Francais I

Le passé

composéTalking about the past

Passé ComposéThe passé composé is the most common French past tense. The passé composé can express any of the following:1. An action completed in the past.

2. An action completed a number of times in the past. 3. A series of actions completed in the past.

The passé composé has three English equivalents.

• For example: J’ai dansé can mean

1. I danced.2. I have danced.3. I did dance.

The passé composé has two parts:

To form the P.C., first conjugate the auxiliary verb (être or avoir) in the

present tense.

êtreje suistu esil/elle/on estnous sommesvous êtesils/elles sont

avoirj’aitu asil/elle/on anous avonsvous avezils/elles ont

(OR)

Then, after you conjugate avoir or être, you add the past participle of the verb being expressed. You do not need to conjugate this verb. The past participle for all regular –er verbs is formed the same way: change the –er to an é

parler parléjouer jouémanger mangéarriver arrivé

**There are other rules and ways for forming past participles for other kinds of verbs (like irregular verbs). For now, just write out and memorize the past participles as they are given to you.

When put together, it looks like this:

J’ai danséTu as danséIl a danséElle a danséNous avons danséVous avez danséIls ont danséElles ont dansé

Je suis arrivéTu es arrivéIl est arrivéElle est arrivéeNous sommes arrivésVous êtes arrivésIls sont arrivésElles sont arrivées

(or)

How do you know when to use être and when to use avoir??

You will just have to memorize the verbs that use être. Most all other

verbs will use avoir.

For now, we will ONLY practice those verbs that use être.

****SPECIAL NOTE****

• Verbs that use être as the auxiliary verb MUST agree with the subject in number AND gender!!! If it is feminine, you must add an “-e.” If it is plural, you must add an “-s.” If it is both feminine AND plural, you add an “-es.”

Example:Il est tombé.Elle est tombéeIls sont tombésElles sont tombées

The following verbs use être in the passé composé:

(in alphabetical order)

Verb Definition Past Participle

aller to go allé(e)(s)

arriver to arrive arrivé(e)(s)

descendre to descend/to go downstairs descendu(e)(s)

devenir to become devenu(e)(s)

entrer to enter entré(e)(s)

Verb Definition Past participle

monter to climb monté(e)(s)

mourir to die mort(e)(s)

naître to be born né(e)(s)

partir to leave parti(e)(s)

passer to pass passé(e)(s)

rentrer to come back rentré(e)(s)

Verb Definition Past Participle

rester to stay resté(e)(s)

retourner to return retourné(e)(s)

revenir to come back/to come again revenu(e)(s)

sortir to go out sorti(e)(s)

tomber to fall tombé(e)(s)

venir to come venu(e)(s)

To make a verb negative in the passé composé, place ne/n’ and pas around the auxiliary

verb, êtreExamples:

Il n’est pas tombé.Elle n’est pas tombée.Nous ne sommes pas tombés.

There are two tricks to help you memorize those verbs that use être in

the passé composé:

- DR. & MRS VANDERTRAMPP

- Maison d’être

DR. & MRS. VANDERTRAMPP

• Descendre• Rester

• Mourir• Retourner• Sortir

• Venir• Aller• Naître

• Devenir• Entrer• Rentrer• Tomber• Revenir• Arriver• Monter• Partir• Passe

MAISON D’ÊTRE

Passé composé with avoir

• Verbs that do not use être as the auxiliary verb in the P.C. use avoir. The formation is still the same:

present tense of the auxiliary verb + past participle

J’ai mangé

Verbs that use avoir in the P.C. do NOT have to agree with the

subject (no extra “e” or “s” is needed).

Il a mangéElle a mangéIls ont mangéElles ont mangé

Past participles for verbs are the same, whether the

auxiliary verb is être or avoir.

regular -er verbs change the –er to “-é”

regular –ir verbs change the –ir to “-i”

regular –re verbs change the –re to “-u”

Some verbs have irregular past participles. They do not follow a specific pattern and need to be

memorized.

verb definition past participle

avoir to have eu

boire to drink bu

prendre to take pris

être to be été

faire to do/to make fait