Language/French/Grammar/Passé-Composé

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French Grammar → Verbs and Tenses → Passé Composé

The Passé Composé is the most common past tense used in the French language. It is used to talk about completed actions in the past. In this lesson, you will learn how to form the Passé Composé using regular and irregular verbs and when to use it.

Take some time to dive into these other pages after completing this lesson: How to recognize when the start of a relative clause is a direct object & The indirect object complement.

Formation

The Passé Composé is formed by using the present tense of the auxiliary verb “avoir” or “être” and the past participle of the main verb.

Using “Avoir” as Auxiliary Verb

To form the Passé Composé with “avoir”, follow these steps:

1. Start with the present tense of the auxiliary verb “avoir”
2. Add the past participle of the main verb
3. Keep the agreement of the past participle with the direct object, if there is one

Examples:

French	Pronunciation	English
J'ai mangé	/ʒe mɑ̃ʒe/	I ate
Tu as regardé	/ty a ʁəɡaʁde/	You watched
Il a fini	/il a fini/	He finished
Nous avons choisi	/nuz avɔ̃ ʃwazi/	We chose
Vous avez parlé	/vu zavɛ paʁle/	You spoke
Ils ont travaillé	/il zɔ̃ tʁavaje/	They worked

Using “Être” as Auxiliary Verb

The Passé Composé can also be formed with the auxiliary verb “être” for certain verbs, such as reflexive verbs, verbs of motion, and some intransitive verbs.

To form the Passé Composé with “être”, follow these steps:

1. Start with the present tense of the auxiliary verb “être”
2. Add the past participle of the main verb
3. Keep the agreement of the past participle with the subject

Examples:

French	Pronunciation	English
Je suis parti(e)	/ʒə sɥi paʁti/	I left
Tu es allé(e)	/ty ɛ ale/	You went
Il est né	/il ɛ ne/	He was born
Nous sommes arrivé(e)s	/nu somz aʁive/	We arrived
Vous êtes tombé(e)(s)	/vu zɛ tɔ̃be/	You fell
Ils sont resté(e)s	/il sɔ̃ ʁɛste/	They stayed

Note that the past participle agrees with the subject in gender and number.

Irregular Verbs in the Passé Composé

Some verbs have irregular past participles and must be memorized. Here are some of the most common irregular verbs in the Passé Composé:

Infinitive	Past Participle	Pronunciation	English
être	été	/ɛtʁ/	to be
avoir	eu	/avwaʁ/	to have
faire	fait	/fɛʁ/	to do/make
prendre	pris	/pʁɑ̃dʁ/	to take
voir	vu	/vwaʁ/	to see
venir	venu	/vəny/	to come

Notice that some verbs have the same past participle in the Passé Composé as their infinitive form, like "avoir" and "être".

Usage

The Passé Composé is used to talk about completed actions or events in the past. Here are some common uses:

• To talk about a specific action that happened at a specific point in the past: "Hier, j'ai mangé une pizza." (Yesterday, I ate a pizza.)
• To talk about a series of completed actions in the past: "Il est rentré chez lui, a mangé, et s'est couché." (He went home, ate, and went to bed.)
• To talk about the beginning or end of a past action: "Je suis entré dans la chambre et j'ai vu qu'il dormait." (I walked into the room and saw that he was sleeping.)
• To talk about a past event with a connection to the present: "J'ai perdu mes clefs, alors maintenant je ne peux pas rentrer chez moi." (I lost my keys, so now I can't go home.)

Exercises

• Conjugate the following verbs in the Passé Composé: "manger", "prendre", "aller", "venir"

• Choose the correct auxiliary verb and past participle to form the Passé Composé: "Elle (être/avoir) partie hier soir." / "Nous (avoir/être) allé(s) au parc."

• Translate the following sentences into French: "I watched a movie last night." / "Did you eat breakfast this morning?"

Sources

• Le passé composé: the past tense in French

Table of Contents - French Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

  ---

Alphabet and Pronunciation

• The French Alphabet
• French Vowels and Consonants
• French Accent Marks
• Introductions and Greetings

  ---

Nouns and Articles

• Gender and Number of Nouns
• Definite and Indefinite Articles
• Partitive Articles

  ---

Verbs and Tenses

• Present Tense of Regular Verbs
• Common Irregular Verbs
• Passé Composé
• Futur Proche

  ---

Adjectives and Adverbs

• Agreement of Adjectives
• Comparative and Superlative Adjectives
• Formation and Use of Adverbs

  ---

Negation and Interrogation

• Negation
• Interrogation

  ---

Numbers and Time

• Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers
• Time and Dates

  ---

Family and Relationships

• Family Members
• Romantic Relationships

  ---

Food and Drink

• Food and Eating Habits
• Beverages and Drinking Habits

  ---

Hobbies and Interests

• Sports and Fitness Activities
• Music and Entertainment

  ---

Geography and Travel

• Regions and Cities in France
• Transportation and Accommodation

  ---

French Culture and Arts

• French Cuisine and Gastronomy
• French Cinema and Literature

  ---

French History and Society

• Major Events in French History
• French Society and Lifestyle

Other Lessons

• Differences in the use of numbers in French and English mille milliers milliards
• Conditional Mood and Future Tense
• Colour adjective compounds
• Adjectives
• Differences in the use of numbers in French and English Order of cardinal numbers and adjectives
• An adjective agreeing with nouns linked by de
• Use of the definite article with names of countries, regions, départements
• Cardinal numbers
• Use of the definite article with titles
• Use of en with numerals and quantifiers

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