Can a reflexive verb (s'asseoir) be used in a sentence without a reflexive pronoun?

CherylC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Can a reflexive verb (s'asseoir) be used in a sentence without a reflexive pronoun?

Bonjour, Is this sentence correct, please? : Elles sont allées dans le jardin, et sont assises sous un arbre. (They went into the garden, and sat under a tree) Or, is it necessary to write: Elles sont allées dans le jardin, et se sont assises sous un arbre. Regards, Cheryl.
Asked 6 years ago
SueC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
My thought on this is that you can not leave out the reflexive pronoun because this indicates in your sentence that they sat themselves down. If they sat an infant in the chair it would not be reflexive. If you se coucher, it is putting oneself to bed, but to put another to bed you drop the se. perhaps the experts will be able to confirm this?
AurélieKwiziq team member
Bonjour Cheryl ! Sue is right :) "Asseoir" without the reflexive pronoun means "to sit [someone else] down". If you want to say "they were sitting under a tree" - i.e. they're in that position - you will use the passive voice "elles étaient assises" (they were sat). But if you want to say "they sat [themselves] down under a tree - referring to the action of sitting - then it will be "elles se sont assises". Also note that if you used "asseoir" as non reflexive (I sat my daughter down), you will use "avoir" as auxiliary: "J'ai assis ma fille." I hope that's helpful! À bientôt !
CherylC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Merci encore Aurélie, Cheryl
CherylC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Merci Sue! Aurélie agrees with you; many thanks to both of you, Cheryl

Can a reflexive verb (s'asseoir) be used in a sentence without a reflexive pronoun?

Bonjour, Is this sentence correct, please? : Elles sont allées dans le jardin, et sont assises sous un arbre. (They went into the garden, and sat under a tree) Or, is it necessary to write: Elles sont allées dans le jardin, et se sont assises sous un arbre. Regards, Cheryl.

Sign in to submit your answer

Don't have an account yet? Join today

Ask a question

Find your French level for FREE

Test your French to the CEFR standard

Find your French level
Let me take a look at that...