34 votes
Accepted

I am confused with the word order when putting a sentence into passé composé with reflexive verbs

The answer of your teacher is not correct. Because the verbe s'amuser is a reflexive verb, in any tense, you cannot omit the reflexive pronoun: in your case, the second nous. That means your version ...
Laurent G.'s user avatar
  • 1,437
17 votes
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Behaviour of verb that looks pronominal but doesn't have a "se" entry in the dictionary?

All verbs that use the reflexive pronoun are pronominal, and all use être for the auxiliary in compound tenses. Ad-hoc pronominals like se pincer can be formed with pretty much any transitive verb ...
Luke Sawczak's user avatar
  • 18.6k
13 votes

I am confused with the word order when putting a sentence into passé composé with reflexive verbs

Teacher is not correct, indeed: "Nous ne sommes pas amusés au festival." means "We are not entertained at the festival" (which is in present tense) while your answer "Nous ne nous sommes pas amusés au ...
yactouat's user avatar
  • 231
13 votes
Accepted

What is the difference between "se chercher" and "chercher"?

Je me mange une pomme is a case of "autobenefactive" form. It is considered informal outside regions where it is very common (Southern France). Je me cherche du travail/un emploi is more ...
jlliagre's user avatar
  • 141k
10 votes

I am confused with the word order when putting a sentence into passé composé with reflexive verbs

I'll give a little hint in addition to the other answers. The teacher is indeed wrong. Nous ne sommes pas amusés au festival This sentence is not wrong per se, but it does not mean the same thing,...
Pierre Arlaud's user avatar
9 votes
Accepted

Is there a good explanation of different types of pronominal verbs?

As far as I know, there is no hard classification between verbs based on the difference of meaning between their pronominal form and non-pronominal form. This in probably due in part to the fact that ...
Aralicia's user avatar
  • 389
9 votes

“Échapper” or “s'échapper”, which is correct in this sentence?

A correct answer with "échapper" is: J'échappe au lion. Together with a person/object, you says "j'échappe à/au". The form "je m'échappe du/de" is used together with a location: Je m'échappe ...
Bkyn's user avatar
  • 474
9 votes
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Why is “l'obtint” used here instead of “s'obtint”?

Le désespoir m'allait saisir ; on pense à moi pour une place, mais par malheur j'y étais propre : il fallait un calculateur, ce fut un danseur qui l'obtint. Ce fut un danseur qui obtint la place de ...
None's user avatar
  • 58.2k
9 votes

Reflexive verb with avoir

Si vous voyez un verbe réfléchi, comme « s'engager » et de nombreux autres, conjugué avec « avoir », c'est une erreur. Tous les verbes réfléchis utilisent « être » au passé composé, et la forme ...
user45266's user avatar
  • 221
9 votes
Accepted

Limits on the Use of the Indirect Object Pronoun to Indicate Possession

Body parts and possessives From A Comprehensive French Grammar, 228-229, use the indirect object pronoun to refer to the person affected when the action applies to someone else's body. The indirect ...
livresque's user avatar
  • 2,048
8 votes
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The interrogative form of “Nous nous tenons bien”

The fact that the subject and object pronouns are identical makes the sentences sound a little strange, but doesn't affect the construction. Te tiens-tu bien ? Nous tenons-nous bien ? Te maries-tu ? ...
Gilles 'SO nous est hostile''s user avatar
8 votes

Tu te souviens du...? Ou souviens tu de....?

"souvenir" is a reflexive verb. You will always use it as "se souvernir". So it would be : Tu te souviens d'Aaron ? Tu te souviens de Stéphane ? Te souviens-tu du zoo que nous avions visité ? ...
Random's user avatar
  • 5,951
8 votes
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Translation of "Did it go well?"

C'est bien passé ? I'm not feeling very well and I'm not feeling hungry, nevertheless my mum wanted me to get some food down my system (mums will be mums...) but afterwards she's worried whether it ...
None's user avatar
  • 58.2k
8 votes
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"approcher" ou "s'approcher"

Approcher veut dire « devenir plus proche de quel­que chose » et on l'emploie plutôt avec un sujet non animé : Je suis content que les vacances approchent. S’approcher veut dire « se déplacer pour ...
None's user avatar
  • 58.2k
8 votes

j'ai tombé, je me suis tombé, je suis tombé... What's the difference?

The most common use of tomber is an intransitive verb: Je suis tombé (de la chaise). 1 Je suis tombé (par terre).2 In Classical French tomber was sometimes used in this sense conjugated with *...
None's user avatar
  • 58.2k
7 votes
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« Que s'il avait s'agit » vs « que s'il s'agissait »

Il s'était agi pour conjuguer s'agir au plus-que-parfait. J'ai tendance à préférer le plus-que-parfait même s'il est en théorie utilisé pour des faits antérieurs à un autre fait passé, et qu'il n'y en ...
Un francophone's user avatar
7 votes
Accepted

Approcher vs. s’approcher

The verb approcher can be used a reflexive way and means that the subject gets closer to the object. Je m'approche de la fenêtre. (I'm getting near the window.) The opposite is: Je m'éloigne de la ...
jlliagre's user avatar
  • 141k
7 votes

Après l'école, c'est moi qui m'occupe de mes frères

You have to identify je m'occupe de as the reflexive form of a verb. You seem to have got so far as to identify you are dealing with a reflexive verb but the problem might be that in English the ...
None's user avatar
  • 58.2k
7 votes

Behaviour of verb that looks pronominal but doesn't have a "se" entry in the dictionary?

It's je me suis pincé. As soon as you use a reflexive pronoun, it has to follow the normal conjugation rules.
lkl's user avatar
  • 4,618
7 votes
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Where's the subject in "Le jour qui se rêve."

I think there are two concepts that you need to understand: the usage of qui and the meaning of the reflexive. The relative pronoun qui replaces a subject that has already been mentioned when that ...
Dave's user avatar
  • 86
6 votes

Grammar: “ne me sentais pas” or “ne sentais pas”

Yes it is necessary as the second form doesn't make sense in French. Je ne me sentais pas le cœur de refuser. → I didn't feel like refusing Je ne sentais pas le cœur de refuser. → I wasn't smelling/...
jlliagre's user avatar
  • 141k
6 votes

Est-ce que les enfants se sont lavé(es) les mains ?

Il y a 13 pages sur l'accord du participe passé dans le Bon Usage dont trois sur les verbes pronominaux. Pour le cas qui nous concerne (916, a dans la douzième édition): Quoique les verbes ...
Un francophone's user avatar
6 votes

Agreement of past participle of pronominal verbs

One difference is the former is very rarely used while the second one is very common. The main and most subtle one is the difference in agreement. In the first sentence, "au doigt" is an optional ...
jlliagre's user avatar
  • 141k
6 votes
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« S'appelle » ou « appelée » pour emplacements?

"J'habite dans une petit rue s'appelle" is grammatically incorrect. You can say either une petite rue qui s'appelle (literally "a small street that is called") or une petite rue appelée ("a small ...
lkl's user avatar
  • 4,618
6 votes

Reflexive verb with avoir

The expression *Je m'ai engagé is broken French. Only Je me suis engagé is correct. It is then unlikely to be heard from native French people but might be found in books where it is used to ...
jlliagre's user avatar
  • 141k
6 votes
Accepted

Pourquoi « on le peut observer » et non « on peut l’observer »?

Il s'agit d'une syntaxe ancienne, qui aujourd'hui n'est plus utilisée, excepté dans un registre littéraire soutenu. Cf. le point 2.c ici
Greg's user avatar
  • 17.1k
6 votes

Pourquoi « on le peut observer » et non « on peut l’observer »?

La signification est la même. Il s'agit d'une forme archaïque où le pronom est placé avant le verbe. Elle ne subsiste qu'à l'écrit et dans un registre soutenu.
jlliagre's user avatar
  • 141k
5 votes
Accepted

Why is “être” used in “Son estomac s'est mis à gronder.”

Pronominal verbs like se mettre always use être as an auxiliary to form compound tenses. Ils se sont envolés pour Rome. It's also the case for normal verbs accidentally used reflexively. Il a ...
Stéphane Gimenez's user avatar

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