 'couché' must agree in gender -- feminine -- and in number -- plural-- with it = couchées).

Note that the past participle of the verb 'se rendre compte (to realize)' remains invariable, since the reflexive pronoun is an indirect object.

Ib).    Reflexive verbs with BODY PARTS

When reflexive verbs are used with a part of the body, the part of the body is the direct object and the reflexive pronoun is the indirect object. There is, therefore, no agreement with the past participle. Examples follow where you can see the difference between both types of verbs:

Elle s'est lavée en vitesse ce matin.

No part of the body is mentioned in this sentence, so the rules explained in Ia) apply. Elle A LAVÉ QUI? SE; so SE is the direct object which replaces 'ELLE', and the past participle 'lavé' must agree in gender -- feminine -- and in number -- singular -- with it = lavée.

Elle s'est lavé les mains avant le repas.

In this example, a part of the body (les mains) is mentioned. If we ask the appropriate question in this situation such as 'Elle A LAVÉ QUOI? les mains; then LES MAINS is the direct object whereas SE is the indirect object given that Elle a lavé les mains À QUI? À ELLE. In this sentence, the direct object follows the verb, so no agreement takes place.

Elle s'est brossé les dents après le repas.

In this sentence, a part of the body (les dents) is mentioned. If we ask the appropriate question in this situation such as 'Elle A brossé QUOI? les dents; then LES DENTS is the direct object whereas SE is the indirect object given that Elle a brossé les dents À QUI? À ELLE. In this sentence, the direct object follows the verb, so no agreement takes place.