The passé composé
The everyday past: avoir or être and a past participle.
The passé composé is the past tense of conversation. It's made of avoir or être in the present and a past participle, and means both "I spoke" and "I have spoken".
- I spoke to her yesterday.
- We've already eaten.
- He left this morning.
Past participles
| Infinitive | Participle | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -er | -é | parler, parlé; aller, allé |
| -ir | -i | finir, fini; partir, parti |
| -re | -u | vendre, vendu; attendre, attendu |
Many common verbs have their own:
| Verb | Participle | Verb | Participle |
|---|---|---|---|
| avoir | eu | être | été |
| faire | fait | dire | dit |
| prendre | pris | mettre | mis |
| voir | vu | venir | venu |
| pouvoir | pu | vouloir | voulu |
| devoir | dû | savoir | su |
| lire | lu | boire | bu |
| écrire | écrit | ouvrir | ouvert |
| naître | né | mourir | mort |
avoir or être
Most verbs take avoir. About fifteen verbs of movement or change of state take être, and so do all reflexive verbs.
| Verbs with être |
|---|
| aller, venir, arriver, partir |
| entrer, sortir, monter, descendre |
| naître, mourir, rester, tomber |
| devenir, revenir, retourner, passer |
| reflexive verbs: se lever, s'habiller |
Agreement
With être, the participle agrees with the subject like an adjective: il est allé, elle est allée, ils sont allés, elles sont allées. You don't hear it in most verbs.
With avoir, the participle agrees only with a direct object that comes before the verb, which is mostly a matter of spelling: J'ai vu Marie, but Je l'ai vue; les lettres que j'ai écrites.
Word order
ne … pas and object pronouns go around and before avoir or être: Je n'ai pas compris, Je l'ai vu, Je ne l'ai pas vu. Short adverbs go between the two parts: J'ai bien dormi, Il a déjà fini.
Cards from this guide
10 cardsEach card asks about one thing this guide teaches, and its back gives the answer with why and an example. They're reviewed with the rest of the Past, future and commands cards.
How is the passé composé made?
The present of avoir or être, then a past participle: j'ai mangé.
What's the past participle of an -er verb?
-é: parler gives parlé.
Which verbs take être in the passé composé?
About fifteen verbs of movement or change of state, and all reflexive verbs.
How do you say "She went"?
Elle est allée.
What's the past participle of faire?
fait.
What are the past participles of avoir and être?
eu and été.
What's the past participle of voir?
vu.
How do you say "He didn't come"?
Il n'est pas venu.
Why does Je l'ai vue end in -e?
l' is a feminine object placed before the verb, and the participle agrees with it.
How do you say "I was born in Lyon"?
Je suis né à Lyon, or née for a woman.