LE PASSÉ COMPOSÉ (the past tense)
In French, the past tense is made up of two parts:
the helping verb (avoir or être) and the past participle:
avoir:
j'ai
tu as
il/elle/on a
past participles
regular verbs
Er
é
Ir
i
Re
u
nous avons
vous avez
ils/elles ont
irregular verbs
avoir
eu
devoir
dû
être
été
faire
fait
lire
lu
mettre
pouvoir
prendre
voir
vouloir
mis
pu
pris
vu
vu
parler: to talk/speak
j'ai parlé: I talked/I have talked
tu as parlé: you talked/you have talked
il a parlé: he talked/he has talked
nous avons parlé: we talked/we have talked
vous avez parlé: you talked/you have talked
ils ont parlé: they talked/they have talked
finir:to finish
j'ai fini: I finished/ I have finished
tu as fini: you finished/you have finished
il a fini: he finished/he has finished
nous avons fini: we finished/we have finished
vous avez fini: you finished/you have finished
ils ont fini: they finished/they have finished
perdre: to lose
j'ai perdu: I lost/I have lost
tu as perdu: you lost/you have lost
il a perdu: he lost/he has lost
nous avons perdu: we lost/we have lost
vous avez perdu: you lost/you have lost
ils ont perdu: they lost/they have lost
To make a past sentence negative, put ne...pas around avoir:
J''ai mangé
Je n'ai pas mangé
HOUSE OF ÊTRE VERBS: There are 17 verbs that use être as the helping verb
aller: to go
allé
descendre: to go down
descendu
entrer: to enter
entré
venir: to come
venu
rentrer: to come back
rentré
revenir: to come back
revenu
arriver: to arriver
arrivé
devenir: to become
devenu
rester: to stay
resté
naître: to be born
né
monter: to go up
monté
mourir: to die
mort
retourner: to return
retourné
partir: to leave
parti
passer: to pass by
passé
sorrtir: to go out
sorti
tomber: to fall
tombé
To conjugate a House of Être verb:
1.Choose the correct form of être:
je suis
nous sonmes
tu es
vous êtes
il/elle est
ils/elles sont
2. Add the participle of the verb you want to use.
3. Make the participle agree with the subject: add -e to the participle if the subject
is feminine, -es if the subject is feminine plural, -s if the subject is masculine plural.
aller: to go
je suis allé (e) : I went
tu es allé(e) : you went
il est allé : he went
elle est allée : she went
nous sommes allé(e)s: we went
vous etes allé(e)(s): you went
ils sont allés: they went
elles sont allées: they went
venir: to come
je suis venu(e): I came
tu es venu (e): you came
il est venu: he came
elle est venue: she came
nous sommes venu(e)s: we came
vous êtes venu(e)(s): you came
ils sont venus: they came
elles sont venues: they came
Reflexive Verbs in the Past Tense
In the Past Tense, reflexive verbs take être as their auxiliary verb, and consequently the
past participle needs to agree with the subject, as with other être verbs. Thus if the
subject is feminine, we add an "e" to the past participle, and if the subject is plural, we add
an "s". The following table shows the verb se réveiller in all its forms in the perfect tense.
Letters in brackets may be needed, depending on the gender and the number of the subject.
Je me suis réveillé (e)
Nous nous sommes réveillé(e)s
Tu t'es réveillé (e)
Vous vous êtes réveillé (e) (s)
Il s'est réveillé
Ils se sont réveillés
Elle s'est réveillée
Elles se sont réveillées
On s'est réveillé
*** Past Participle of s’asseoir is assis
BUT: If the reflexive verb has a direct object, as in the examples below, the reflexive
pronoun is the indirect objectand therefore the past participle does not need to
agree:
e.g.
Marie s'est blessé la jambe. (la jambe is direct object)
Mes frères se sont lavé les mains. (les mains is the direct object)