French grammar · Elementary (A2)
The passé composé: talking about the past
How to form the passé composé with avoir or être and a past participle, and when the participle agrees.
Helper verb + past participle
The is the main past tense in spoken French. It covers both “I ate” and “I have eaten”. It has two parts: a helper verb ( or ) in the present tense, and a past participle, the form of the verb that means “eaten”, “finished” and so on.
Most verbs use : (I ate), (we finished).
| Verb type | Past participle | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -er verbs | -é: , | |
| -ir verbs like | -i: , | |
| -re verbs like | -u: , |
Irregular past participles
Many common verbs have an irregular past participle. These are worth learning early because you'll use them all the time.
| Verb | Past participle | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (to have) | (I was lucky.) | |
| (to be) | (I was ill.) | |
| (to do) | (The weather was nice.) | |
| (to take) | (I took the train.) | |
| (to see) | (Did you see Marc?) | |
| (to drink) | (We had a coffee.) | |
| (can) | (I couldn't come.) | |
| (to put) | (She put on a jumper.) |
Verbs that use être
A small group of verbs, mostly about movement or change, use instead of : , , , , , , , , , , (to be born), (to die), and verbs made from them like and . All reflexive verbs also use : .
With , the past participle agrees with the subject like an adjective: add -e for a woman, -s for plural. You can't usually hear it, but you must write it.
| Subject | (to go) |
|---|---|
| a man | |
| a woman | |
| men, or a mixed group | |
| women only | |
| (one person, polite) | or |
- Je suis arrivée hier soir.I arrived last night. (said by a woman)
- Mes parents sont partis en Italie.My parents have gone to Italy.
- Nous sommes restés à la maison.We stayed at home.
Negatives and questions
In the negative, and go around the helper verb: (I didn't see the film). (He didn't come).
Words like (already), (well) and (a lot) usually go between the helper verb and the participle.
- Tu as déjà mangé ?Have you eaten already?
- J'ai bien dormi.I slept well.
- Elle n'est pas encore rentrée.She hasn't come home yet.