Le Passé Composé (Junior Cert French): Revision Notes
Le Passé Composé
The passé composé is one of the most commonly used past tenses in French. It is used to describe actions or events that have been completed in the past.
The passé composé is equivalent to the simple past (e.g., "I ate") or the present perfect (e.g., "I have eaten") in English.
Regular Verbs with Avoir
You need two things for an avoir verb in the passé composé:
- The auxiliary verb (the present tense of avoir or être)
- A past participle
1. The Auxiliary verb: Present tense of 'Avoir'
| Infinitive | avoir (to have) |
|---|---|
| je | j'ai |
| tu | tu as |
| il/elle/on | il/elle/on a |
| nous | nous avons |
| vous | vous avez |
| ils/elles | ils/elles ont |
2. A Past Participle
What is a past participle? A past participle is a special form of a verb that you use to talk about something that has already happened. In English, it's like the words "eaten" or "played".
How to form a past participle:
The way you form the past participle depends on the type of verb:
- For -er verbs (parler-to speak):
- Take off the er at the end of the verb.
- Add é.
- parler → parlé (spoken)
- For -ir verbs (finir -to finish):
- Take off the ir at the end of the verb.
- Add i.
- finir → fini (finished)
- For -re verbs (vendre_-_to sell):
- Take off the re at the end of the verb.
- Add u.
- vendre → vendu (sold) Irregular verbs have unique past participles that need to be memorised. We will cover these later.
3. Putting It All Together
Let's break down how to form the passé composé for the verb donner (which means "to give")
- Present tense of avoir
| Avoir – Present tense |
|---|
| j'ai |
| tu as |
| il/elle/on a |
| nous avons |
| vous avez |
| ils/elles ont |
- Form the past participle Donner is an -er verb. Remove the '-er' and add é.
So, donner becomes donné.
- Put It Together
Now, combine the present tense of avoir with the past participle donné.
| Subject | Present Tense of Avoir | Past Participle of Donner | Passé Composé |
|---|---|---|---|
| Je | ai | donné | J'ai donné |
| Tu | as | donné | Tu as donné |
| Il/Elle/On | a | donné | Il/Elle/On a donné |
| Nous | avons | donné | Nous avons donné |
| Vous | avez | donné | Vous avez donné |
| Ils/Elles | ont | donné | Ils/Elles ont donné |
Finir in the Passé Composé (An -ir Verb)
| Subject | Present Tense of Avoir | Past Participle of Finir | Passé Composé |
|---|---|---|---|
| Je | ai | fini | J'ai fini |
| Tu | as | fini | Tu as fini |
| Il/Elle/On | a | fini | Il/Elle/On a fini |
| Nous | avons | fini | Nous avons fini |
| Vous | avez | fini | Vous avez fini |
| Ils/Elles | ont | fini | Ils/Elles ont fini |
Rendre in the Passé Composé (An -re Verb)
| Subject | Present Tense of Avoir | Past Participle of Rendre | Passé Composé |
|---|---|---|---|
| Je | ai | rendu | J'ai rendu |
| Tu | as | rendu | Tu as rendu |
| Il/Elle/On | a | rendu | Il/Elle/On a rendu |
| Nous | avons | rendu | Nous avons rendu |
| Vous | avez | rendu | Vous avez rendu |
| Ils/Elles | ont | rendu | Ils/Elles ont rendu |
Irregular Verbs with Avoir
These verbs use avoir as the auxiliary verb in the passé composé. Their past participles are irregular, meaning they do not follow the standard rules for forming past participles. They must be learned.
| Verb | Past Participle | Conjugated Verb (Je) | English Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avoir | eu | J'ai eu | I had |
| Être | été | J'ai été | I was |
| Faire | fait | J'ai fait | I did / I made |
| Dire | dit | J'ai dit | I said |
| Écrire | écrit | J'ai écrit | I wrote |
| Lire | lu | J'ai lu | I read |
| Voir | vu | J'ai vu | I saw |
| Savoir | su | J'ai su | I knew |
| Connaître | connu | J'ai connu | I was familiar with / I knew |
| Comprendre | compris | J'ai compris | I understood |
| Apprendre | appris | J'ai appris | I learned |
| Mettre | mis | J'ai mis | I put / I placed |
| Prendre | pris | J'ai pris | I took |
| Pouvoir | pu | J'ai pu | I was able to / I could |
| Vouloir | voulu | J'ai voulu | I wanted |
| Devoir | dû | J'ai dû | I had to |
| Boire | bu | J'ai bu | I drank |
| Courir | couru | J'ai couru | I ran |
| Rire | ri | J'ai ri | I laughed |
| Ouvrir | ouvert | J'ai ouvert | I opened |
| Offrir | offert | J'ai offert | I offered |
Verbs with Être
The passé composé is most often formed using the auxiliary verb avoir (to have). However, there are 17 special verbs that use être (to be) as their auxiliary verb instead of avoir.
You need three things for an être verb in the passé composé:
- The present tense of être
- Past participle
- Agreement
What verbs use être?
| aller | to go |
|---|---|
| arriver | to arrive |
| descendre | to descend / go downstairs |
| entrer | to enter |
| monter | to climb |
| mourir | to die |
| naître | to be born |
| partir | to leave |
| rester | to stay |
| rentrer | to re-enter |
| retourner | to return |
| sortir | to go out |
| tomber | to fall |
| venir | to come |
| devenir | to become |
| parvenir | to reach, achieve |
| revenir | to come again, come back |
1. The Auxiliary verb: Present tense of 'Être'
| Infinitive | être (to be) |
|---|---|
| je | je suis |
| tu | tu es |
| il/elle/on | il/elle/on est |
| nous | nous sommes |
| vous | vous êtes |
| ils/elles | ils/elles sont |
2. Past Participle
| French Verb | Past Participle |
|---|---|
| aller | allé |
| arriver | arrivé |
| descendre | descendu |
| entrer | entré |
| monter | monté |
| mourir | mort |
| naître | né |
| partir | parti |
| rester | resté |
| rentrer | rentré |
| retourner | retourné |
| sortir | sorti |
| tomber | tombé |
| venir | venu |
| devenir | devenu |
| parvenir | parvenu |
| revenir | revenu |
3. Agreement
When using être as the auxiliary verb in the passé composé, the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject of the sentence.
How It Works:
Add the appropriate ending to the past participle:
- Masculine singular: No change (e.g., allé).
- Feminine singular: Add e (e.g., allée).
- Masculine plural: Add s (e.g., allés).
- Feminine plural: Add es (e.g., allées).
4. Putting it All Together
| Je suis allé/e | I went |
|---|---|
| Tu es allé/e | You went |
| Il est allé | He went |
| Elle est allée | She went |
| Nous sommes allés | We went (masculine or mixed group) |
| Nous sommes allées | We went (feminine group) |
| Vous êtes allé/e | You went (singular) |
| Vous êtes allés | You went (plural, masculine or mixed group) |
| Vous êtes allées | You went (plural, feminine group) |
| Ils sont allés | They went (masculine or mixed group) |
| Elles sont allées | They went (feminine group) |
Reflexive Verbs in the Passé Composé
A reflexive verb needs four things in the passé composé
- Reflexive pronoun
- The present tense of être
- Past participle
- Agreement
1. Reflexive Pronoun
| Subject | Reflexive Pronoun |
|---|---|
| Je (I) | me |
| Tu (You • informal) | te |
| Il/Elle/On (He/She/One) | se |
| Nous (We) | nous |
| Vous (You • formal/plural) | vous |
| Ils/Elles (They) | se |
2. The Auxiliary verb: Present tense of 'Être'
| Infinitive | être (to be) |
|---|---|
| je | je suis |
| tu | tu es |
| il/elle/on | il/elle/on est |
| nous | nous sommes |
| vous | vous êtes |
| ils/elles | ils/elles sont |
3. A Past Participle
Knock off the verb ending and add:
| -er | é |
|---|---|
| -ir | i |
| -re | u |
4. Agreement
Add the appropriate ending to the past participle:
- Masculine singular: No change (e.g., allé).
- Feminine singular: Add e (e.g., allée).
- Masculine plural: Add s (e.g., allés).
- Feminine plural: Add es (e.g., allées).
5. Putting it All Together
| French Translation | English Translation |
|---|---|
| Je me suis lavé/e | I washed myself |
| Tu t'es lavé/e | You washed yourself |
| Il s'est lavé | He washed himself |
| Elle s'est lavée | She washed herself |
| Nous nous sommes lavés | We washed ourselves (masculine or mixed group) |
| Nous nous sommes lavées | We washed ourselves (feminine group) |
| Vous vous êtes lavé/e | You washed yourself (singular) |
| Vous vous êtes lavés | You washed yourselves (plural, masculine or mixed group) |
| Vous vous êtes lavées | You washed yourselves (plural, feminine group) |
| Ils se sont lavés | They washed themselves (masculine or mixed group) |
| Elles se sont lavées | They washed themselves (feminine group) |