Language/French/Grammar/Agreement-of-the-past-participle-following-“être”-with-the-subject-of-a-passive
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Definitions
Subject-verb agreement
The agreement in French (the agreement) is the way to choose the correct ending for verbs in terms of grammatical persons, gender and number, depending on their subject.
Past participle
The past participle is a verb form with several roles. It’s essential in the creation of compound verb tenses/moods and the passive voice, and it can also be used as an adjective. The French past participle usually ends -é, -i, or -u, and is equivalent to -ed or -en in English.
Passive
The passive is constructed from a transitive verb with the transformation of the direct object into a subject and with:
"a été" + past participle
Agreement of the past participle
The past participle agrees with the subject in gender and number in the following cases:
- La guerre a été provoquée par une attaque surprise
The war was sparked by a surprise attack
- Les gens ont été choqués par cet œuvre
People were shocked by this work of art