Grammaire Chapitre 3
Passé Composé-tense for narration of past time
Auxiliary verb(avoir)+the past participle of the main verb
The Auxiliary
There are seventeen verbs that normally use the auxiliary être in their passé compsé formation:
Aller, arriver, entrer, descendre, devenir, monter, mourir, naître, partir, passer, rentrer, rester,
retourner, revenir, sortir, tomber
The six can also use the auxiliary avoir: descendre, monter, passer, rentrer, retourner, sortir
Examples: Je suis sorti de la maison.
J’ai sorti mon livre de mon sac.
Il est descendu du pavillon.
Il a descendu l’escalier en courant.
Reflexive verbs also use the auxiliary verb être in the passé compsé.
Example: Ils se sont mariés.
The Past Participle
Regular verbs:
Passer-passé, finir-fini, vendre-vendu
The past participle of a verb conjugated with the auxiliary être agrees in gender and number with
the subject of that verb.
Example: Elle sont parties de chez moi.
The past participle of a verb conjugated with the auxiliary avoir agrees with the preceding direct
object.
Mon père a quitté ma mère.
Mon père l’a quittée.
Imparfait-describe conditions that were taking place when another action occured, also talk
about habitual actions or occurrences
Stem of first person plural of the present indicative+
-ais
-ais
-ait
-ions
-iez
-aient
Passé Composé vs. Imparfait
Using passé compsé: what happened? What happened once? What happened next? Then what
happened?
Using imparfait: What were the conditions at the time? Was the action expressed by the verb a
habitual action? Did it occur repeatedly?
When used in a past context, the verb venir+de is always in the imparfait
Certain verbs usually appear in the imparfait when used in a past context: avoir(had, got), ê
tre(was, got), savoir(knew, discovered), connaître(knew, met), pouvoir(could, succeed in),
vouloir(want, decided)
Using passé compsé: hier, une fois, tout à coup
Using imparfait: souvent, tous les jours, toutes les semaines, chaque année, en général
Plus-que-parfait-one action precedes another in the past
Être or avoir+the past participle of the main verb
The auxiliary
Être or avoir
The past participle
The past participle of a verb conjugated with the auxiliary Être agrees in gender and number with
the subject of that verb.
The past participle of a verb conjugated with the auxiliary Avoir agrees in gender and number with
the preceding direct object, if there is one.
Past InfinitivesAvant de+present infinitive-Avant de partir
Après+past infinitive-Après être parti(e)