In the sentence 'Elles se sont ______ les mains avant le repas', what is the grammatically correct past participle form of laver?
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. lavé
With pronominal verbs, the past participle agrees with the direct object (COD) only if the COD precedes the verb. In 'Elles se sont lavé les mains', 'les mains' is the direct object and appears after the verb ('elles ont lavé quoi? les mains'; 'se' is the indirect object COI). Because the COD follows the verb, the past participle remains invariable: 'lavé'.
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