how to conjugate essayer in passe compose

formes composées / compound tenses

conditionnel

*Blue letters in conjugations are irregular forms. ( example ) *Red letters in conjugations are exceptions to the model. ( example ) *Grayed conjugations are forms that are extremely rare.

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French: essayer

French verb 'essayer' conjugated.

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• Essayer Conjugation

Essayer to try, to attempt

Essayer - indicative.

Essayer - Perfect

Essayer - Subjunctive

Essayer - Conditional

Essayer - Imperative (Commands)

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Conjugaison du verbe essayer

Participe passé essayer, sans accord.

Avec accord

Passé composé, plus-que-parfait, passé simple, passé antérieur, futur simple, futur antérieur, conditionnel, synonyme du verbe essayer, traduction essayer.

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Verb Table for essayer

All conjugation types.

• Conjugation with avoir (Currently shown)
• Reflexive (conjugation with être)

Indicatif  •  Subjonctif  •  Conditionnel  •  Impératif  •  Formes impersonnelles

Passé simple

Futur simple

Passé composé

Plus-que-parfait

Passé antérieur

Futur antérieur

Participe présent

Participe passé

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Conjugations for essayer

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Conjugation of the French Verb "Essayer"

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Mastering the French verb 'essayer' involves understanding its unique conjugation patterns, such as the optional 'y' to 'i' change in certain forms. This guide covers present, past, imperfect, conditional, and future tenses, as well as the use of the auxiliary verb 'avoir' in compound tenses. It also provides strategies to avoid common errors and enhance memorization of the correct forms, emphasizing the importance of pronunciation in the French language.

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Regular -er Verb with Unique Characteristics

Meaning and usage of "essayer".

"Essayer" is a regular -er verb in French that means 'to try' and has a unique characteristic of changing 'y' to 'i' in certain forms

Optional 'y' to 'i' Change in Certain Tenses

Pronunciation and Spelling Changes

In the singular and third person plural forms of certain tenses, the 'y' in "essayer" may change to an 'i', affecting both pronunciation and spelling

Dual Spelling in First Person Singular Present Tense

The first person singular present tense of "essayer" can be spelled as 'j'essaie' or 'j'essaye', highlighting the intricacies of French orthographic conventions

Conjugation Patterns and Usage in Different Tenses

"Essayer" follows regular -er verb conjugation patterns, with the optional 'y' to 'i' change in some forms, and is used to describe actions or states occurring at the moment of speaking

Essential Tenses for Everyday Communication

Present tense conjugation.

The present tense conjugation of "essayer" is similar to that of other regular -er verbs, but with the optional 'y' to 'i' change in some forms

Passé Composé

The passé composé, formed with the auxiliary verb 'avoir' and the past participle 'essayé', is used to convey completed actions in the past

Imperfect Tense and Other Moods

Imperfect Tense

The imperfect tense, or imparfait, describes past actions that were ongoing or habitual

Subjunctive Mood

The subjunctive mood, expressing doubt, desire, or uncertainty, includes forms like 'que j'essaie' and 'que vous essayiez'

Conditional Mood

The conditional mood, used for hypothetical scenarios, is conjugated as 'j'essayerais' or 'vous essayeriez'

Future and Past Tenses

Future tense.

The future tense of "essayer" is formed by adding the appropriate endings to the infinitive and discusses future events

Plus-Que-Parfait

The plus-que-parfait, a form of the perfect tense, is constructed with the imperfect tense of 'avoir' and the past participle 'essayé', used for actions that had been completed before another past action

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In French, the verb 'essayer' translates to '______,' and it belongs to the ______-er verb category.

to try regular

Optional 'y' to 'i' change in 'essayer'

Occurs in singular forms except nous/vous; 'j'essaie' or 'j'essaye'.

Present tense usage in French

Describes actions/states at the moment of speaking; used daily.

Dual spelling in French orthography

Some verbs like 'essayer' have two correct spellings; 'essaie' or 'essaye'.

The ______ tense is used to express completed actions in the past with the verb 'essayer'.

passé composé

Imperfect Tense Usage

Describes ongoing/habitual past actions, sets scene for narratives.

Subjunctive Mood Function

Expresses doubt, desire, uncertainty, used in dependent clauses.

Conditional Mood Application

Used for hypotheticals, polite requests, and future events in the past.

To express future actions in French, 'essayer' changes to 'j'essaierai' for 'I will try', and 'ils/elles essaieront' for 'they will try'.

j'essaierai ils/elles essaieront

Essayer conjugation exception: 'y' to 'i' shift

In certain forms, 'essayer' changes 'y' to 'i' before a silent 'e'.

Essayer 1st person singular present tense: dual spelling

In present tense, 'essayer' can be spelled as 'j'essaie' or 'j'essaye'.

In the present tense 'nous' form of 'essayer', it's important to remember the double '______', and to use the correct auxiliary verb in compound tenses.

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What is the unique aspect of the french verb "essayer" in terms of conjugation, how is "essayer" conjugated in the present tense, and what does it signify, how do you form the passé composé with "essayer," and what is its significance, can you describe the use of "essayer" in the imperfect, subjunctive, and conditional moods, what are the future and plus-que-parfait tenses of "essayer" used for, is "essayer" considered a regular or irregular verb, and why, what are some common mistakes when conjugating "essayer" and how can they be avoided, contenuti simili, esplora altre mappe su argomenti simili.

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Understanding the Basics of Essayer Conjugation in French

Present Tense Conjugation of Essayer

Past tense mastery with essayer, exploring the imperfect and conditional forms of essayer, future and perfect tenses in essayer conjugation, regular vs. irregular patterns in essayer conjugation, avoiding common mistakes and tips for conjugating essayer.

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Past of the French verb essayer

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• Essayer Conjugation

Mastering the conjugation of "essayer," a pivotal verb in French , facilitates a deeper understanding of the language's complexities. It shifts remarkably across tenses, from 'j'essaie' in the present to 'j'essaierai' in the future, highlighting the verb's versatility. This essential guide ensures you deftly navigate through its various forms, enriching your French linguistic prowess.

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Understanding Essayer Conjugation in French

Conjugating the French verb essayer translates to attempting or trying in English. It's an essential verb that you’ll often encounter. Getting familiar with its conjugation can significantly enhance your French learning journey.

The basics of Essayer Verb Conjugation

Essayer is a regular -er verb but with a slight twist. When conjugated, the 'y' changes to an 'i' in the singular and the third person plural forms, although this change doesn’t apply to all tenses. This variation is a key aspect to remember about essayer conjugation.

Remember, the spelling change from 'y' to 'i' before a silent 'e' helps with the pronunciation.

How to Conjugate Essayer in the Present Tense

Conjugating essayer in the present tense involves a straightforward pattern similar to that of other regular -er verbs, with the noted exception of the 'y' to 'i' change in certain forms. Here’s how you conjugate essayer in the present tense:

Note that both 'j'essaie' and 'j'essaye' are acceptable forms of the first person singular in the present tense, reflecting the spelling variation mentioned earlier.

Mastering Essayer Conjugation: The Past Tense

To form the past tense, also known as the passé composé , of essayer , you need the helping verb 'avoir' and the past participle 'essayé'. The structure is similar to many other French verbs. The conjugation in the passé composé depends on the subject pronoun:

The past participle essayé maintains its spelling across all subject pronouns in the passé composé, which simplifies its usage. The auxiliary verb 'avoir' is conjugated according to the subject, making understanding of 'avoir' conjugation equally essential in mastering essayer in the past tense.

Deep Dive into Essayer Conjugation French

Conjugation forms an integral part of mastering French, bringing verbs to life in different contexts and tenses. A detailed look at essayer conjugation across various moods and tenses can broaden your understanding and usage of this versatile verb.

Essayer Conjugation Present: A Closer Look

The present tense of essayer offers the first glimpse into its usage, showing how the verb adapts in current scenarios. The unique 'y' to 'i' switch in certain forms makes it slightly different from other regular -er verbs.Here is the conjugation of essayer in the present tense for quick reference:

The forms 'j'essaie' and 'j'essaye' are both correct, demonstrating a flexible aspect of French spelling and pronunciation norms.

Navigating Essayer Imparfait Conjugation

The imparfait , or imperfect tense, conveys ongoing actions or states of being in the past. It illuminates what was happening at a certain point without focusing on the beginning or end of the action. Conjugating essayer in the imparfait involves a standard set of endings added to the stem: Stem: essay-Here’s a quick guide to its conjugation:

The Subjunctive and Conditional Moods in Essayer Conjugation

The subjunctive and conditional moods of essayer explore possibilities, hypotheses, and situations dependent on conditions.For the subjunctive mood, expressing doubt, wish, or uncertainty, here are the forms:

The conditional mood deals with potential scenarios or actions that would happen under certain conditions. Here’s how to conjugate essayer in the conditional mood:

Understanding these moods requires recognizing the nuances in tone and meaning they bring to conversations or written text. The subjunctive often appears after expressions that start with 'il faut que' (it is necessary that), 'bien que' (although), or 'pour que' (so that), reflecting its use in expressing desires or hypothetical situations. Meanwhile, the conditional mood is frequently used in polite requests or in sentences that begin with 'si' (if), laying down a condition for the action to occur.

Practising Conjugate Essayer Across Tenses

Understanding how to conjugate the French verb essayer across different tenses is integral to mastering its use. This versatility allows you to express actions in the present, past, future, and conditional states, making your French more fluent and nuanced.

The Future and Perfect Tenses of Essayer Verb Conjugation

Conjugating essayer in the future and perfect tenses allows for expressing actions that will occur or have been completed. The future tense speaks about events that will happen, while the perfect tense, using the passé composé, talks about actions that were completed in the past.

The future tense of essayer closely follows the regular -er verb conjugation pattern but with its unique twist in spelling.

For the perfect tense, combining the auxiliary verb avoir with the past participle essayé forms a compound tense that expresses actions completed in the past.

Regular vs Irregular Patterns in Essayer Conjugation French

The verb essayer presents an interesting case of blending regular -er verb conjugation patterns with its own unique irregularities. Understanding these patterns is crucial to effectively using essayer in various contexts.

A regular verb follows a predictable pattern of conjugations across different tenses and moods. In contrast, an irregular verb does not follow these standard conjugation patterns, making memorization necessary.

With its unique 'y' to 'i' shift in certain forms and uses, essayer stands between the realms of regular and irregular verbs. In the present tense, for example, both 'j'essaie' and 'j'essaye' are acceptable, showcasing this flexibility. This mix of predictability and irregularity is what makes studying French both a challenge and a joy. Understanding when each form is appropriate comes with practice and exposure to the language in various scenarios.

The choice between using the 'y' or changing it to 'i' in essayer conjugation often depends on pronunciation ease rather than a hard rule, especially in informal settings.

In summary, mastering the conjugation of essayer requires understanding its regular patterns and the exceptions. Whether you’re expressing what you're trying or what you will try in the future, or what you have tried in the past, essayer is a verb that can add depth to your French repertoire.

Common Mistakes and Tips for Conjugation Essayer

Conjugating essayer , meaning 'to try' in French, can sometimes be tricky for learners. While it follows the general pattern of regular -er verbs, certain nuances can lead to common mistakes. Understanding these can significantly improve your grasp of French verb conjugation.

Avoiding Common Errors with Essayer Conjugation

Conjugating essayer presents unique challenges that often lead to mistakes. Recognizing these can help you avoid them in the future.Here are some frequently encountered pitfalls:

• Mixing up the 'y' to 'i' change: In certain forms, especially in the singular and the third person plural forms of some tenses, 'essayer' changes the 'y' to an 'i'. Not applying this change where necessary is a common error.
• Forgetting the double 's' in the nous form: In the present tense, 'nous essayons' retains the double 's', rather than changing to a single 's', which can be misleading.
• Incorrect auxiliary verb in compound tenses: Using the wrong auxiliary verb (être instead of avoir) for the passé composé and other compound tenses is another typical mistake.

Always double-check the spelling when conjugating essayer , especially for the 'y' to 'i' shift and the use of double 's' in the nous form.

Handy Tips to Remember Conjugation Essayer

To successfully memorise and apply the conjugation of essayer , consider implementing these strategies:Here are beneficial tips to enhance your learning process:

• Create mnemonic devices: Developing unique memory aids can help you recall the specific spelling changes of essayer .
• Practise with sentences: Use essayer in various sentences to get comfortable with its conjugation across different tenses.
• Listen and repeat: Engage with multimedia resources in French to hear the conjugation of essayer in action. Repeating what you hear reinforces learning.

Understanding that the 'y' to 'i' change in essayer conjugation is to facilitate pronunciation can help remember when to apply it. This change occurs before a silent 'e', a common practice in French to make pronunciation smoother. Making such connections between language rules and their practical applications can significantly enhance your language learning.

Essayer Conjugation - Key takeaways

• Essayer Conjugation French: Essayer means 'to try', and its conjugation is essential for proficiency in French.
• Essayer Verb Conjugation Twist: While essayer follows the regular -er verb pattern, it features a 'y' to 'i' change in singular and third person plural forms for certain tenses.
• Conjugation Essayer in the Present: Forms include 'j'essaie/essaye', 'tu essaies', 'il/elle/on essaie', 'nous essayons', 'vous essayez' and 'ils/elles essaient/essayent'.
• Essayer Past Tense and Perfect Tense: Utilizes the auxiliary verb 'avoir' and the past participle 'essayé', yielding forms like 'j'ai essayé', demonstrating consistency across subject pronouns.
• Essayer Imperfect Conjugation (Imparfait): Reflects ongoing or habitual past actions, for example, 'j'essayais', 'tu essayais', indicating actions or states of being continuing in the past.

Flashcards in Essayer Conjugation 12

It's important because it's the only tense used to give commands or instructions.

'Apprendre' is part of the first group of verbs, making it very regular in pattern.

Mixing up the conjugation with -er ending verbs

By changing 'apprend' to 'appront' for plural forms

The subjunctive mood expresses doubts, wishes, or possibilities, essential when expressing desires or uncertainties about learning.

The past participle 'appris' changes based on the subject's number.

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Frequently Asked Questions about Essayer Conjugation

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The ultimate guide to the passé composé (and a handy rule)

November 3, 2021

This article contains affiliate links. This means French Together may earn a commission for purchases made through these links. Read our full affiliate disclosure .

“Please don’t use the passé simple tense in your essay.”

This is the first sentence our professor told us, a group of French college students, as we were about to take an exam.

“Most French college students don’t know how to use the passé simple properly”, he went on.

My professor was right. Most French people don’t know how to use the passé simple properly because they rarely need to use it.

This is great news for you as a French learner, because it means you probably don’t need to bother learning this complicated tense.

if your only goal is to communicate with locals, you only need to know two French past tenses: le passé composé and l’imparfait . That’s why these are the tenses we focus on in our conversational French app .

Today’s article will show you when and how to use the passé composé and how the DR MRS P. VANDERTRAMP acronym can help you.

When should you use the passé composé?

The bad news is that French people use several past tenses.

The good news is that le passé composé is the most common tense and that you can already express yourself well if it’s the only French past tense you know.

Le passé composé is the equivalent of:

• The simple past (j’ai fait, I did)
• The present perfect (j’ai fait, I have done)

You use it to highlight the consequences of past actions and to talk about:

• Completed actions.
• Repeated actions.
• Series of actions.
• Conditions in likely situations.

How to conjugate verbs in the passé composé tense

The passé composé is a compound tense, meaning you need two components to conjugate a verb.

• A helping verb (être or avoir) conjugated in the present tense.
• The past participle (participe passé) of the verb you want to conjugate.

Let’s see how this works in practice!

1. Choose your helping verb/auxiliary verb

The first step to conjugating a verb in the passé composé is to find out what helping verb (also called auxiliary verb) it uses: être or avoir.

Avoir (to have) is the most common helping verb.

If you ever find yourself in the middle of a conversation wondering whether to use avoir or être to conjugate in the passé composé, choose avoir. It’s the most common helping verb and is likely to be the one you need.

Once you know the verb you want to conjugate in the passé composé uses “avoir”, you simply need to conjugate avoir in the present tense and add the past participle (participe passé).

Être and the DR MRS P. VANDERTRAMP acronym

Être is less common than “avoir” as an auxiliary verb but a few common French verbs use it when conjugated in the passé composé.

An easy way to remember some of these verbs is to use the Dr and Mrs Vandertramp or Dr Mrs P Vandertramp mnemonics.

Each letter in the sentence Dr and Mrs P Vandertramp represents the beginning of a verb that uses être as a helping verb when conjugated in the passé composé.

Other verbs that use être include:

• All reflexive verbs (verbs that use “se”.)
• Some verbs indicating movement or a change of state.

Once you know the verb you want to conjugate in the passé composé uses être, it’s time to conjugate être in the present tense

2. Add the past participle

Verbs in the passé composé are formed by putting together a helping verb (être or avoir) conjugated in the present tense + a past participle.

Once you know what helping verb to use, all you need to do is add the past participle of the verb you want to conjugate.

The majority of French verbs are regular and forming their past participle is easy.

Simply use the recipe below:

Regular ER verbs => é Regular IR verbs => i Regular RE verbs => u

Manger => J’ai mangé Finir => J’ai fini Vendre => J’ai vendu

There are also a few irregular verb patterns:

• Faire, dire and other verbs in ire => it
• Connaitre and other verbs in aitre => u
• Venir and other verbs in enir => enu
• Prendre and other verbs in -endre => pris

Some irregular verbs won’t match any of these patterns, if that’s the case, you need to look up the individual past participle conjugation.

This includes:

#3 Make the verb agree in number and gender

Passé composé agreement of verbs using être as a helping verb

Verbs using être as a helping verb to form their passé composé agree in gender and number with the subject.

• Je suis arrivé(e) => you add a e if the subject if female.
• Ils sont arrivé(s) (you add a “s” is the subject is plural).
• Elles sont arrivé(es) ( you add a e plus a s if the subject is plural and female.)

If the subject is a group of 10 women and 1 man, you are supposed to act as if the entire group was male because French grammar considers that male always wins.

There is, however, a growing number of people who refuse to follow (and even teach) this rule they consider sexist .

Passé composé agreement of verbs using avoir as a helping verb

Verbs using avoir in the passé composé only need to agree with preceding direct objects. A simple way to know whether a verb has a preceding direct object is to ask what? after the verb.

La tarte qu’elle a mangée était excellente. The tart she ate was excellent.

Here you can say, she ate what? The tart. Since tart comes before the verb and is female, you need to agree in number and add a “e” to mangé.

If this all sounds complicated don’t worry.

While it takes a while to get used to all these new conjugations, mistakes will rarely prevent you from being understood. In fact, the French regularly make mistakes when they use the passé composé.

Learn to conjugate avoir and être, focus on learning the most common patterns and you will be able to correctly conjugate verbs in the passé composé in the majority of cases.

Want to learn the passé composé in the context of real-life conversations? Give French Together a try!

Le passé composé: the past tense in French

What is the passé composé , when to use the passé composé in french, how to conjugate the passé composé in french, participe passé : the french past participle, avoir or être, agreement of the participe passé.

• Exercises – Passé composé

The passé composé is the most important past tense in French. It corresponds to the English simple past (I did, I saw …) or sometimes the present perfect (I have done, I have seen …) .

The passé composé talks about actions that were completed in the past and emphasises their results or consequences in the present.

In spoken language, the passé composé is always used instead of the passé simple . We form the passé composé using the auxiliary verbs avoir or être followed by the past participle (le participe passé ) of the verb.

Learn everything you need to know about the French passé composé with Lingolia’s quick and easy examples, then put your knowledge to the test in the free exercises.

Hier, Michel a rangé son bureau.

Il a décidé de ranger son bureau chaque semaine.

We use the passé composé to talk about one-time, completed actions that took place in the past. This tense places the emphasis on the result or consequences of the action.

Learners of French often find it difficult to know when to use the passé composé and when to use the imperfect tense . Go to our page dedicated to the difference between the imparfait and passé composé to learn when to use which tense, then test yourself in the free exercises.

To conjugate the passé composé we use the present tense of avoir or être as an auxiliary verb, followed by the past participle (participe passé) of the main verb.

In negative sentences , the past participle comes after the second part of the negation (pas) .

For reflexive verbs , the reflexive pronoun comes after the first part of the negation (ne) and before the auxiliary verb (avoir/être) .

To see the conjugation of any French verb in the passé composé go to our verb conjugator .

For regular er/ ir/re -verbs, the past participle is formed as follows:

• If the infinitive ends in -er , the participle ends in é Example: aim er – aim é
• If the infinitive ends in -ir , the participle ends in i Example: fin ir – fin i
• If the infinitive ends in -re , the participle ends in u Example: vend re - vend u

For the irregular verbs, however, we have to look up the past participle form in the list of irregular verbs or check the verb conjugator — or simply learn the forms by heart.

Most verbs construct the passé composé with avoir, however être is used as the auxiliary verb in the following cases:

• with reflexive verbs
• with the following verbs of movement: naître/mourir be born/die , aller/venir go/come , monter/descendre go up/go down , arriver/partir arrive/leave , entrer/sortir enter/go out , apparaître appear , rester stay , retourner return , tomber fall and their related forms such as: revenir come back , rentrer go back in , remonter go back up , redescendre go back down , repartir leave again .

Note: we use avoir when descendre, ( r)entrer, (re)monter, retourner and sortir are followed by a direct object. In this case, the meaning of the verb often changes.

Need a handy trick to remember which verbs take être as their auxiliary in the passé composé ? Check out our page on the difference between avoir and être.

For some verbs, the participe passé has to agree in gender and number with either the subject or the object of the sentence. This agreement is necessary in the following situations:

• When a verb takes être as an auxiliary, the participle agrees in gender and number with the subject. Example: Il est all é dans son bureau. He went to his office. Elle est all ée dans son bureau. She went to her office. Ils sont all és dans leurs bureaux. They went to their offices. Elles sont all ées dans leurs bureaux. They (only women) went to their offices.
• For verbs that take avoir in the passé composé , the participle only agrees in gender and number with a direct object that comes before the verb. This direct object can take three possible forms: a personal pronoun (me, te, le, la, nous, vous, les) , the relative pronoun que , or a noun placed before the verb (usually in questions and exclamations). Example: Il a rangé son bureau . → Il l' a rang é . He cleaned up his office. → He cleaned it (Fr. masc. sing.) up. Il a rangé sa chambre . → Il l' a rang ée . He cleaned up his room.→ He cleaned it (Fr. fem. sing. ) up. Il a rangé ses dossiers . → Il les a rang és . He sorted his files. → He sorted them (Fr. masc. p lural) . Il a rangé ses cartes de visite . → Il les a rang ées . He sorted his business cards.→ He sorted them (Fr. fem. p lural) .

The participe passé does not agree with the subject of the following verbs: se téléphoner to call each other , se parler to talk to each other , se mentir to lie to each other , se plaire (complaire/déplaire) to like each other , se sourire to smile at each other , se rire to laugh at each other , se nuire to hurt each other , se succéder to succeed each other , se suffire to be enough , se ressembler to look like each other , s’en vouloir to be annoyed with each other . This is because the reflexive pronoun is an indirect object. It is used in the sense of “each other” for these verbs.

se rendre compte

Although it is reflexive, the past participle of the verb se rendre compte (to realise) does not agree with the subject of the sentence. This is because the word compte acts as a direct object (se rendre quoi ? → compte).

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Verb conjugation of "essayer" in French

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The French Passé Composé Guide: How to Form It and When to Use It

When you start learning a language, you often begin with the present tense .

But if you are ready to take the next step and start speaking , reading, listening to and writing about the past in French, you need to learn the  passé composé. 

The  passé composé  is the French perfect tense and the most common past tense form in spoken French. 

We’ll walk you through all aspects of the passé composé: how to practice it, when to use it, how to form it, how to put it into negative statements and how to employ it in questions.

When to Use the French Passé Composé 

• The French Passé Composé Definition

Verbe Auxiliare (Auxiliary Verb)

Passé composé with avoir.

• Passé Composé with Être 

Forming the Participe Passé (Past Participle)

Passé composé in negative statements.

• Passé Composé in Questions

Where to Practice the Passé Composé

And one more thing....

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

The  passé composé  is a verb tense used to talk about the past, but it’s not the only past tense in French.

For instance, there’s the  imparfait  (imperfect) , which describes repeated or habitual actions, as well as the  passé simple  (simple past) , which is employed in literature.

So what exactly does the  passé composé  do?

The  passé composé is the primary way to discuss the past in spoken French .

Learning this tense is key to sharpening your conversational skills .

Take the following dialogue as an example:

A: Q u’est-ce que tu as fait aujourd’hui ? (What did you do today?)

B: Je me suis levée , j’ ai bu un café, puis je suis allée en cours . (I got up, I drank coffee, then I went to class.)

A: Et dans l’après-midi ? (And in the afternoon?)

B: J’ ai regardé un film avec une amie . (I watched a movie with a friend.)

A: Êtes-vous sorties au cinéma   ? (Did you go out to the theater?)

B: Non, nous l’ avons vu sur Netflix . (No, we saw it on Netflix.)

This dialogue gives you a first taste of the tense and shows its practicality. It’s the form you’d use to recount your day, describe your recent vacation or talk about the news .

The passé composé  isn’t just for talking about the recent past! You’ll use this same verb form to talk about recent events as well as ancient history :

Recent past: Il a fait des achats hier. (He went shopping yesterday.)

Distant past: Les Égyptiens ont construit les Pyramides. (The Egyptians built the pyramids.)

Two vastly different time-tables, same grammatical construction. The key is that the  passé composé  is used to talk about completed actions that took place at one time .

The French Passé Composé  Definition

You might be wondering what passé composé itself means.

If you’re really into grammar, it corresponds to the “perfect tense,” but the phrase  passé composé  literally means “compound past.” This makes sense because, as you may have noticed in the examples, this verb form has two parts:

Verbe auxiliare  (auxiliary verb) + participe passé  (past participle) = passé composé  (perfect tense)

Don’t worry. We’ll dive into each part and help you put it together.

The auxiliary verb is the first part of the  passé composé, meaning it comes after the subject and before the past participle.

The auxiliary verb is always either avoir or  être  conjugated the same way it would normally be with the subject.

Here’s a close-up of the  passé composé  in-action:

Subject + auxiliary verb + past participle 

Il  +  a  +  cuisiné. 

The subject is  il  (he), and the auxiliary verb is avoir, which becomes  a  when conjugated with  il .

Finally, the past participle is cuisiné, from the infinitive  cuisiner  (to cook).

The full sentence is:

Il a cuisiné. (He cooked.)

That’s how the passé composé is formed! It’s definitely not the most difficult grammatical construction out there.

But yes, there’s more.

Now, we’ll look in detail at when to use each of the auxiliary verbs.

The vast majority of French verbs form the passé composé with avoir .

This means that you’ll conjugate avoir the way you normally would and then add the past participle, as in the previous example.

Let’s do one more together:

Subject + avoir + past participle [+ additional details]

Je + ai + acheté + des fleurs hier.

J’ai acheté des fleurs hier. (I bought flowers yesterday.)

Avoir conjugated in the first person singular is ai, and acheté is the past participle of acheter (to buy).

But does it agree?

Agree grammatically, that is. Remember how adjectives need to agree in gender and number with the words they describe?

For example, compare un grand lit (a big bed), une grande table (a big table), les grands lits (the big beds) and les grandes tables (the big tables).

Fortunately, when using avoir in the passé composé, agreement is generally not required.

There is a special case where agreement is necessary, but it’s quite rare, so don’t lose sleep over it.

When a direct object and que (that) comes before the passé composé phrase, the past participle must agree with that object, even if the auxiliary verb is avoir .

It would look like this:

Les fleurs que j’ai acheté es sont belles. (The flowers that I bought are beautiful.)

In this case, les fleurs are the direct object (they are what was bought), and they come before the passé composé verbs.

Therefore, agreement is necessary. Since les fleurs is feminine plural, we add -es to the regular past participle, acheté .

Note that sont (are) is the second action in the sentence and is not part of the passé composé .

Again, this is a complex, uncommon construction, so in most cases, you don’t need to worry about agreement with avoir .

Passé Composé  with  Être 

There are two types of verbs that take être in the  passé composé .

The first group is intransitive verbs , meaning they don’t take a direct object . These verbs, such as  venir  (to come), often describe movement.

A common strategy to remember these verbs is the “DR. and MRS. VANDERTRAMP” mnemonic , in which each letter stands for a verb:

• D evenir (to become)

This -ir verb has an irregular past participle: devenu .

• R evenir (to come back)

Following the pattern of devenir, this verb’s past participle is revenu .

• M onter (to go up)
• R etourner (to return)
• S ortir (to go out)
• V enir (to come)

This verb’s past participle is  venu .

• A ller (to go)
• N aître (to be born)

The irregular past participle of  naître is  né .

• D escendre (to go down)
• E ntrer (to enter)
• R entrer (to go home, come back)
• T omber (to fall)
• R ester (to stay)
• A rriver (to arrive)
• M ourir (to die)

This verb’s irregular past participle is  mort .

• P artir (to leave)

The second group of verbs that take être is reflexive verbs . These are actions that, either literally or figuratively, reflect back onto the subject.

Such verbs are always accompanied by a reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nous or vous).

Some common reflexive verbs include  se brosser  (to brush), se souvenir  (to remember) and  se laver  (to wash).

In the passé composé, these verbs take  être and follow this pattern:

Subject + reflexive pronoun + être + past participle [+ additional details]

Il + se + est + brossé + les dents.

Il s’est brossé les dents. (He brushed his teeth.)

Se is the third person reflexive verb,  est is  être conjugated for the subject  il  and the past participle of  brosser is  brossé .

Remember our discussion about agreement?

When être is the auxiliary verb, the past participle always agrees in gender and number with the subject.

This means adding -e for a subject that’s feminine, -s for a masculine plural subject and -es for a feminine plural subject.

Here’s an example:

Elle est allé e au magasin. (She went to the store.)

The past participle  allé  becomes  allé e   to reflect the feminine subject,  elle  (she).

The participe passé  (past participle) is the second piece of the  passé composé, following the  verbe auxiliare  (auxiliary verb).

The past participle is employed in other grammatical constructions (not just with the passé composé), but there’s a good chance this is the first time you’re encountering it.

To form the past participle, you’ll simply take the verb’s infinitive form (the basic, unconjugated form you’ll see in dictionaries and vocabulary lists) and change its ending.

What that looks like depends on which verb group is involved:

These three rules cover most French verbs.

However, you need to look out for irregular verbs .

Here are some of the most important irregular past participle forms .

Memorizing the irregular past participles will make using the passé composé  much easier.

Hopefully, you’re never accused of a crime in France, but knowing how to explain that you did not do a particular thing is still helpful.

You may recall that the normal negative construction is:

Subject + ne + verb + pas  [+ additional information}

Je + ne + joue + pas + aux échecs.

Je ne joue pas aux échecs. (I don’t play chess.)

But what does it look like with the  passé composé, when there are at least two verbs and (for reflexive verbs) a reflexive pronoun?

Simply put the auxiliary verb between ne and  pas .

The pattern looks like this:

Subject + ne + auxiliary verb + pas + past participle [+ additional information]

Il + ne + a + pas + répondu + à ma question. 

Il n ‘a pas répondu à ma question. (He didn’t answer my question.)

Other negative statements such as  ne… jamais (never) follow this same pattern:

Elle n ‘a jamais vu cette pièce. (She never saw this play.)

Nous ne sommes jamais allés à l’université. (We never went to university.)

For reflexive verbs, the reflexive pronoun goes after  ne and before the auxiliary verb:

Subject + ne + reflexive pronoun + auxiliary verb + pas + past participle [+ additional information]

Je + ne + me + suis + pas + brossé + les dents. 

Je ne me suis pas brossé les dents. (I didn’t brush my teeth.)

Passé Composé  in Questions

You may remember that there are three ways to form a question in French . We’ll review each one with examples using the  passé composé.

For yes or no questions, it’s typical to just say a statement with rising intonation to indicate that you expect confirmation. We do the same thing in English, and the word order is exactly the same as in a declarative sentence:

Vous avez lu ce livre ? (You’ve read this book?)

A second method is to employ the phrase est-ce que (literally, “is it that”). In this case, the word order is still the same; you just put est-ce que at the beginning:

Est-ce que vous avez lu ce livre ? (Have you read this book?)

Où est-ce que tu es née ? (Where were you born?)

Finally, you can ask a question through inversion . This means that the verb and subject switch places and are joined with a hyphen.

For the  passé composé, the auxiliary verb comes first, followed by the subject and then the past participle:

Avez -vous lu ce livre ? (Have you read this book?)

Où es -tu née ? (Where were you born?)

Ready for a challenge?

How would one form a negative question with the  passé composé?

You’d place ne  before the auxiliary verb and subject, followed by  pas:

N’ avez -vous pas lu ce livre ? (Haven’t you read this book?)

You can find all these and more in the FluentU video library:

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Learning the passé composé can be confusing, but p ractice will make all the grammatical pieces fall into place much more easily.

Once you’re ready to tackle the  passé composé  yourself, try out these resources to put your skills to the test!

• Tex’s French Grammar. This handy site is affiliated with the University of Texas and contains several grammar help pages hosted by your friendly neighborhood, French-speaking armadillo, Tex. These pages review the formation of the passé composé and include a quiz for both verbs that take avoir and verbs that take être .

• Lingolia. Here, you can take a three-part quiz that gets progressively more challenging. In the beginning, you just choose être or  avoir from a drop-down menu. You’re asked to write out the full passé composé form in part two and finally, you’ll complete each sentence with an irregular past participle form in part three.
• ProProfs. This quiz simply shows you an irregular verb, and it’s up to you to type in the correct past participle form.
• YouTube. Not in the mood for a quiz? Here’s a catchy Lego-themed video to help you remember the verbs that take  être in the  passé composé. 

Here’s your guide to understanding the passé composé that can vastly expand your language abilities.

You can now study history in French, learn from others’ experiences and reflect on your own past.

Now, all that’s left to do is practice and bask in your new skills.

FluentU has a wide variety of great content, like interviews, documentary excerpts and web series, as you can see here:

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All throughout, FluentU tracks the vocabulary that you’re learning and uses this information to give you a totally personalized experience. It gives you extra practice with difficult words—and reminds you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned.

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Passé Composé

By: Author David Issokson

Posted on Published: February 8, 2022  - Last updated: July 5, 2024

The French passé composé is a past tense formed by combining the present tense of avoir (to have) or être (to be) as an auxiliary verb with a past participle. For example, j’ai parlé français (I spoke French) or je suis allé en France (I went to France).

What is the French passé composé?

The passé composé is used to describe specific past actions that occurred at precise times and are completed.

On this page we’ll learn how to form the passé composé for regular as well as irregular verbs.

We’ll also look at how to form the passé composé the 17 verbs of movement which take the auxiliary verb être .

The other major French past tense is called the imperfect ( l’imparfait ). On this page we covered the French imperfect tense in detail.

On this page we covered the passé composé for reflexive verbs .

Passé composé conjugation

To form the passé composé , combine an auxiliary or helping verb ( verbe auxiliaire ) with the past participle of the verb.

The following is the passé composé of the verb parler (to speak).

The past participle parlé is the same for every person and the auxiliary verb avoir (to have) changes in accordance with each subject.

In French, every verb has one single past particle. This makes learning the passé composé much easier than the present tense.

Negation rule for the passé composé

To negate the passé composé , wrap ne…pas around the helping (auxiliary) verb. Here are few example sentences. We have bolded the ne…pas.

• Nous n ‘avons pas mangé. We have not eaten.
• Ils n ‘ont pas dansé. They didn’t dance.
• Vous n ‘avez pas voyagé. You have not traveled.

Passé composé for regular verbs

Regular -er verbs.

To form the past participle for regular -er verbs, remove the -er on the infinitive (to form) of the verb and replace it with é . Hence:

parler -> parl er -> parlé

Here are the regular -er verbs manger (to eat), travailler (to work) and habiter (to live) in the passé composé .

Regular -ir verbs

To form the past participle with regular -ir verbs, drop the -ir on the infinitive and replace it with -i .

finir (to finish) -> fin ir -> fini

Here are the regular -ir verbs choisir (to choose), réussir (to succeed) and obéir (to obey) in the passé composé :

Regular -re verbs

To form the past participle for for regular -re verbs, drop the -re and replace it with -u .

vendre (to sell) -> vendre -> vendu

Here are some examples of regular -re verbs attendre (to wait), entendre (to hear), répondre (to reply, answer) in the passé composé .

Here are some example sentences with regular verbs in the passé composé.

• Nous avons mangé la pizza. We at the pizza.
• Marie a fini son repas. Marie finished her meal.
• Georges a vendu la voiture. Georges sold the car.

Irregular verbs in the passé composé

Irregular verb s have irregular past participles in the passé composé . The following is a list of commonly used irregular verbs and with their past participles.

Irregular past participles

The following example sentences are formed with irregular verbs in the passé composé .

• J’ai lu le livre. I read the book.
• Pierre a fait un gâteau. Pierre made a cake.
• Martin a bu le café. Martin drank the coffee.
• Nous avons vu un film. We saw a movie.

Groups of irregular verbs in the passé composé

Groups of related irregular verbs share related past participles. For every irregular “base” verb in the following table you will find the past participles of related verbs.

To form the past pariciples for verbs ending in -rir , remove the -rir from the infintive and replace with -ert . For example:

• Ouvrir (to open) -> j’ai ouvert I opened
• Couvrir (to cover) -> j’ai couvert I covered
• Découvrir (to discover) -> j’ai découvert I discovered
• Souffrir (to suffer) -> j’ai souffert I suffered

Être verbs in the passé composé

In French, there is a list of seventeen verbs which take the auxiliary verb être (to be) in the passé composé . These tend to be verbs of movement.

In the previous section, all of there verbs which took the auxiliary verb avoir were transitive .

This means that the action of a verb is carried out onto an object . For example, “I eat pizza” becomes “I ate the the pizza” ( j’ai mangé la pizza ).

However, the following être verbs are intransitive , meaning that the action of the verb is not carried out onto any particular object . In essence, the subject and object are the same .

Detailed explanation:

I’m staying home. -> I’m not carrying out the action of staying onto anything else. I am both the subject and the object . I’m not doing anything to anything else.

Hence, Je reste chez moi (I stay home) becomes Je suis resté chez moi (I stayed home).

The following is aller (to go) in the passé composé .

The past participle of a a verb that uses être as an auxiliary verb in the passé composé must agree in gender and number with the subject.

There is an extra -e or -s is added to the past participle if the subject is feminine or plural.

Dr. & Mrs. Vandertramp

A fun mnemonic device for memorizing the group of French verbs that are conjugated with être in the passé composé is called Dr. & Mrs. Vandertramp. These letters are the first letters of the list of verbs.

The following example sentences are verbs which require être as an auxiliary verb in the passé composé .

• Je suis rentré chez moi à 11h00 . I returned home at 11 o’clock.
• Il est devenu très riche. He became very rich.
• Martin est monté la montagne . Martin climbed up the mountain.

Verbs which can take auxiliary verbs être and avoir

Some verbs take both être and avoir as auxiliary verbs. The difference is whether the verb is transitive (has a direct object and takes avoir ) or intransitive (doesn’t have a direct object an thus takes être ).

Passer = to pass by, spend time

• Je suis passé par la poste. I went by the post office.
• J’ai passé trois ans en France. I spent three years in France.

Sortir = to leave, to take out

• Je suis sorti de la maison . I left the house.
• J’ai sorti la poubelle. I took the trash out.

Monter = to climb, to take up

• Je suis monté la montagne. I climbed the mountain.
• Je suis monté la boîte dans le grenier. I brought the box up to the attic.

Descendre = to go down, take down

• Je suis descendu dans la cave. I went down to the basement.
• J’ai descendu la boîte dans la cave. I brought the box down to the basement.

My good friend, Camille, at Frenchtoday.com also provides an excellent post on the passé composé . In her post, Camille, provides crystal-clear grammatical explanations with lots super helpful example sentences.

Related lessons:

• Imperfect tense
• Future tense
• Conditional tense
• Reflexive verbs
• Passé Composé (Wikipedia)

French grammar | Lessons by David Issokson

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David Issokson

David Issokson is a lifelong language learner and speaks over seven languages. Of all the languages he speaks, he's the most passionate about French! David has helped hundreds of students to improve their French in his private lessons. When not teaching or writing his French Word of the Day lessons, David enjoys his time skiing, hiking and mountain biking in Victor, Idaho.

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Passé Composé: A Guide to Passe Compose in French Grammar

The French language is renowned for its complexity and beauty, with a verb system that offers a rich tapestry of tenses and moods. Among these, the passé composé is one of the most commonly used past tenses. It is essential for anyone learning French, as it describes actions that have been completed in the past. This tense not only serves as a fundamental building block for mastering French but also provides insights into the culture and the way French speakers perceive and articulate their experiences. You’ll learn all about it in this article. 

What is the Passé Composé/Passe Compose?

The passé composé is a compound tense in French that expresses completed actions in the past. It is formed by combining an auxiliary verb (“avoir” or “être”) with the past participle of the main verb. For example, “J’ai mangé” (I ate) and “Elle est sortie” (She went out) use the passé composé to describe past and completed actions. This tense is essential for storytelling, describing past events, and discussing previous experiences in French.

Here are some examples of sentences using the passé composé in French:

J’ai mangé une pomme. (I ate an apple.)

Ils sont allés au cinéma hier soir. (They went to the cinema last night.)

These sentences illustrate the use of the passé composé to describe completed past actions.

When is the Right Use of the French Passé Composé 

The passé composé is used in French to express actions that have been completed in the past. It’s typically used for specific events or actions that happened at a definite point in time or within a specified time frame. Here are some common scenarios where the passé composé is used:

Single Completed Actions: Expressing actions that occurred once and are now finished.

Example: “J’ai mangé une pomme.” (I ate an apple.)

Actions with Specific Time References: Describing actions that happened at a precise moment in the past.

Example: “Il est arrivé hier soir.” (He arrived last night.)

Series of Completed Actions: Narrating a series of actions that have been completed.

Example: “Elle a préparé le dîner, puis elle a nettoyé la cuisine.” (She prepared dinner, then she cleaned the kitchen.)

Actions with Indirect Speech: When reporting someone’s words or thoughts in the past.

Example: “Il a dit qu’il avait fini son travail.” (He said that he had finished his work.)

Past Habits or States: Describing past habits or states that are no longer true.

Example: “Quand j’étais enfant, j’ai souvent visité mes grands-parents.” (When I was a child, I often visited my grandparents.)

In summary, the passé composé is used to express completed actions in the past, especially those with a specific time frame or moment, as well as in narratives and reporting indirect speech.

Here’s the series of “Dr & Mrs Vandertramp” verbs in French along with their translations in English:

• Devenir (to become)
• Revenir (to come back)
• Monter (to go up)
• Rester (to stay)
• Sortir (to go out)
• Venir (to come)
• Aller (to go)
• Naître (to be born)
• Descendre (to go down)
• Entrer (to enter)
• Retourner (to return)
• Tomber (to fall)
• Rentrer (to return home)
• Arriver (to arrive)
• Mourir (to die)
• Partir (to leave)

These verbs are called “Dr & Mrs Vandertramp” because the first letter of each verb corresponds to a letter in the mnemonic “Dr & Mrs Vandertramp.” This mnemonic helps French learners remember which verbs use “être” as the auxiliary verb in the passé composé tense, instead of “avoir” like most verbs.

How to Conjugate the Passé Composé

To conjugate the passé composé in French, you typically need two components: an auxiliary verb (either “avoir” or “être”) conjugated in the present tense, and the past participle of the main verb. Here’s how to conjugate regular verbs in the passé composé with the auxiliary verb “avoir”:

Conjugate the auxiliary verb “avoir” in present:

J’ai (I have)

Tu as (You have)

Il/Elle/On a (He/She/One has)

Nous avons (We have)

Vous avez (You have)

Ils/Elles ont (They have)

Add the past participle of the main verb . 

For regular verbs, the past participle is formed as follows:

For regular verbs ending in -er, remove the -er ending and add -é.

For regular verbs ending in -ir, remove the -ir ending and add -i.

For regular verbs ending in -re, remove the -re ending and add -u.

For irregular verbs, the past participle may have irregular forms and must be memorized.

Manger (to eat):

• J’ai mangé (I ate)
• Tu as mangé (You ate)
• Il/Elle a mangé (He/She ate)
• Nous avons mangé (We ate)
• Vous avez mangé (You ate)
• Ils/Elles ont mangé (They ate)

Finir (to finish):

• J’ai fini (I finished)
• Tu as fini (You finished)
• Il/Elle a fini (He/She finished)
• Nous avons fini (We finished)
• Vous avez fini (You finished)
• Ils/Elles ont fini (They finished)

Attendre (to wait):

•  J’ai attendu (I waited)
•  Tu as attendu (You waited)
•  Il/Elle a attendu (He/She waited)
•  Nous avons attendu (We waited)
•  Vous avez attendu (You waited)
•  Ils/Elles ont attendu (They waited)

Remember that some verbs use the auxiliary verb “être” instead of “avoir,” and their past participles agree in gender and number with the subject when the verb is intransitive (verbs of motion, change, or state).

Conjugation of “Être” (to be) in the Present Tense:

• Il/Elle/On est
• Nous sommes
• Ils/Elles sont

Example with the verb “Aller” (to go):

• Je suis allé(e) (I went)
• Tu es allé(e) (You went)
• Il/Elle/On est allé(e) (He/She went)
• Nous sommes allé(e)s (We went)
• Vous êtes allé(e)(s) (You went)
• Ils/Elles sont allé(e)s (They went)

Passé composé of irregular verbs  

Here is a list of Passé Composé of some commonly used irregular verbs-

In French, both “être” (to be) and “avoir” (to have) are used as auxiliary verbs in compound tenses, including the passé composé. Here’s a breakdown of their usage:

When to use “Avoir” and “Être” verb.  

• “Avoir” (to have)
• Used with Most Transitive Verbs: “Avoir” is the default auxiliary verb used with most transitive verbs, which take a direct object.

Example: J’ai mangé (I ate), Tu as bu (You drank)

• Used with Certain Intransitive Verbs: Some intransitive verbs also use “avoir” as the auxiliary verb.

Example: J’ai couru (I ran), Tu as dormi (You slept)

• Used with Verbs that Express States or Possession: Verbs that express states or possession typically use “avoir.”

Example: J’ai eu froid (I was cold), Tu as eu peur (You were afraid)

• With Some Idiomatic Expressions: Certain idiomatic expressions and impersonal phrases use “avoir” as the auxiliary verb.

Example: J’ai besoin de (I need to), Tu as envie de (You feel like), Il a peur de (He is afraid of).

• “Être” (to be)
• Used with Intransitive Verbs: “Être” is used as the auxiliary verb with intransitive verbs, which are verbs that do not take a direct object. These often involve motion, change, or state of being.

Example: Je suis parti(e) (I have left), Elle est arrivée (She has arrived)

• Reflexive Verbs: “Être” is used as the auxiliary verb with reflexive verbs, where the subject and the object are the same.

Example: Je me suis réveillé(e) (I woke up), Elle s’est lavée (She washed herself)

• With Certain Motion Verbs and States of Being: “Être” is used with certain verbs indicating motion or a change in state.

Example: Je suis monté(e) (I went up), Elle est restée (She stayed)

• With Dr. & Mrs. Vandertramp Verbs: A mnemonic to remember a group of verbs that use “être” as the auxiliary verb. These include most motion verbs.

Example: Je suis sorti(e) (I went out), Elle est rentrée (She came back)

• With Some Idiomatic Expressions: Certain idiomatic expressions and impersonal phrases use “être” as the auxiliary verb.

Example: Je suis d’accord (I agree), Elle est en train de (She is in the process of)

The Agreement of the Past Participle 

1. agreement with auxiliary verb être .

When the auxiliary verb “être” is used in the passé composé tense, the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject of the sentence. Here’s how the agreement works:

Gender Agreement: The past participle agrees in gender with the subject.

Masculine subject: “Il est arrivé” (He arrived)

Feminine subject: “Elle est arrivée” (She arrived)

Number Agreement: The past participle agrees in number with the subject.

Singular subject: “Il est parti” (He left)

Plural subject: “Ils sont partis” (They left)

Compound Subjects: When the subject is compound (composed of multiple nouns or pronouns), the past participle agrees in gender and number with the closest noun or pronoun.

Example: “Marie et Jean sont arrivés” (Marie and Jean arrived) – The past participle “arrivés” agrees with the masculine plural “Jean.”

Reflexive Verbs: With reflexive verbs, the past participle agrees with the subject.

Example: “Elle s’est lavée” (She washed herself) – The past participle “lavée” agrees with the feminine singular subject “Elle.”

2. Agreement with auxiliary verb avoir

When the auxiliary verb “avoir” is used in the passé composé tense, the past participle generally does not agree with the subject. However, there are certain cases where the past participle does agree with the subject. Let’s break it down:

General Rule: In most cases with “avoir” as the auxiliary verb, the past participle remains invariable, meaning it does not change to match the gender or number of the subject.

Examples: “J’ai mangé” (I ate), “Tu as vu” (You saw), “Il a parlé” (He spoke). In all these cases, “mangé,” “vu,” and “parlé” do not change regardless of the gender or number of the subject.

Agreement with Direct Object: However, when the direct object is placed before the verb and is a person or an object that is being referred to with a direct object pronoun (le, la, les), the past participle agrees with the direct object in gender and number.

Examples: “Les pommes que j’ai mangées” (The apples that I ate), “Les livres qu’il a lus” (The books that he read). In these cases, “mangées” agrees with the feminine plural “pommes,” and “lus” agrees with the masculine plural “livres.”

In summary, with the auxiliary verb “avoir” in the passé composé tense, the past participle typically does not agree with the subject but can agree with the direct object in certain cases.

Check out our blog page to learn about more grammar topics.

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• Using Passé Composé vs. Imparfait in French: What You Need To Know

The past is where we tell the stories of our lives. To do so in French, you’ll need to know that there are two main past tenses. The passé composé and the imparfait are both used to narrate and describe what has already happened. These tenses differ in both their forms and usage. Even though these differences do not correspond to English translations, there are many tips and tricks to help you understand when to use passé composé vs imparfait and talk about the past like a native speaker!

Table of Contents

What is the difference between the imparfait and the passé composé in french.

The passé composé vs. imparfait can be an unfamiliar distinction for English speakers learning French , but can be broken down into a few key differences. The passé composé is a compound tense, meaning it is made of two parts: a helping verb and a past participle. It’s generally used to narrate specific, completed events in the past. 

• J ’ai regardé le film hier. = I watched the movie yesterday.
• Je suis allée au cinéma le weekend dernier. = I went to the movie theater last weekend.

The imparfait is a simple tense, meaning it is made of just one word. It’s used to describe ongoing states and conditions, and uncounted, interrupted, or repeated actions in the past.

• Je regardais souvent ce film quand j’étais jeune. = I watched this movie often when I was young. 
• J’allais au cinéma le weekend. = I went to the movie theater on the weekends. 

As you grow in your ability to speak French with confidence, you will use both tenses when telling about the past—sometimes even in the same sentence. As you can see in the above examples, the two tenses can sometimes be translated the same way in English.

>>Learn how to use all 21 French tenses for verbs with this ultimate guide! 

@encorefrenchlessons Hope they got it this time #frenchlesson #frenchteacher #humour #french #oui #learnfrench ♬ 일하자 Let’s Begain! – Erik Satie

When to use the imparfait in French

Imparfait , the French imperfect tense , is used for background information and description in the past. For instance, you might need to describe your age or someone’s personality using imparfait . It can express continuous or unfinished states and characteristics. It is usually used to express: 

• J’avais quinze ans. = I was fifteen years old. 
• Elles étaient contentes. = They were happy.
• Il était six heures. = It was six o’clock. 
• C’était en juin. = It was in June.  
• Tu étais timide. = You were shy. 
• Il était mince et chauve. = He was thin and bald.
• La porte était ouverte. = The door was open. 
• Il pleuvait. = It was raining. 
• On aimait la neige. = We liked the snow. 
• Vous n’aviez pas de chien. Vous vouliez un chat. = You didn’t have a dog. You wanted a cat. 

The imparfait is also used for habitual, repeated, or uncounted actions in the past. This can be translated in English with the phrases “used to,” or “would.”

• J’allais chez ma grand-mère pour célébrer Noël. = I used to go to my grandmother’s house to celebrate Christmas. 
• Je faisais du ski pendant l’hiver. = I would ski in the winter. 

When to use the passé composé in French

Unlike the imparfait , the passé composé is used for single, specific, completed actions in the past. 

• J’ai acheté une couverture pour mon lit. = I bought a blanket for my bed. 
• Nous sommes allées chez ma grand-mère il y a trois jours . = We went to my grandmother’s house three days ago. 
• Il a perdu son passeport . = He lost his passport. 

You also use the passé composé if you are specifying a certain amount of time or a number of occurrences. 

• Il a travaillé dans un restaurant pendant trois ans . = He worked in a restaurant for three years. 
• Tu as fait du ski cinq fois? = You have skied five times? 

Use both the imparfait and the passé composé for interrupted actions

If one action is interrupted by another in the past, use the imparfait for the action that was already occurring and the passé composé for the action that interrupts it.

• ( imparfait ) Je jouais = I was playing
• ( passé composé ) Le voisin a frappé = the neighbor knocked
• ( imparfait ) Je cherchais = I was looking for
• ( passé composé ) J’ ai vu = I saw

What verbs change meaning in the imparfait vs. the passé composé? 

Some verbs change meaning slightly in the imparfait vs. passé composé . It’s helpful to think about it as background information vs. an event. For example, the verb connaître (to be familiar with) can be used in the imparfait when you wish to say that you knew a person, were already acquainted with them, or were familiar with them. This is a description of the background information.

• Je connais son frère . = I knew her brother. 

But if you use the same verb in the passé composé , it implies a specific event in the past. Used in this way, it means that you met someone (and got to know them) for the first time. 

• J’ai connu son frère. = I met her brother. 

Which expressions of time indicate the passé composé ? 

There are certain expressions of time in the past that generally point to specific times and events, one-time occurrences, or counted actions. They are typically used with the passé composé . 

Which expressions of time indicate the imparfait ? 

The following expressions usually indicate that the imparfait would be the appropriate past tense. They tend to accompany uncounted, routine, non-specific, or habitual actions. 

Tips for using the passé composé vs. imparfait correctly

Since the two past tenses do not always correspond to a specific English translation, nor do they always neatly follow rules for when to use the passé composé vs. imparfait , it’s helpful to have some tips and tricks to help you understand the nature of the two tenses. 

Use the imparfait to set the scene

Imagine you go to the theater to see a musical. While the overture plays and the curtains open, you see actors and actresses on stage, moving through the scene while acting out their personalities and roles. You notice details such as: 

• Le village était beau. = The village was beautiful. 
• Les femmes portaient des robes . = The women were wearing dresses. 
• Les enfants jouaient et couraient . = The children were playing and running. 
• Il y avait du soleil. = It was sunny
• C’était le printemps . = It was spring.  
• La femme n’avait pas d’argent. = The woman didn’t have any money. 
• Il y avait un homme avec une barbe . = There was a man with a beard.
• Il était rigolo. = He was amusing. 

You have a lot of background information at this point, but as the overture comes to a close, no specific events have happened yet to advance the plot. The imparfait is simply setting the scene and describing the background to viewers and listeners. 

Use the passé composé to narrate events and place them in order 

At the conclusion of the musical, you think back about the plot. If you had to summarize what events took place in the storyline, you might think of specifics such as: 

• La fille a discuté avec son père. = The girl argued with her father. 
• Elle est partie dans un train. = She left on a train. 
• Il y a eu un accident. = There was an accident.
• Elle a perdu tout son argent. = She lost all her money. 
• Elle est rentrée. = She returned. 

You could put these events in order of when they occurred, from first, next, and last. This order of chronological events is a good clue that you should use the passé composé to describe it.

Think of a timeline

If you imagine a timeline, starting with the present moment and going backward into the past, events that use the passé composé would be easy to place. They are represented with specific moments on that timeline that could be defined by their beginning and end ( I won the state race and went to the championship ). 

Descriptions expressed with the imparfait would be more difficult to place on the timeline. Either these occurrences would be represented by a series of repeated events that occurred with regularity ( I always used to beat my siblings when we would race ) or would be too nebulous to place with any sense of precision ( I liked running because I was fast ).

• Je suis né le 5 janvier, 1968. = I was born on January 5, 1968. 

It’s easy to define when this event took place. It’s specific and complete, so you use the passé composé.

• J’étais plus petit que mon frère. = I was shorter than my brother. 

It’s tricker to define when this condition began or perhaps it hasn’t ended, so you use the imparfait . Another way to describe it is that the situation (being shorter) was generally true over a longer period of time and is descriptive rather than an event.

Notice conjugation patterns in context

If you know the forms of French verb conjugation , you can pay attention to when they are used in natural contexts. Some helpful tools for learning French conjugations would be:

• children’s books
• short stories
• social media short clips
• podcasts with transcripts
• language learning apps

Rosetta Stone’s all in one app includes Stories, a Phrasebook, and an Audio Companion, so you can accelerate your language learning and put French past tenses to use. The bite-size narratives in the stories are a great place to notice how native speakers use the imparfait vs. passé composé .

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Le Passé Composé – With Avoir and Être (Auxiliary Verbs)

(You can scroll down if you want to see a similar picture for reflexive verbs in le passe composé)

So, now you should be able to recognize a past participle:

• Regarder (infinitive): Regardé (past participle)
• Finir (infinitive): Fini (past participle)
• Attendre (infinitive): Attendu (past participle)

Not too difficult, right? 🙂

The past participle represents the ”second” part of le passé composé.

The 2 irregular verbs avoir and être represent the first part of this past tense.

However, there are some differences between them:

Avoir is by far the most common one. Almost every verb can be tied to avoir in le passé composé.

In addition, we dont have to modify the past participle when avoir is the auxiliary. Take a look at all these examples:

• J’ai donné: I gave
• Tu as mangé: You ate
• Il/elle/on a entendu: He/she/one heard
• Nous avons regardé: We watched
• Vous avez fini: You have finished
• Ils/elles ont attendu: They waited

So, what do I mean by not having to change the past participle?

Look at number 4 and 5.

We don’t add an s to regardé , even if the pronoun is in the plural form ( nous ).

Same goes for number 6. In addition, we don’t add an e to attendu when the pronoun is elles (a group of women).

When être is the auxiliary

• Je suis sorti(e): I came out.
• Tu es allé(e): You went.
• Il/elle/on est revenu(e): He/she/one came back
• Nous sommes devenu(e)s: We became
• Vous êtes parti(e)s: You left
• Ils/elles sont tombé(e)s: They fell

Now we need to modify the verb. Did you notice that there is no possibility for an s in the examples 1 to 3?

I think it makes sense. These pronouns represent the singular form, while 4-6 represent the plural form.

However, we still have the possibility to add an e for number 1-3. For instance:

A woman came:

• Je suis sorti e

A man came:

• Je suis sorti

Are you able to see the difference?

Number 4-6 gives us the possibility to add an e and an s.

A group of women became (something):

• Nous sommes devenu es

A group of men became:

• Nous sommes devenu s

I think you are able to see the difference?

You should remember that you always need to add an s for these forms. It makes sense when you look at the pronoun. These pronouns are in the plural form ( nous, vous, ils and elles )

Reflexive verbs and le passé composé

Ok, so we have one more area to cover. Reflexive verbs will also use être as their auxiliary. What is a reflexive verb?

• Je me douche: I shower (myself).
• Elle s’entraîne: She trains (herself).

(I’ve added myself and herself to make it easier to understand. These verbs are not reflexive in English.)

Let’s look at s’entrâiner in the present indicative tense:

• Je m’entraîne: I train
• Tu t’entraînes: You train
• Il/elle/on s’entraîne: He/she/one trains
• Nous nous entraînons: We train
• Vous vous entraînez: You train
• Ils/elles s’entraînent: They train

So, we need to do 3 things in order to create the past tense:

• Add être as an auxiliary
• Change the infinitive s’entraîner (to train), to the past participle entraîné (trained)
• Change m’ to me för Je (there is no longer 2 vowels on after the other in the past tense).

Let’s see what it looks like with s’entraîner:

• Je me suis entraîné(e): I trained
• Tu t’ es entraîné(e): You trained
• Il/elle/on s’ est entraîné(e): He/she/one trained
• Nous nous sommes entraîné(e)s : We trained
• Vous vous êtes entraîné(e)s: You trained
• Ils/elles se sont entraîné(e)s: They trained

It’s very important to be able to conjugate reflexive verbs in le passé composé.

You could for instance use these verbs to talk about your day:

• Je me suis réveillé(e) tôt et je me suis douché(e). Ensuite, je me suis brossé(e) les dents. Enfin, j’ai pris mon pétit-déjeuner et je suis allé(e) au travail.
• I woke up and I showered. Then I brushed my teeth. Then I had breakfast and went to work.

Differences in pronunciation and spelling

There are many reflexive verbs, and they are actually quite important. You could for instance use them to talk about your day, and what you are about to do.

The problem is that there are many things to remember. In addition, we need to modify the past participle as it needs to agree in gender and number.

The good news is that you can’t hear the difference between them. For instance:

• Je me suis promené
• Je me suis promené e

There is no difference in pronunciation.

• Nous nous sommes promenés
• Nous nous sommes pronomé e s

Yet again, there is no difference in pronunciation.

However, you need to learn the difference in writing, especially if you are studying French in school or in university.

And, you can ask me a question in the comment section if you don’t understand the conjugation of the reflexive verbs :-).

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Gustav Dahlman

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