Question 1

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

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 2

Where does the reflexive pronoun go in the past tense?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 3

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

Accepted Answer

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".

Question 4

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

Accepted Answer

The verb coiffer specifically means to style or comb hair. By using it reflexively (se coiffer), it literally translates to "to do one's own hair". The reflexive pronoun s' already tells us whose hair is being done, so there is no need to add the French word for hair (les cheveux).

Question 5

Why is the adverb soigneusement placed at the very end of the sentence?

Accepted Answer

In the past tense, long adverbs that end in -ment (which are similar to "-ly" words in English) are usually placed after the past participle (coiffé). Shorter adverbs like bien (well) or mal (badly) usually go between the helper verb and the past participle.

Ensuite, il s'est coiffé soigneusement.

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