🔐 The Spotlight Principle — five positions
| Position | Name | What happens | Agreement | Example |
|---|
| 1 | Loop Back | Spotlight turns back on the subject — true reflexive | Agrees, unless a body part/object follows | Elle s’est lavée vs. Elle s’est lavé les mains |
| 2 | Share It | Spotlight splits between two subjects acting on each other — reciprocal | Agrees only if the base verb takes a direct object | Ils se sont vus vs. Elles se sont téléphoné |
| 3 | Doer as Beneficiary | Subject gains from the action; the real direct object always follows the verb | Never agrees | Il s’est acheté une montre (not achetée) |
| 4 | Remove the Agent | Subject is what would be the direct object in an active sentence — passive/middle | Always agrees | Ce modèle s’est vendu à 10 000 exemplaires |
| 5 | Baked In | Se has no independent function — it’s part of the verb’s identity | Agrees by default (4 named exceptions never agree) | Elle s’est souvenue… vs. Elle s’est rendu compte de… |
✅ The One Agreement Question — 6-step decision path
Where is the direct object — and does it precede the verb? If yes, agree with it. If no, don’t.
| # | Ask | Result |
|---|
| 1 | Body part or external object follows the verb? | No agreement |
| 2 | Base verb takes à/de (essentially indirect)? | No agreement |
| 3 | Se faire + infinitif? | fait invariable — no agreement |
| 4 | External direct object benefits the subject (Position 3)? | No agreement |
| 5 | Se/me/te/nous/vous is the direct object of the action? | Agree |
| 6 | Position 4 — inanimate subject, passive/middle? | Agree with the subject |
Three attested traps: Elle s’est lavé les mains (not lavée — body part blocks it), Ils se sont téléphoné (never agrees — téléphoner à), Elle s’est acheté une robe (never agrees — Position 3, external object).
⏱ Passé composé vs. plus-que-parfait — reading the sequence
Every level now tags the tense on every prompt — you don’t have to guess. This table is for understanding why each tense shows up where it does, so the tag stops feeling arbitrary.
| Pattern | What it marks | Example |
|---|
| Quand + [passé composé clause],… | Two past events in sequence — the blank is the earlier one | Quand les invités sont arrivés, je ___ → m’étais déjà lavé(e) |
| [Consequence], parce que… | The blank explains why a later situation was true | Il n’a pas répondu, parce qu’il ___ → s’était déjà couché |
| Two sentences, no “quand” — a reference moment, then an earlier one (la veille, quelques jours plus tôt…) | Comparing two past moments side by side, not nested in one clause | Elle est allée au marché ce jour-là. La veille, elle ___ → avait déjà préparé une liste |
| [Subject] a dit / a expliqué / a raconté que… | Reported speech — someone recounting what had already happened | Il a expliqué qu’il ___ → s’était trompé de train |
| A single time marker, no “Quand” clause (hier soir, ce matin-là, après le match…) | One completed past event, nothing to sequence against | Hier soir, je ___ → me suis lavé(e) |
| No time marker at all before the subject | Still a single narrated event — default to passé composé | Ce modèle ___ très bien depuis la baisse des prix → s’est vendu |
Real usage isn’t limited to “Quand…,” — that’s just the most explicit version. The other patterns above show up just as often (a parce que reason, two moments compared without any linking word, someone reporting what they’d already done), so every passé composé and plus-que-parfait item mixes all four patterns rather than drilling one template — whether you meet it inside its own tense-specific level or combined with every other tense, cold, in Level 11 (Mixed). (A fifth real trigger, si + plus-que-parfait for past hypotheticals, belongs to the Si-Clauses drill instead — that's a conditional-mood structure, not a tense-sequencing one.) The tell isn’t a keyword like déjà — it’s whether the sentence sets up two past moments (plus-que-parfait for whichever happened first) or just one (passé composé). Outside a drill, this is the actual skill: nobody hands you a tense label in real conversation — that’s exactly why it’s tagged here instead of tested cold.
🔀 Verbs that change meaning with se
| Category | Non-pronominal | Pronominal |
|---|
| Physical action | lever, laver, réveiller, coucher | se lever, se laver, se réveiller, se coucher |
| Cognitive/perceptual | apercevoir, demander, attendre, douter de | s’apercevoir de, se demander, s’attendre à, se douter de |
| Emotional/state-change | fâcher, énerver, calmer, impatienter | se fâcher, s’énerver, se calmer, s’impatienter |
| Social/moral | tromper, plaindre, accorder, permettre | se tromper, se plaindre de, s’accorder, se permettre |
| Beneficiary/causative | offrir, acheter, faire couper, voir, rendre compte de | s’offrir, s’acheter, se faire couper, se voir + inf., se rendre compte de |
Four Position 5 verbs never agree despite looking “baked in”: se demander, se rendre compte de, s’imaginer, se plaire.
📚 Full verb reference by Spotlight Position — lists with examples
Every verb the drill actually tests, grouped the way The Pronominal Verb Unlock groups them, each with a real example sentence — so any prompt can be traced back to its category instead of guessed at.
Position 1 — Loop Back: the Body-Care Cluster
| French | Literal | Natural English |
|---|
| se réveiller | to wake oneself | to wake up |
| se lever | to raise oneself | to get up |
| se laver | to wash oneself | to wash / get washed |
| se brosser | to brush oneself | to brush |
| se coiffer | to do one’s hair | to do one’s hair |
| se raser | to shave oneself | to shave |
| se maquiller | to make up oneself | to put on makeup |
| se coucher | to lay oneself down | to go to bed |
When a body part follows the verb, the body part becomes the direct object and se steps back to indirect — no agreement: Il s’est cassé la jambe (not cassée), Elle s’est brossé les dents (not brossée), Ils se sont lavé les mains (not lavés) — compare Elle s’est lavée (no body part → agrees).
Position 2 — Share It: the Reciprocal cluster
| Verb | Meaning |
|---|
| se voir | to see each other |
| se parler | to speak to each other |
| s’écrire | to write to each other |
| s’aimer | to love each other |
| se disputer | to argue with each other |
| se retrouver | to meet up with each other |
| s’embrasser | to embrace each other |
| se téléphoner | to call each other |
No agreement (se = COI, base verb takes à): Ils se sont téléphoné (téléphoner à), Elles se sont parlé (parler à), Ils se sont souri (sourire à). Agrees (se = COD, base verb takes a direct object): Ils se sont vus (voir qqn), Elles se sont aimées (aimer qqn). The diagnostic: strip the reflexive — does the base verb take à before its object? If yes, no agreement.
Position 3 — Doer as Beneficiary: the Beneficiary Verb cluster
Se marks the subject as the one who benefits, not the object acted on — the real direct object is always something external, and always follows the verb. Agreement never applies.
| Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|
| s’acheter | to buy (oneself) something | Il s’est acheté une nouvelle veste pour l’entretien. |
| s’offrir | to treat oneself to | Après six mois de projet intense, l’équipe s’est offert un dîner gastronomique. |
| se permettre | to allow/afford oneself | Elle ne se permet pas de douter d’elle-même avant une présentation. |
| s’accorder | to grant oneself | Il faut s’accorder le droit d’échouer pour progresser. |
| se réserver | to save/reserve for oneself | Elle s’est réservé la décision finale. |
| se donner | to give oneself (time, permission, trouble) | Il s’est donné du mal pour que tout soit parfait. |
| se préparer | to prepare oneself (for) | Je me prépare pour la réunion. |
| se voir (+ infinitif) | to find oneself | Elle s’est vu proposer une promotion inattendue. |
Fixed expressions worth learning whole: se donner du mal / se donner le temps / se donner les moyens. Agreement note for se voir + infinitive: no agreement on vu because se is COI and the infinitive follows.
Se faire + infinitif (never agrees — fait is always invariable): commissioned, deliberate — Je me suis fait couper les cheveux. Received, neutral — Elle s’est fait proposer une promotion. Undergone, unwilling — Il s’est fait voler son téléphone.
Position 4 — Remove the Agent: the Passive/Middle cluster
| Verb | Meaning in passive/middle |
|---|
| se vendre | to be sold / sell well |
| se louer | to be rented |
| se trouver | to be located / found |
| se fabriquer | to be made |
| se dire | to be said |
| se faire | to be done |
| se manger | to be eaten |
| se boire | to be drunk |
| s’utiliser | to be used |
| se voir | to be seen / visible |
Common impersonal forms: Ça se fait. / Ça ne se dit pas. / Ça se voit. Agreement always targets the subject, which functions as the patient: La maison s’est vendue rapidement (agrees, fem. sing.), Les appartements se sont loués facilement (agrees, masc. pl.).
Position 5 — Baked In: Essential pronominals (Type A)
| Verb | Meaning |
|---|
| se souvenir de | to remember |
| se méfier de | to be wary of |
| s’évanouir | to faint |
| s’absenter | to step away |
| se repentir de | to repent |
| s’enfuir | to flee |
| se moquer de | to make fun of |
Se has no syntactic function here — the participle always agrees with the subject: Elle s’est souvenue de moi. Il s’est méfié de ses intentions. Exception: se rendre compte de — compte is the direct object and always follows the verb, so rendu stays invariable: Elle s’est rendu compte de son erreur.
Position 5 — Baked In: Meaning-shift pronominals (Type B)
| Non-pronominal | Meaning | Pronominal | Meaning |
|---|
| tromper qqn | to deceive | se tromper | to be mistaken |
| apercevoir qqch | to notice (visual) | s’apercevoir de | to realize (cognitive) |
| attendre qqn | to wait for | s’attendre à | to expect |
| passer | to pass / go by | se passer | to happen |
| demander qqch | to ask for | se demander | to wonder |
| douter de | to doubt | se douter de | to suspect |
| plaindre qqn | to pity | se plaindre de | to complain about |
| rendre | to give back | se rendre à | to go to / surrender |
| mettre | to put | se mettre à | to begin |
The pronominal form almost always turns the focus inward: tromper is outward (deceiving someone else); se tromper is about you (being in a state of error). Il a trompé son associé pour obtenir le contrat. vs. Il s’est trompé dans ses calculs.
Position 5 — Baked In: the “Get” pattern
| French | Literal | English |
|---|
| se fâcher | to become angered | to get angry |
| s’énerver | to become irritated | to get irritated |
| se calmer | to become calm | to calm down |
| s’endormir | to fall into sleep | to fall asleep |
| se fatiguer | to become tired | to get tired |
| s’habituer à | to become accustomed | to get used to |
| s’impatienter | to become impatient | to get impatient |
The English “get” test: if English uses “get + adjective” or “fall + [state],” French very likely uses a pronominal verb. All agree by default — se has no independent function.