French Grammar- The Past Tense- Le Passé Composé
● The passé composé is a compound verb used to express the past
tense.
● Depending on the verb, it can be formed in two ways.
○ Avoir + past participle (most usually)
○ Être + past participle (with select verbs)
● Either 'avoir' or 'être' acts as the auxiliary verb.
● It can be translated as the preterite in English (eg. I did) or the perfect
tense (eg. I have done)
● Used to show that something took place at an exact moment in time, or
to show its relevance.
○ Eg. J'ai mangé à onze heures.
I ate at 11 o'clock. (Here, it is being used to refer to a specific
time).
● Eg. J'ai mangé.
I have eaten. (Here it is showing relevance to the present- one has
eaten and so is no longer hungry).
Avoir
J'ai Nous avons
Tu as Vous avez
Il a Ils ont
Être
Je suis Nous sommes
Tu es Vous êtes
Il est Ils sont
, Forming The Past Participle- Regular Past Participles
● ER verbs
○ Remove '-er'
○ Add '-é'
○ Eg. Regarder -> Regardé
● IR verbs
○ Remove '-ir'
○ Add '-i'
○ Eg. Finir -> Fini
● RE verbs
○ Remove '-re'
○ Add '-u'
○ Eg. Descendre -> Descendu
Irregular Past Participles
Important to memorise!
Avoir Eu
Être Été
Faire Fait
Dire Dit
Prendre Pris
Mettre Mis
Voir Vu
Boire Bu
Pouvoir Pu
● The passé composé is a compound verb used to express the past
tense.
● Depending on the verb, it can be formed in two ways.
○ Avoir + past participle (most usually)
○ Être + past participle (with select verbs)
● Either 'avoir' or 'être' acts as the auxiliary verb.
● It can be translated as the preterite in English (eg. I did) or the perfect
tense (eg. I have done)
● Used to show that something took place at an exact moment in time, or
to show its relevance.
○ Eg. J'ai mangé à onze heures.
I ate at 11 o'clock. (Here, it is being used to refer to a specific
time).
● Eg. J'ai mangé.
I have eaten. (Here it is showing relevance to the present- one has
eaten and so is no longer hungry).
Avoir
J'ai Nous avons
Tu as Vous avez
Il a Ils ont
Être
Je suis Nous sommes
Tu es Vous êtes
Il est Ils sont
, Forming The Past Participle- Regular Past Participles
● ER verbs
○ Remove '-er'
○ Add '-é'
○ Eg. Regarder -> Regardé
● IR verbs
○ Remove '-ir'
○ Add '-i'
○ Eg. Finir -> Fini
● RE verbs
○ Remove '-re'
○ Add '-u'
○ Eg. Descendre -> Descendu
Irregular Past Participles
Important to memorise!
Avoir Eu
Être Été
Faire Fait
Dire Dit
Prendre Pris
Mettre Mis
Voir Vu
Boire Bu
Pouvoir Pu
