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Je me suis coiffé et j'ai cherché une cravate.

Je me suis coiffé et j'ai cherché une cravate.
I did my hair and I looked for a tie.
From Lesson 126:Past tense of reflexive verbs (je me suis…)·French

Breakdown of Je me suis coiffé et j'ai cherché une cravate.

je
I
et
and
avoir
to have
chercher
to look for
se coiffer
to do one's hair
la cravate
the tie

Questions & Answers about Je me suis coiffé et j'ai cherché une cravate.

Why do we use suis instead of ai in Je me suis coiffé?
Because se coiffer (to do one's hair) is a reflexive verb. In the past tense, all reflexive verbs use the helping verb être (to be) instead of avoir (to have). Even though it translates to "I did my hair" in English, in French the structure is closer to "I myself am done-hair".
If a woman is speaking, does coiffé change?
Yes! Because reflexive verbs use être in the past tense, the past participle usually has to match the gender and number of the subject. If a woman is speaking, she adds an extra "e" and writes Je me suis coiffée. The pronunciation stays exactly the same.
Why does the second half of the sentence switch back to using avoir (j'ai cherché)?
While reflexive verbs like se coiffer always use être, regular verbs like chercher (to look for) still use avoir in the past tense. It is very common to mix both helping verbs in the same sentence when describing what you did.
Why is there no French word for "for" in j'ai cherché une cravate?
The French verb chercher already means "to look for" or "to seek". A very common mistake for English speakers is to add pour, but in French, you just place the object directly after the verb.

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