Perfect Tense with ‘Etre’
Introduction
The majority of verbs in the French perfect tense take ‘avoir’. However, there are a small group that take ‘être’ with the past participle. The meaning is exactly the same as the verbs with ‘avoir’, but the construction changes from ‘avoir’ to ‘être’. It is recommended to learn the group that take ‘être’ and always use ‘avoir’ with the other verbs. Formation
Unlike the perfect tense with ‘avoir’, the past participle changes its form depending on the number and gender of the subject pronoun. The ‘-­‐er’ is still removed and replaced with ‘é’ to form the past participle. The example below is of ‘aller’ (to go). ‘-Er’ Verbs
Subject Etre Past Participle English Translation Je Suis Allé(e) I went (an ‘e’ is added if you are a girl) Tu Es Allé(e) You went (an ‘e’ is added if ‘you’ refers to a girl) Il Est Allé He went Elle Est Allée She went On Est Allé One went Nous Sommes Allés We went Vous Êtes Allé(s) You (formal or plural) went Ils Sont Allés They (m) went Elles Sont Allées They (f) went ‘-Ir’ Verbs
‘-­‐Ir’ verbs in the past participle form look the same as the past participles of the perfect tense with ‘avoir’ – the ‘-­‐ir’ is removed and replaced with ‘i’. Some of them, however, can be a little irregular in their formation. An example of that is ‘venir’ (to come). It changes its form to ‘venu’. A regular example, ‘sortir’ (to go out), is presented below: Subject Etre Past Participle English Translation Je Suis Sorti(e) I went out (an ‘e’ is added if you are a girl) Tu Es Sorti(e) You went out (an ‘e’ is added if ‘you’ refers to a girl) Il Est Sorti He went out Elle Est Sortie She went out On Est Sorti One went out Nous Sommes Sortis We went out Vous Êtes Sorti(s) You (formal or plural) went out Ils Sont Sortis They (m) went out Elles Sont Sorties They (f) went out ‘-Re’ Verbs
There are only two ‘-­‐re’ verbs that take ‘être’ in the perfect tense. One of them is ‘descendre’, which is regular in that it changes its last letter to ‘u’ in its past participle. The other is ‘naître’ (to be born), which becomes ‘né’ in the past participle. The example below is ‘descendre’ (to descend/go down) Subject Etre Past Participle English Translation Je Suis Descendu(e) I went down (an ‘e’ is added if you are a girl) Tu Es Descendu(e) You went down (an ‘e’ is added if ‘you’ refers to a girl) Il Est Descendu He went down Elle Est Descendue She went down On Est Descendu One went down Nous Sommes Descendus We went down Vous Êtes Descendu(s) You (formal or plural) went down Ils Sont Descendus They (m) went down Elles Sont Descendues They (f) went down There are 16 different verbs that take ‘être’ in the perfect tense. Most of these are antonyms (words that are opposites – e.g. go up and go down). Grouped in different colours below are all the verbs taking ‘être’ in the perfect tense. To go up # to descend (go down), to fall: Monter (monté) # Descendre (descendu), Tomber (tombé) To enter # to go out, to return (come back): Entrer (entré) # Sortir (sorti), Rentrer (rentré)/Retourner (retourné)/Revenir (revenu) To arrive # to leave: Arriver (arrivé) # Partir (parti) To go # to come: Aller (allee) # Venir (venu) To be born # to die: Naître (né) # Mourir (mort) To stay (NOT TO REST): Rester (resté) To become: Devenir (devenu) Multiple Choice Questions
1. What is the difference in meaning between the perfect tense with ‘avoir’ and the perfect tense with ‘être’? a) There is no difference in meaning. b) One is the equivalent to the present perfect tense (have been), while the other is the equivalent to the past tense in English. c) One is a present tense, while the other is the past tense. d) One is further back in the past than the other. 2. When are ‘être’ verbs used with the perfect tense? a) They aren’t. b) They are used as often as ‘avoir’ verbs. c) They are used with a small list of certain verbs. d) They are used all the time with the perfect tense. ‘Avoir’ and ‘être’ can be used interchangeably. 3. How is the formation of the perfect tense with ‘être’ different to the perfect tense with ‘avoir’? a) It isn’t. b) The verb ‘être’ is in the future tense. c) The verb ‘être’ is in the past tense. d) The past participle changes according to gender and number. 4. What letter is added to the masculine past participle to make it feminine? a) The letter ’e’. b) The letters ‘ie’. c) The letters ‘ue’. d) All of the above. 5. How do you say ‘I went out today’ in French? a) Je suis allé(e) lundi. b) Je suis sorti(e) aujourd’hui. c) Je suis entré(e) aujourd’hui. d) Je suis sorti(e) demain. 6. Which of these verbs does not take ‘avoir’ in the perfect tense? a) Avoir b) Prendre c) Venir d) Faire 7. How can you remember the verbs that take ‘être’? a) Easily. b) They all mean the same thing. c) They all have the same verb endings. d) The majority of them are antonyms. 8. What does ‘rester’ mean? a) To sleep. b) To rest. c) To stay. d) To relax. 9. Which two verbs are the only ‘-­‐re’ verbs that take ‘être’? a) Naitre and comprendre. b) Descendre and naitre. c) Prendre and descendre. d) Entendre and prendre. 10. Which two verbs are not included in the groups of antonyms? a) Sortir and rentrer. b) Revenir and retourner. c) Descendre and tomber. d) Devenir and rester. Answers: 1. A 2. C 3. D 4. A 5. B 6. C 7. D 8. C 9. B 10. D