French grammar · Advanced
Agreement with Pronominal Verbs: Reflexive Verbs in the Passé Composé
Every pronominal verb takes être in the passé composé, but the participle does not automatically agree. You have to treat the sentence as though the auxiliary were avoir: the participle agrees only when the reflexive pronoun is a direct object. That is why elle s'est levée agrees and elle s'est lavé les mains does not.
Elle s'est lavée, puis elle s'est lavé les mains.
She washed, then she washed her hands.
What it is
The auxiliary être misleads people here. It suggests subject agreement, as in elle est partie, but pronominal verbs borrow the logic of avoir instead. The reflexive pronoun is treated as the object, and the participle agrees with it if and only if that object is direct.
Elle s'est coupée. — She cut herself. (the pronoun is the direct object, so the participle agrees)
How to spot it
Rebuild the sentence with avoir and a real object. Elle s'est lavée becomes elle a lavé elle-même, with se as the direct object. Elle s'est lavé les mains becomes elle a lavé les mains à elle-même, where se is indirect.
- Elle s'est levée tôt. — She got up early. (se = direct → agrees)
- Elle s'est lavé les mains. — She washed her hands. (les mains is the object → no agreement)
- Ils se sont parlé longuement. — They talked for a long time. (parler à → no agreement)
- Elle s'est évanouie. — She fainted. (essentially pronominal → always agrees)
A quick shortcut: if a noun follows the participle, there is almost never any agreement, because that noun is the real direct object.
Agreement with Pronominal Verbs Quick Reference
The situations, and whether the participle moves
| Situation | Example | Agreement |
|---|---|---|
| se is the direct object | Elle s'est levée. | yes, with the subject |
| a direct object follows the verb | Elle s'est lavé les mains. | no |
| that object comes before the verb | les mains qu'elle s'est lavées | yes, with the object |
| se is indirect (parler à, écrire à) | Ils se sont parlé. | no |
| essentially pronominal verb | Elle s'est enfuie. | yes, always |
| se rendre compte | Elle s'est rendu compte. | no, compte is the object |
| se faire + infinitive | Elle s'est fait opérer. | no, fait is invariable |
| passive use of the pronominal | Ces maisons se sont bien vendues. | yes |
Common Agreement with Pronominal Verbs Examples in French
The four main configurations, side by side:
Se as Direct Object
- Elle s'est levée à sept heures.
- She got up at seven.
- Ils se sont assis au fond de la salle.
- They sat down at the back of the room.
- Nous nous sommes perdus dans la vieille ville.
- We got lost in the old town.
- Elles se sont habillées en noir.
- They dressed in black.
Nothing else in these sentences can be the object, so the pronoun takes the role and the participle agrees with the subject.
A Direct Object After the Verb
- Elle s'est lavé les mains.
- She washed her hands.
- Il s'est cassé la jambe au ski.
- He broke his leg skiing.
- Elles se sont acheté des chaussures.
- They bought themselves some shoes.
- Nous nous sommes fixé un objectif.
- We set ourselves a goal.
Body parts are the classic case. Les mains is what got washed, so se can only be the indirect beneficiary.
Se as Indirect Object
- Ils se sont parlé pendant des heures.
- They talked to each other for hours.
- Elles se sont écrit tout l'été.
- They wrote to each other all summer.
- On s'est dit au revoir sur le quai.
- We said goodbye on the platform.
- Elles se sont menti pendant des années.
- They lied to each other for years.
Parler, écrire, dire, mentir, plaire, sourire, téléphoner and obéir all take à before a person, so none of them ever agrees.
The Fixed Exceptions
- Elle s'est rendu compte de son erreur.
- She realised her mistake.
- Elle s'est fait couper les cheveux.
- She had her hair cut.
- Ils se sont fait avoir.
- They got taken in.
- Elle s'est fait mal au genou.
- She hurt her knee.
In each of these, something other than the pronoun is the real object: compte, the infinitive, or mal.
How the Rule Works
Five steps. Applying them in order removes almost all of the guesswork.
Être Is Automatic, Agreement Is Not
Every pronominal verb builds its compound tenses with être, without exception. That tells you nothing about the participle, because the agreement rule these verbs follow is the one belonging to avoir.
Ils se sont téléphoné, puis ils se sont vus.
They phoned each other, then they saw each other.
Same auxiliary, different endings.
Ask What the Verb Does to a Real Object
Laver quelqu'un takes a direct object, so se laver agrees. Parler à quelqu'un takes an indirect one, so se parler does not. The pronominal form inherits whatever the plain verb requires.
Elle s'est regardée dans la glace.
She looked at herself in the mirror.
regarder qqn → direct → agreement.
A Following Noun Takes the Object Role
When a noun follows the participle, it is the direct object and the pronoun is demoted to indirect. This is why body parts and purchases block agreement so reliably.
Elle s'est brûlé la main.
She burnt her hand.
Noun after the verb → flat participle.
But a Preceding Object Wins
If that same noun is moved in front of the verb by a relative pronoun, the ordinary preceding-object rule takes over and the participle agrees with the noun rather than the subject.
les mains qu'elle s'est lavées
the hands she washed
Object first → agree with the object.
Essentially Pronominal Verbs Always Agree
Verbs with no non-pronominal form — s'évanouir, s'enfuir, se souvenir, se moquer — offer no way of analysing the pronoun, so the participle simply agrees with the subject every time.
Elles se sont moquées de nous.
They made fun of us.
No base verb → always agrees.
Common Mistakes with Agreement with Pronominal Verbs
Incorrect: Elle s'est lavée les mains. — She washed her hands.
Correct: Elle s'est lavé les mains. — She washed her hands.
Les mains is the direct object of laver, so the pronoun can only be indirect. With no direct object in front of it, the participle stays flat.
Incorrect: Ils se sont téléphonés hier. — They phoned each other yesterday.
Correct: Ils se sont téléphoné hier. — They phoned each other yesterday.
Téléphoner takes à before a person, so the pronoun is indirect. Verbs of communication almost never produce agreement for this reason.
Incorrect: Elle s'est rendue compte de son erreur. — She realised her mistake.
Correct: Elle s'est rendu compte de son erreur. — She realised her mistake.
Compte is the direct object of rendre, which leaves the pronoun indirect. The expression is fixed and rendu never agrees in it.
Incorrect: Elle a se levée tôt ce matin. — She got up early this morning.
Correct: Elle s'est levée tôt ce matin. — She got up early this morning.
Pronominal verbs take être, and the reflexive pronoun goes in front of the auxiliary, not after it: elle s'est, ils se sont, nous nous sommes.
The Fixed Exceptions
Three groups where the participle is invariable for a structural reason, not by convention.
Pronominal verbs with a built-in noun
In se rendre compte, se faire mal, se rendre service, and se donner la peine, the noun is already the direct object. The pronoun can only be indirect, so the participle never moves.
- Elle s'est rendu compte trop tard.
- She realised too late.
- Elles se sont rendu service.
- They did each other a favour.
- Il s'est fait mal au dos.
- He hurt his back.
- Ils se sont donné la peine de venir.
- They went to the trouble of coming.
Se rendre compte is the one most often written wrongly: elle s'est rendue compte appears constantly and is always an error.
Se faire + infinitive
In the causative, fait is invariable whatever the subject, because the object belongs to the infinitive rather than to faire.
- Elle s'est fait opérer du genou.
- She had a knee operation.
- Ils se sont fait renvoyer.
- They got themselves fired.
- Elles se sont fait aider par un voisin.
- They got a neighbour to help them.
The same invariability applies to se laisser plus an infinitive in modern usage: elle s'est laissé convaincre.
The pronominal passive
When a pronominal verb describes what happens to a thing rather than what someone does, the participle agrees with the subject in the normal way.
- Ces maisons se sont vendues très vite.
- These houses sold very quickly.
- La nouvelle s'est répandue en une heure.
- The news spread in an hour.
- Ces choses-là ne se sont jamais dites ici.
- Things like that were never said here.
Here the subject is also the thing acted upon, which makes the pronoun direct and the agreement automatic.
Agreement with Pronominal Verbs FAQs
- Do reflexive verbs always agree in the passé composé?
- No. They always take être, but the participle only agrees when the reflexive pronoun is the direct object: elle s'est levée. If a noun follows the verb, or if the verb takes à before a person, there is no agreement: elle s'est lavé les mains, ils se sont parlé.
- Why is it elle s'est lavée but elle s'est lavé les mains?
- Because in the second sentence les mains is what got washed, so it is the direct object and se is only the beneficiary. A participle cannot agree with an indirect object, so it stays flat. Move the object forward and the agreement returns: les mains qu'elle s'est lavées.
- Which pronominal verbs never agree?
- Those built on a verb that takes à before a person — se parler, s'écrire, se téléphoner, se dire, se plaire, se sourire, se mentir, se ressembler — and the fixed expressions se rendre compte, se rendre service, se faire mal, and se faire plus an infinitive.
- Why is elle s'est rendue compte wrong?
- Because compte is already the direct object of rendre. That makes the reflexive pronoun indirect, so rendu has nothing to agree with. The correct form is elle s'est rendu compte, for every subject.
- What about essentially pronominal verbs like s'évanouir?
- They always agree with the subject: elle s'est évanouie, ils se sont enfuis, elles se sont souvenues. Since there is no non-pronominal version of the verb, the pronoun cannot be analysed as direct or indirect, and the question simply does not arise.