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C. Reading / D. Writing · Reading and Writing in French: Telling, Convincing and Connecting

Les verbes pronominaux: Reading a Comic and Writing a Daily Routine

C1 C2 D1 D2About 50 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can name the parts of a comic: cases, bulles, récitatifs, onomatopées.
  • I can follow the events of a comic and use the pictures and words together.
  • I can conjugate reflexive verbs like se lever and s'habiller in the present.
  • I can make reflexive verbs negative: je ne me lève pas.
  • I can write about my daily routine, in order, with times.

Words to know

une bande dessinée (une BD)
A comic: a story told with pictures and words.
une case
One panel (box) of a comic.
une bulle
A speech bubble.
un récitatif
A caption box that tells the story (the narrator's words).
une onomatopée
A sound word: DRING ! (ring), Zzz (snoring), Boum !
un verbe pronominal
A reflexive verb: a verb with an extra pronoun, like se lever (to get up).
la routine
The things you do every day, in the same order.
un chandail
A sweater or top (Canadian French; in France, un pull).

Comics are real reading!

Comics (les bandes dessinées, or les BD) are very popular in the French-speaking world. In a comic, the pictures and the words work together: you need both to understand the story.

Today's comic is about a busy school morning. It is full of a new kind of verb: reflexive verbs (les verbes pronominaux). You already know one: je m'appelle (I call myself = my name is)!

Lundi, 7 h.DRING !onomatopéeLève-toi !bulleThéo se lève.récitatif(case = panel)
Parts of a comic: an onomatopoeia (sound word), a speech bubble (bulle) and a caption box (récitatif). Each box is a case (panel).
Worked example

Let's read the comic

Le matin de Théo (une bande dessinée en 6 cases)

Case 1. Récitatif : Lundi, 7 h. Le réveil : DRING ! DRING ! Théo : « Zzz... Encore cinq minutes... »

Case 2. Sa mère : « Théo, lève-toi ! Tu vas être en retard ! »

Case 3. Récitatif : Théo se lève enfin. Il se lave le visage et il se brosse les dents.

Case 4. Récitatif : Il s'habille très vite. Il met son chandail à l'envers, mais il ne remarque rien !

Case 5. Théo : « Je me dépêche ! » Il prend son sac à dos et il court à l'arrêt d'autobus.

Case 6. Le chauffeur : « Bonjour, Théo ! Ton chandail est à l'envers ! » Théo : « Oh non ! »

  1. Comic features: the récitatifs (Lundi, 7 h. / Théo se lève enfin...) tell when and what happens. The bulles show what people say. DRING ! and Zzz are onomatopées (sound words).
  2. Use the pictures: in a real comic, case 4 would show Théo's sweater inside out. If you don't know à l'envers, the picture (and case 6) helps: it means inside out (or backwards).
  3. Reflexive verbs: lève-toi (get up!), se lève (gets up), se lave (washes), se brosse (brushes), s'habille (gets dressed), je me dépêche (I hurry).
  4. Inference: il ne remarque rien (he doesn't notice anything) + Oh non ! = Théo is embarrassed when the driver tells him.
  5. Canadian French: le chandail (sweater), l'arrêt d'autobus (bus stop). Also: le chauffeur = driver; le sac à dos = backpack.

Théo sleeps in, rushes through his routine, puts his sweater on inside out, and only finds out when the bus driver tells him.

What makes a verb reflexive?

A reflexive verb has an extra little pronoun, because the person does the action to themselves:

  • Je lave le chien. I wash the dog.
  • Je me lave. I wash myself.

In the dictionary, reflexive verbs start with se (or s' before a vowel): se lever, se laver, se brosser, s'habiller, se coucher, se dépêcher, s'amuser, se reposer, se réveiller.

When you conjugate, the se changes to match the subject. Me, te, se become m', t', s' before a vowel.

A bathroom counter with a toothbrush in a cup, toothpaste, a hairbrush, soap and a folded towel below a round mirror.
Je me brosse les dents, je me lave, je me peigne: many morning routine verbs are reflexive verbs. AI-generated image
Subjectse laver (to wash)s'habiller (to get dressed)se lever (to get up)
jeje me laveje m'habilleje me lève
tutu te lavestu t'habillestu te lèves
il / elle / onil se laveil s'habilleil se lève
nousnous nous lavonsnous nous habillonsnous nous levons
vousvous vous lavezvous vous habillezvous vous levez
ils / ellesils se laventils s'habillentils se lèvent
Reflexive verbs use the regular -er endings from Grade 5. Se lever adds an accent (è) when the ending is silent: je me lève, but nous nous levons.

Brushing your teeth, the French way

In French you say Je me brosse les dents (I brush the teeth), not mes dents. The me already shows they are your teeth. Same idea: Je me lave les mains. Elle se brosse les cheveux.

Negative: ne goes before the little pronoun, pas after the verb: Je ne me lève pas tôt. Il ne s'habille pas.

⏰🪥👕🥣🚌
A morning in order: the alarm clock rings, I brush my teeth, I get dressed, I eat breakfast, I take the bus.
Worked example

Let's write a morning routine

Turn the pictures above into a short routine paragraph, with times and order words.

  1. ⏰ À 7 h, je me réveille. (se réveiller = to wake up)
  2. 🪥 D'abord, je me brosse les dents. (les dents, not mes)
  3. 👕 Ensuite, je m'habille. (me → m' before a vowel; habiller starts with a silent h)
  4. 🥣 Puis, je mange des céréales. (not reflexive: you eat the cereal, not yourself!)
  5. 🚌 Enfin, à 8 h 10, je prends l'autobus.
  6. Check: the order words from Grade 5 (d'abord, ensuite, puis, enfin) help the reader follow.

À 7 h, je me réveille. D'abord, je me brosse les dents. Ensuite, je m'habille. Puis, je mange des céréales. Enfin, à 8 h 10, je prends l'autobus.

Just for fun

Funny-but-true: comics say sounds differently in French! A French rooster says cocorico, a French dog says ouaf ouaf, and a sneeze in a French BD is atchoum ! 🐓🐶🤧

Bonus: reflexive verbs in the past

Reflexive verbs use être in the passé composé (just like the house of être), so the participle agrees: Ce matin, je me suis levé à 7 h (a boy). Elle s'est habillée vite. You will see this in stories; try it in the Challenge!

Hands-on activity

Make your own 4-case comic

You need: paper, a ruler, pencils.

  1. Draw 4 boxes (cases).
  2. Choose a part of your day: the morning, after school, or bedtime.
  3. In each case, draw one step and write one récitatif with a reflexive verb: Je me réveille. / Je me brosse les dents. / Je m'habille. / Je me dépêche !
  4. Add at least one bulle (someone talking) and one onomatopée (DRING ! Miam ! Zzz...).
  5. Add a funny problem, like Théo's sweater.
  6. Read your comic aloud to your family. Can they follow the story from the pictures and words together?

Your turn

1

What time does Théo's alarm ring?

2

What does Théo's mother tell him?

3

What problem does Théo have in case 4?

4

Is DRING ! a bulle, a récitatif or an onomatopée?

5

Complete: Nous ___ (se lever) à 7 h.

6

Complete: Elle ___ (s'habiller).

7

Make negative: Je me dépêche.

More practice: warm-up

1

What is une case in a comic?

2

Translate: je me lave.

3

Complete with the pronoun: Tu ___ couches à 21 h.

4

Which word is used in Canada for a sweater: un chandail or un pull?

5

What does se brosser les dents mean?

More practice: on your own

1

Fix: Je me brosse mes dents.

2

Fix: Il se habille.

3

Complete: Mes frères ___ (s'amuser) dans la neige.

4

Make negative: Vous vous reposez.

5

Reflexive or not? Je lave la voiture. / Je me lave.

Challenge

1

Write 4 sentences about your school-day morning with times and order words. Use 3 reflexive verbs.

2

Compare a school day and a Saturday in 2 sentences, using one negative.

3

Rewrite case 3 in the passé composé: Théo se lève enfin. Il se lave le visage.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

In a comic, a bulle shows...

2.

Je ___ habille.

3.

Nous ___ levons à 7 h.

4.

Which sentence is correct?

5.

Which negative is correct?

6.

Why is Théo embarrassed at the end?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Comics are a graphic text form; Grade 6 students identify their features and purposes (C2) and combine picture and word clues to understand them (C1). Students then write a sequenced routine and a mini-comic (D1), checking pronouns and endings (D2).

How to help:

  • Narrate your own routine in French as you do it: Je me brosse les dents ! It is silly and memorable.
  • Borrow French comics or graphic novels from the library; let your child use the pictures to guess meaning.

Common difficulties:

  • Forgetting the pronoun (je lave when they mean je me lave) or using the wrong one (nous se levons).
  • Writing je me brosse mes dents.
  • Putting ne after the pronoun (je me ne lève pas).

Canadian French used (heard in Québec and other parts of Canada): un chandail (sweater), l'arrêt d'autobus (bus stop).