A comprehensive explanation of the three French perfect tenses (passé composé, plus-que-parfait, passé antérieur), including structure, usage, and examples.
French has three perfect tenses that describe completed actions: passé composé, plus-que-parfait, and passé antérieur. These tenses use auxiliary verbs (avoir or être) plus a past participle to indicate that something has been done. The passé composé is used for actions completed in the past, the plus-que-parfait describes actions that were completed before another past action, and the passé antérieur (literary tense) is used for actions completed immediately before another past action, usually in formal writing.
Passé Composé
The passé composé is the most common past tense in French. It describes actions that have been completed, events that happened once, or actions that have a clear endpoint.
Formation:
- Auxiliary verb avoir or être in the present tense
- Plus past participle of the main verb
- Past participle agrees in gender and number if auxiliary is être
Structure:
| French Pronoun | Auxiliary + Past Participle | English Example |
|---|---|---|
| je | j’ai fini | I have finished |
| tu | tu es allé(e) | You went |
| nous | nous avons pris | We took |
Signal words: hier (yesterday), ce matin (this morning), il y a deux jours (two days ago), tout à coup (suddenly)
Examples:
- J’ai mangé une pomme. (I ate an apple.)
- Elle est partie tôt. (She left early.)
- Nous avons vu un film. (We saw a movie.)
Plus-que-parfait
The plus-que-parfait describes an action that was completed before another past action. It’s the “past of the past” and often corresponds to “had done” in English.
Formation:
- Auxiliary verb avoir or être in the imparfait (imperfect) tense
- Plus past participle of the main verb
- Past participle agrees if auxiliary is être
Signal words: déjà (already), avant que (before), lorsque (when), après que (after)
Examples:
- J’avais déjà fini quand tu es arrivé. (I had already finished when you arrived.)
- Elle était partie avant midi. (She had left before noon.)
- Nous avions pris le train. (We had taken the train.)
Passé Antérieur
The passé antérieur is a literary tense rarely used in everyday conversation. It appears mostly in formal writing, especially historical texts and literature, to describe an action that was completed immediately before another past action.
Formation:
- Auxiliary verb avoir or être in the passé simple
- Plus past participle of the main verb
- Past participle agrees if auxiliary is être
Signal words: dès que (as soon as), sitôt que (as soon as), après que (after)
Examples:
- Dès qu’il eut terminé, il partit. (As soon as he had finished, he left.)
- Sitôt qu’elle fut arrivée, la réunion commença. (As soon as she had arrived, the meeting began.)
- Après qu’ils eurent mangé, ils sortirent. (After they had eaten, they went out.)
___ qu’il eut terminé, il partit.
Which phrase commonly signals the use of passé antérieur?
Dès que
'Dès que' (as soon as) is a typical signal phrase for passé antérieur, indicating sequential past actions.
When is passé antérieur typically used?
In literary or formal writing to describe an action completed immediately before another past action.
Passé antérieur is a literary tense mostly found in historical or formal texts, often signaled by words like 'dès que' or 'sitôt que.'
Summary
| Tense | Auxiliary Form | Past Participle | Usage | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passé Composé | avoir/être (present) | plus-que-parfait temps du passé | Completed past actions, recent events | J’ai vu le film. |
| Plus-que-parfait | avoir/être (imparfait) | plus-que-parfait temps du passé | Action completed before another past action | J’avais quitté la maison. |
| Passé Antérieur | avoir/être (passé simple) | plus-que-parfait temps du passé | Literary: action completed immediately before another past action | Dès qu’il eut fini, il partit. |
French perfect tenses use auxiliary verbs and past participles to indicate completed actions, but the time frame and context determine which tense is correct. Passé composé is for simple past actions, plus-que-parfait shows a past action before another past action, and passé antérieur is reserved for literary contexts describing sequential past actions.
Flashcards (1 of 3)
- Auxiliary + Past Participle: j’ai fini
- English Example: I have finished
Last updated: Thu Jun 12, 2025
