Perfect Tense with ‘Avoir’
I. Introduction
The perfect tense is the equivalent of the past simple tense or the present perfect in English (E.g. I played or I have played). One way of forming the perfect tense is by using the verb ‘avoir’ (to have), conjugated in the correct form of the present tense, followed by a past participle. An example of an English past participle is ‘written’ in ‘I have written’. II. Formation
The formation of this tense depends on the ending of the verb you are modifying. Below are example with all three types of verb ending. 1. ‘-ER’ Verbs
Verbs ending in ‘-­‐er’ change in the past participle. ‘-­‐Er’ is removed and replaced with ‘é’. The example below is from the verb ‘jouer’ (to play). Subject Avoir Past Participle English Translation J’ Ai Joué I played Tu As Joué You played Il/Elle/On A Joué He/She/One played Nous Avons Joué We played Vous Avez Joué You (formal or plural) played Ils/Elles Ont Joué They (m/f) played 2. ‘-IR’ Verbs
‘-­‐Ir’ verbs also change in the past participle. ‘-­‐Ir’ is removed and changed to ‘i’. The example below is ‘finir’ (to finish). Subject Avoir Past Participle English Translation J’ Ai Fini I finished Tu As Fini You finished Il/Elle/On A Fini He/She/One finished Nous Avons Fini We finished Vous Avez Fini You (formal or plural) finished Ils/Elles Ont Fini They (m/f) finished 3. ‘-RE’ Verbs
These verbs change and replace ‘-­‐re’ with ‘u’. The example below is with the verb ‘entendre’ (to hear). Subject Avoir Past Participle English Translation J’ Ai Entendu I heard Tu As Entendu You heard Il/Elle/On A Entendu He/She/One heard Nous Avons Entendu We heard Vous Avez Entendu You (formal or plural) heard Ils/Elles Ont Entendu They (m/f) heard N.B. Notice how the verb ‘avoir’ remains the same – no matter which kind of verb follows it. It only changes depending on the subject pronoun. It also remains in the present tense, even though we are talking in the past tense. The verb in the past participle doesn’t change its form either. It remains the same no matter the subject it is related to. III. Irregulars
Below are some common irregular verbs that take ‘avoir’ in the perfect tense. They are irregular in their past participles – they don’t change to ‘é’, ‘i’ or ‘u’. Irregular Verb Subject and Avoir Past Participle English Translation Etre J’ai Été I was Faire Il a Fait He did Dire Elle a Dit She said Ecrire On a Ecrit One wrote Avoir Tu as Eu You had Lire Nous avons Lu We read Boire Vous avez Bu You (formal or plural) drunk Croire Ils ont Cru They (m) believed Devoir Elles ont Dû They (f) had to Pouvoir J’ai Pu I could Savoir Tu as Su You knew Voir Il a Vu He saw Vouloir Elle a Voulu She wanted Connaitre On a Connu One knew Comprendre Nous avons Compris We understood Mettre Vous avez Mis You (formal or plural) put Prendre Ils ont Pris They (m) took Ouvrir Elles ont Ouvert They (f) opened The irregular verbs shown above are grouped with irregular verbs with similar endings. •
The verbs in green all end in ‘t’ •
The verbs in red all end in ‘u’ •
The verbs in purple all end in ‘is’ Study the verbs well and then attempt the multiple choice questions. Multiple Choice Questions
1. What is the perfect tense? a) It is the equivalent of the English past simple tense. b) It is the equivalent of the English present perfect tense. c) It is both of the above. d) It is the equivalent of the present simple tense. 2. What is an example of the past participle in English? a) ’Have’ from ‘I have done’. b) ’I’ from ‘I have done’. c) Both of the above. d) ’Done’ from ‘I have done’ 3. What does the formation of the perfect tense depend on? a) On the verb ending (‘-­‐er’, ‘-­‐ir’ or ‘-­‐re’). b) On the object of the sentence. c) On the subject pronoun of the sentence. d) On all of the above. 4. What changes are made to ‘-­‐er’ verbs? a) ’-­‐Er’ is replaced with ‘u’. b) ‘-­‐Er’ is replaced with ‘i’. c) ‘-­‐Er’ is replaced with ‘é’. d) ‘-­‐Er’ is replaced with either ‘é’ or ‘ée’. 5. What changes are made to ‘-­‐ir’ verbs? a) ’-­‐Ir’ is replaced with ‘u’. b) ‘-­‐Ir’ is replaced with ‘i’. c) ‘-­‐Ir’ is replaced with ‘é’. d) ‘-­‐Ir’ is replaced with either ‘é’ or ‘ée’. 6. What changes are made to ‘-­‐re’ verbs? a) ’-­‐Re’ is replaced with ‘u’. b) ‘-­‐Re’ is replaced with ‘i’. c) ‘-­‐Re’ is replaced with ‘é’. d) ‘-­‐Re’ is replaced with either ‘é’ or ‘ée’. 7. What is important to notice about ‘avoir’ in the perfect tense? a) There is nothing important to notice about it. b) It always takes the same form – no matter what. c) It changes depending on the subject pronoun of the sentence. d) It changes depending on the subject pronoun of the sentence and takes the same conjugations as the present tense. 8. What is important to notice about the past participles in regular perfect tense constructions? a) There is nothing important to notice about them. b) They change depending on gender. c) The past participles don’t change for either gender or number. d) They change depending on number. 9. Which of the past participles below is irregular? a) Entendu b) Fait c) Parlé d) Changé 10. Which of the past participles below is regular? a) Pensé b) Lu c) Voulu d) Compris Answers: 1. C 2. D 3. A 4. C 5. B 6. A 7. D 8. C 9. B 10. A