PASSÉ COMPOSÉ

The Passé Composé is A PAST TENSE that is composed of 2 verbs—a helper and a past
participle.

Most verbs use the present tense of avoir as the helper. J’ai, tu as, il a, nous avons, vous
avez, ils ont

A special list of verbs use être as a helper. Je suis, tu es, il est , nous sommes, vous êtes, ils
sont
1. The verbs that use être as a helper may be remembered by DR. MRS.
VANDERTRAMP. They do not take direct objects, but in the event that some may occur
in sentences with a direct object, avoir becomes the helper instead of être. (descendre,
monter, and sortir are three that often take direct objects)
2. Reflexive verbs also use être as helper. Elle s’est lavée.( She washed herself).
3. The past participles of verbs that use être as helper must agree in gender and number with
the subject.
4. Reflexive verbs use être as helper and the past participle must agree in gender and
number with the subject unless there is a direct object following the verb. Example: Elle
s’est lavé les cheveux. She washed her hair. There is no agreement because les cheveux
is the direct object following the verb.

Regular past participles are formed by dropping the infinitive ending from the main verb and
replacing with: er—é
ir—I
re—u

There are 5 verbs in the VANDER…list that have irregular past participles—naître (né),
mourrir (mort), venir, revenir, devenir (venu)

You have studied a list of verbs that have irregular past participles

To make a passé composé sentence negative, put ne…pas around the helper.

To make a question with inversion in the passé composé, flip the helper with the subject
pronoun.

The passé composé is translated in the following ways: verbed, did verb, has or have verbed

The passé composé is used for :
1. Isolated, completed actions
2. Actions begun and completed at a specific point in time
3. Actions that constitute that main steps of an event
4. Countable actions
5. Interrupting actions
PASSÉ COMPOSÉ TEST
Mettez la forme convenable du verbe au passé composé. Attention: il y en a avec avoir et être.
Jeanne d’Arc _______________________ pendant la guerre de Cent Ans. (naitre)
Jeanne _______________________ les voix. (entendre)
Elle _____________________________la ville d’Orléans des Anglais. (delivrer)
Les Anglais _________________________ Jeanne en 1431. (bruler)
Jeanne ______________________________ sainte en 1920. (devenir)
Henri IV _________________________roi de France en 1589. (devenir)
Il ________________________la liberté réligieuse aux protestants avec l’Edict de
Nantes. (donner)
8. Marc et Renée _____________________ (aller) a la patisserie ou ils __________
______________________ des milles feuilles. (choisir)
9. Marc et moi, nous _____________________________ (rentrer) chez nous ou nous
____________________________________ la télé. (regarder)
10. Je ___________________________ mes devoirs vers minuit. (finir)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Listen to the sentences. Indicate whether the speakers are talking about what they are doing
presently or what they have already done.
Present
1._______
2. _______
3._______
4._______
5._______
6._______
7._______
8._______
9._______
10.______
passé
_______
_______
_______
_______
_______
_______
_______
_______
_______
_______
List the verbs that use etre as helper & their meanings
d_____________ ___________
d____________ _________
r_____________ ___________
e____________ _________
m____________ ____________ r____________ _________
r_____________ ____________ t____________ _________
s_____________ ____________ r____________ __________
v_____________ ____________ a____________ __________
a_____________ ____________ m___________ __________
n_____________ ____________ p___________ __________
What must be done to these verbs in passé composé that is not
done with verbs that use avoir as helper? ____________________
_____________________________________________________
The following sentences are from the new article in Le Monde. Underline the verbs that are in
the passe compose, and give the main idea of the sentences with those verbs.
1. __________________________________________________________________________________
2. __________________________________________________________________________________
3. __________________________________________________________________________________
Write sentences in the passe compose according to the instructions.
Three sentences using avoir as helper—one with a regular “er” verb, one with “ir”, one with “re”
1. __________________________________________________________________________________
2. __________________________________________________________________________________
3. __________________________________________________________________________________
Write 4 sentences with verbs using etre as helper. Two of the sentences must use yourself as
subject (je) and the other 2 must use a person of opposite gender.
1. __________________________________________________________________________________
2. __________________________________________________________________________________
3. __________________________________________________________________________________
4. __________________________________________________________________________________
Write 3 sentences using verbs that have irregular past participles and use avoir as helper.
1. __________________________________________________________________________________
2. __________________________________________________________________________________
3. __________________________________________________________________________________