Learn French: Ensuite, il s'est coiffé soigneusement.

Ensuite, il s'est coiffé soigneusement.

Next, he did his hair carefully.

Breakdown of Ensuite, il s'est coiffé soigneusement.

Questions & Answers about Ensuite, il s'est coiffé soigneusement.

Why does this sentence use est instead of a for the past tense?

Because the verb is reflexive (se coiffer, meaning to do one's own hair). In the passé composé (past tense), all reflexive verbs use the helper verb être instead of avoir. So instead of il a (he has), we use il est.

Where does the reflexive pronoun go in the past tense?

It goes right before the helper verb. Here, the pronoun se (himself) is placed before est. Because est starts with a vowel, se drops its "e" and becomes s', creating s'est.

Does coiffé change its spelling depending on who is doing their hair?

Yes! Because reflexive verbs use être, the past participle usually has to match the subject in gender and number. Here, il is masculine singular, so coiffé doesn't need any extra letters. But if the subject were elle (she), it would be elle s'est coiffée with an extra "e".

Why doesn't the French sentence include a word for "hair"?