THE PERFECT TENSE
LE PASSÉ COMPOSÉ
• WHAT DOES ‘PERFECT TENSE’
‘PASSÉ COMPOSÉ’ MEAN?
• WHAT ARE THE PROCESSES WE GO
THROUGH TO CREATE IT IN
FRENCH?
• WHEN DO WE USE IT?
THE ‘PERFECT TENSE’ ‘PASSÉ COMPOSÉ’
IS USED TO TALK ABOUT THE PAST. IN
BOTH ENGLISH AND FRENCH IT INVOLVES
2 VERBS. BOTH ARE CONJUGATED
I HAVE RETURNED
I HAVE DIED
I HAVE LEFT
I HAVE FALLEN
FROM THE WORD HAVE WE CAN IMMEDIATELY SEE
THAT ALL OF THESE ACTIONS HAPPENED IN THE
PAST
IN ENGLISH, EVENTS IN PAST TENSE ARE
EVENTS THAT HAVE ALREADY
HAPPENED AND FINISHED
IN FRENCH THIS IS CALLED THE
PASSÉ COMPOSÉ
WE KNOW ALL ABOUT THE VERBS THAT
TAKE ‘AVOIR’
THIS TIME WE ARE GOING TO
LEARN ABOUT A GROUP OF
VERBS THAT NEED TO TAKE
CAN YOU
REMEMBER THE
FULL
CONJUGATIONS
OF THE VERB ÊTRE
JE SUIS
TU ES
IL EST
ELLE EST
ON EST
NOW WRITE OUT
THE FULL
CONJUGATED TABLE
FOR ÊTRE FROM
MEMORY….
NOUS SOMMES
VOUS ÊTES
ILS SONT
ELLES SONT
NOW WE HAVE GOT THE HAVE
PART OF THE PHRASE
NEXT WE NEED TO ADD THE
SECOND VERB TO SAY WHAT
YOU HAVE DONE.
THIS SECOND VERB ALSO HAS TO BE
CONJUGATED BUT IN A UNIQUE WAY
THAT APPLIES ONLY TO THE PAST
TENSE(PASSÉ COMPOSÉ) WITH ÊTRE
THESE VERBS THAT TAKE ÊTRE ACT
SLIGHTLY DIFFERENTLY TO THE VERBS
THAT TAKE AVOIR.
THEY ACT SIMILAR TO ADJECTIVES
THIS IS HOW THEY WORK
ALLER- TO GO
Je suis allé(e)
Tu es allé(e)
Il est allé
Elle est allé(e)
Nous sommes allé(e)s
Vous êtes allé(e)s
Ils sont allés
Elles sont allé(e)s
WHAT DO I MEAN WHEN I SAY
‘THEY ACT LIKE ADJECTIVES?’
THE PAST PARTICIPLE
HAS AN EXTRA ‘E’
IF THE PERSON IS FEMININE
AND AN ‘S’ IF THE THERE IS
MORE THAN ONE PERSON
HAVE A LOOK BACK AT THE
CONJUGATION TABLE TO REMIND
YOURSELF WHICH ONES THIS RULE
APPLIES TO
THERE ARE CERTAIN VERBS THAT WORK
WITH ‘ÊTRE’ IN THE PASSÉ COMPOSÉ
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
MOURIR
RETOURNER
SORTIR
VENIR
ALLER
NAîTRE
DESCENDRE
ENRER
TOMBER
• RESTER
• ARRIVER
• MONTER
• PARTIR
THESE VERBS ARE EASY
TO REMEMBER AS THE
SPELL OUT
MRS VANDETRAMP