The passé composé is a crucial tense in French, used to describe actions that have been completed in the past. It is equivalent to the English simple past or present perfect.
Formation
The passé composé is formed with two components:
- Auxiliary Verb: Either "avoir" or "être"
- Past Participle: The main verb in its past form
Auxiliary Verb
Most verbs use "avoir" as the auxiliary verb, but some verbs use "être." The choice of auxiliary affects the sentence structure.
- Avoir: Used with the majority of verbs
- Être: Used with a specific set of verbs, primarily verbs of movement or change of state, and all reflexive verbs.
Past Participle
The past participle is the equivalent of the English "-ed" form or irregular past forms. Its formation depends on the verb.
Conjugation with "Avoir"
Most verbs in the passé composé use "avoir" as the auxiliary verb. The past participle does not agree in gender or number with the subject.
Regular Verb Conjugation
- ER Verbs: The past participle ends in -é.
- Example: parler (to speak) → parlé
- IR Verbs: The past participle typically ends in -i.
- Example: finir (to finish) → fini
- RE Verbs: The past participle usually ends in -u.
- Example: vendre (to sell) → vendu
Irregular Verbs
Many verbs have irregular past participles that must be memorized.
- avoir (to have) → eu
- être (to be) → été
- faire (to do/make) → fait
- mettre (to put) → mis
- prendre (to take) → pris
- voir (to see) → vu
Examples with "Avoir"
- J'ai parlé. (I spoke.)
- Tu as fini. (You finished.)
- Il a vendu. (He sold.)
- Nous avons eu. (We had.)
- Vous avez fait. (You did.)
- Elles ont vu. (They saw.)
Conjugation with "Être"
A smaller group of verbs uses "être" as the auxiliary verb. With these verbs, the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject.
Être Verbs
The verbs that take "être" can be remembered with the acronym DR & MRS VANDERTRAMP. These are typically verbs of movement or change of state.
- Devenir (to become) → devenu
- Revenir (to come back) → revenu
- Monter (to go up) → monté
- Rentrer (to return) → rentré
- Sortir (to go out) → sorti
- Venir (to come) → venu
- Arriver (to arrive) → arrivé
- Naître (to be born) → né
- Descendre (to go down) → descendu
- Entrer (to enter) → entré
- Retourner (to return) → retourné
- Tomber (to fall) → tombé
- Rester (to stay) → resté
- Aller (to go) → allé
- Mourir (to die) → mort
- Partir (to leave) → parti
Additionally, all reflexive verbs use "être" in the passé composé.
Examples with "Être"
- Je suis allé. (I went.)
- Tu es entré. (You entered.)
- Elle est née. (She was born.)
- Nous sommes venus. (We came.)
- Vous êtes tombés. (You fell.)
- Ils sont sortis. (They went out.)
Reflexive Verbs
Reflexive verbs also use "être" in the passé composé, and the past participle agrees with the subject.
- Je me suis lavé. (I washed myself.)
- Tu t’es couché. (You went to bed.)
- Il s’est habillé. (He got dressed.)
- Nous nous sommes amusés. (We had fun.)
- Vous vous êtes promenés. (You took a walk.)
- Elles se sont réveillées. (They woke up.)
Agreement of Past Participles
With verbs that use "être," the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject:
- Masculine Singular: Il est allé.
- Feminine Singular: Elle est allée.
- Masculine Plural: Ils sont allés.
- Feminine Plural: Elles sont allées.
Example
- Il est monté. (He went up.)
- Elle est montée. (She went up.)
- Ils sont montés. (They went up.)
- Elles sont montées. (They went up.)
Common Verbs and Their Past Participles
Here is a list of some common verbs and their past participles:
| Infinitive | Past Participle |
|---|---|
| avoir | eu |
| être | été |
| faire | fait |
| dire | dit |
| écrire | écrit |
| lire | lu |
| mettre | mis |
| ouvrir | ouvert |
| pouvoir | pu |
| prendre | pris |
| savoir | su |
| voir | vu |
| vouloir | voulu |
Examples in Sentences
- J'ai mangé une pomme. (I ate an apple.)
- Elle a bu de l'eau. (She drank water.)
- Nous avons écrit une lettre. (We wrote a letter.)
- Ils ont fait leurs devoirs. (They did their homework.)
- Je suis arrivé en retard. (I arrived late.)
- Elle est partie tôt. (She left early.)
- Nous nous sommes réveillés à sept heures. (We woke up at seven o'clock.)
Usage
The passé composé is used to describe:
- Completed actions in the past: J’ai fini mes devoirs. (I finished my homework.)
- A series of past actions: Il a pris son manteau et il est sorti. (He took his coat and went out.)
- A specific moment in the past: Nous avons visité Paris l’année dernière. (We visited Paris last year.)
Key Points to Remember
- Most verbs use "avoir" as the auxiliary.
- Verbs of movement, change of state, and reflexive verbs use "être."
- With "être," the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject.
- Memorize irregular past participles as they do not follow standard patterns.
- The passé composé is essential for narrating past events, making it a fundamental part of everyday communication in French.