french grammer help. the pronoun "se" ?

Question

ok in my textbook it says:

the pronoun "se" tells you that the subject of the sentence receives the the action of the verb. verbs with this pronoun before them are called reflexive verbs.

and then it says:
when you're using a reflexive verb to talk about yourself, use "me" before the verb instead of se.

i am so confused that makes no sense
can you please help me understand it?

whats wrong with just saying:

for example.
1. je lave?
why does it have to be je me lave?

like whats wrong with just saying je lave or il lave or tu laves why do u need the reflexive pronoun?

Answer 1

Each subject has its own reflexive pronoun:

je me/m'
tu te/t'
il/elle/on se/s'
nous nous
vous vous
ils/elles se/s'

That's what your textbook meant. "se" and "me" indicate the same idea (the action "goes back" to the subject). The difference between them is that "se" is used with il/elle/on/ils/elles and "me" is used with "je."

When you are looking at a verb in non-conjugated infinitive form, it will be preceded by "se." This indicates that it's reflexive and, when you conjugate it, it should have the appropriate pronoun before it.

EXAMPLE: se lever, to get (oneself) up
je me lève, I get (myself) up
tu te lèves, you get (yourself) up
il se lève, he gets (himself) up
nous nous levons, we get (ourselves) up
vous vous levez, you get (yourselves) up
ils se lèvent, they get (themselves) up

Use the contracted form of the pronouns before verbs starting with vowels.

- -

EDIT:
In response to your new question:

"je lave" and "je me lave" are both correct, but they mean different things. The first just means "I wash" ... "je lave la voiture," "je lave le chien," and so on. The second means "I wash myself." You are the object of the action, which is why the verb is reflexive.

You need a reflexive pronoun if the action goes back to the subject... if the subject is performing the washing and also being washed, for example.

Answer 2

Je lave... nedds a complement.
Je me lave.The complement is "me"
Me, te, se.... myself, yourself, him/her/itself...
The same rules in French and in English.(except the place or the complement)
but: Je me lave,
Je lave ma voiture.

Answer 3

Picking up your additional questions, 'je lave' means I wash - but what? the car? your clothes? yourself? That's why it's 'je me lave' if you wash yourself and 'je lave la voiture' if you wash the car.

Answer 4

Yes, just for pronunciation: Because aura ends in an a, and elle starts with an e, you have to add the letter t between the two to separate the vowel sounds.

Answer 5

SE : its use is justified in two situations :

reflective verb - il s'ennuie (himself )
reflective action - elle se brosse les dents (herself )

then mutual ( reciproque) action :

ils se (each other ) racontent leurs meilleurs
souvenirs

Answer 6

Il se rase - he shaves himself.

Je me rase - I shave myself.

Does that make sense?