The Perfect Tense Rap
The Perfect Tense
Is much harder to say
In France it’s called
Passé Composé
Monter and descendre
Opposite ways to go
Up and down
It’s easy once you know
The past participle
Of the verb you use
Contains the stem
With Es, Is and Us
Aller is ‘to go’
Venir is ‘to come’
Tomber is the odd one out
It’s a fall for some
To find the stem
You don’t need a brain
Knock off two letters
It’s always the same
Arriver, ‘to arrive’ and
Partir means ‘to leave’
Retourner, ‘to return’
Or so we believe
ER verbs
Are easy you say
Alongside the stem
You just add é
Entrer, ‘to go in
Sortir, ‘to go out’
Rester is ‘to stay’
Let’s finish with a shout
RE verbs
Are simple too
Alongside the stem
You just add a U
The verbs that go with être
Are not much fun
Because all the endings
Must match the person
IR verbs
You can see why
To the stem
You just add an I
Female persons
Always take an ‘e’
Plurals add an ‘s’
We say with glee
The majority of verbs
You use every day
Combine with avoir
Which starts with “J’ai”
If you know this rhyme
And can make it last
You always be able to speak
About the past
The thirteen verbs
That are here to see
Combine with être
Which starts with “Je suis”
Naître is the first
Which means to be born
Mourir is the last
And it’s time to mourn
©MFL Sunderland 2008 DP http://www.sunderlandschools.org/mfl-sunderland