Passé composé is a French past tense used to express completed actions, using auxiliary verbs “avoir” or “être” and past participles.
Passé composé is one of the most important past tenses in French. It’s used to describe actions that are completed, specific, and often have a direct impact on the present or are relevant to the moment of speaking. The passé composé is formed using an auxiliary verb (either avoir or être) in the present tense, followed by a past participle.
Grammar
. Auxiliary Verbs: Avoir or Être
The majority of French verbs use avoir as the auxiliary. However, certain verbs—mainly verbs of movement and all reflexive verbs—use être.
- Avoir example: J’ai mangé (I ate).
- Être example: Je suis allé(e) (I went).
. Forming the Past Participle
- -er verbs: Drop -er, add -é (parler → parlé).
- -ir verbs: Drop -ir, add -i (finir → fini).
- -re verbs: Drop -re, add -u (vendre → vendu).
- Irregular verbs have unique past participles (voir → vu, faire → fait).
. Agreement Rules
- With avoir, the past participle agrees in gender and number only if the direct object precedes the verb.
- With être, the past participle always agrees with the subject.
. Negative Form
Put ne... pas around the auxiliary verb.
- Je n’ai pas mangé (I did not eat).
- Elle n’est pas partie (She did not leave).
. Question Form
- Inversion: Avez-vous mangé ?
- Est-ce que: Est-ce que tu es venu ?
- Intonation: Tu as mangé ?
Examples
. Completed Actions
Actions that are finished and have a clear starting or ending point.
- J’ai fini mes devoirs. (I finished my homework.)
- Elle est partie tôt. (She left early.)
. Sequential Actions
Actions that happen one after another.
- Il a pris son café, puis il est sorti. (He had his coffee, then he went out.)
- Nous avons regardé un film et ensuite nous sommes allés au lit. (We watched a movie and then we went to bed.)
. Specific Moments in the Past
Actions that occurred at a specific, known time.
- Hier, j’ai vu Paul. (Yesterday, I saw Paul.)
- Ce matin, elle est sortie sans son manteau. (This morning, she left without her coat.)
. Interrupting Actions
An action in passé composé interrupts an action in the imperfect.
- Je regardais la télé quand tu as téléphoné. (I was watching TV when you called.)
- Nous dînions quand il est arrivé. (We were having dinner when he arrived.)
. Actions with Present Relevance
Completed actions that are relevant to the current situation.
- J’ai perdu mes clés. (I’ve lost my keys.)
- Elle a déjà mangé. (She has already eaten.)
Common Mistakes
. Using the Wrong Auxiliary
- Incorrect: Je suis mangé (I ate).
- Correct: J’ai mangé.
Remember: only certain verbs use être—mostly movement verbs (aller, venir, sortir, etc.) and reflexive verbs.
. No Agreement with Être
- Incorrect: Elle est allé au marché.
- Correct: Elle est allée au marché.
With être, always agree the past participle with the subject (add -e for feminine, -s for plural).
. Incorrect Past Participle
- Incorrect: J’ai prendu le bus.
- Correct: J’ai pris le bus.
Some verbs have irregular past participles that must be memorized (pris, fait, vu, écrit, etc.).
. No Negation Around Auxiliary
- Incorrect: Je pas mangé.
- Correct: Je n’ai pas mangé.
Negation surrounds the auxiliary verb, not the past participle.
. Overusing Passé Composé
- Incorrect: *Quand j’étais petit, j’ai joué au foot tous les jours.
- Correct: Quand j’étais petit, je jouais au foot tous les jours.
Use imperfect for habitual or ongoing past actions.
Summary
- Passé composé describes completed, specific past actions.
- It’s formed with avoir or être + past participle.
- Most verbs use avoir; movement and reflexive verbs use être.
- Past participle agrees with the subject if using être, or with a preceding direct object if using avoir.
- Negation surrounds the auxiliary verb.
- Use passé composé for actions that move the story forward or happened at a specific time.
When using auxiliary être in passé composé, what happens to the past participle?
It agrees in gender and number with the subject
When the auxiliary is être, the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject (e.g., allée, allés).
Which auxiliary verb do most French verbs use in passé composé?
avoir
Most French verbs use the auxiliary avoir in passé composé, except for movement and reflexive verbs.
What should be memorized for correctly using passé composé with irregular verbs?
Irregular past participle forms
Irregular verbs have unique past participles (e.g., fait, pris, écrit) that must be memorized for correct passé composé formation.
Last updated: Thu Jun 12, 2025
