What made you decide to take the first step toward learning French? Perhaps you met someone who only speaks French, you chose a language to round out your academic schedule, or you binge-watched a show that inspired you. If you were to tell this story, you’d need to use the past tense, since it’s already happened. Consider all of the past-tense moments in the following examples:
- Last summer, my friend recommended a novel set in Québec.
- That afternoon, I went to the local bookshop.
- I spontaneously purchased a train ticket to Québec City.
- I enrolled in a French class and met some wonderful friends.
The more experiences you have in life, the more stories you’ll have, and you’ll need the past tenses to describe them. In French, there are several past tenses. The passé composé takes the place of the English simple past tense (in all spoken and most written French) and the present perfect tense. The passé composé is used to narrate completed past events, mention something that took place at a defined moment, or to say what has happened. It is formed from two parts: an auxiliary verb and a past participle (more on that later). This is different from another main French past tense form: the imparfait (imperfect).
While a beginner could certainly tell a story using only present tense verbs and likely be understood, being able to use French verb tenses in major time frames (past, present, and future) is a hallmark of a more advanced speaker. It’s a learning process that bridges the gap between beginner and intermediate learners.
Verb conjugation can seem complex, but you don’t have to tackle the passé composé alone! Rosetta Stone can help you master French verbs through our unique Dynamic Immersion method that goes beyond memorization alone to help your brain make connections between words and images. Hear and see these verbs in action with Rosetta Stone’s Stories, which are leveled just for you, and start using verbs in context from the start.
When should you use the passé composé in French?
French distinguishes between two main tenses in the past: the passé composé and the imparfait (imperfect). English might not have a noticeable difference in these two tenses, so they can be confusing if English is your first language.
The imparfait is a more descriptive tense, which is useful for setting the scene and providing background information. Imagine a stage with scenery, backdrops, and clues to what the setting is like. If it’s a musical, you might also hear a song that describes the main characters and what life is usually like. This is a great analogy for the imparfait. It can tell us:
- Where they were
- What people/things were like
- What someone wanted, was able to do, or had
- How everyone was feeling
- What usually happened
- What the weather was like
- What was going on
Nothing has actually happened yet on stage. You just know the background information.
In order to advance the plot, we will employ the passé composé. Now we can get information such as:
- What happened
- What someone did
- Who said something or responded
- How long something took before it was finished
- What took place to interrupt the status quo
- What has already occurred
Without the passé composé, it would feel like reading the first page of a story but never getting to any particular incident. Without the imparfait, you might feel like you’re getting “just the facts.” Both tenses are important and work seamlessly together, as stories almost never exclude one tense or the other, but let’s focus on the correct use of the passé composé.
How to conjugate the passé composé in French
The passé composé is a compound tense. Remember that it has two words in its name, and the verb has two parts in its construction. There are many details to follow, but in simple terms, a sentence in the passé composé will always include this formula:
(Subject) + conjugated form of auxiliary verb (avoir or être) + past participle.
- Sophie a étudié = Sophie studied. / Sophie has studied.
- Carlos est allé. = Carlos went. / Carlos has gone.
Conjugating avoir and être for the passé composé
An auxiliary verb is also called a “helping verb,” and it’s necessary to form the passé composé. You can’t put a subject and a past participle together in French as you can in English. Every verb in French will use either avoir (to have) or être (to be) as the auxiliary verb. It will be conjugated in the present tense to match the subject, or who performed the action. These verbs are both highly irregular, but since they are used so often, it won’t take long to learn them.
avoir – to have (présent, l’indicatif)
| j’ai | I have | nous avons | We have |
| tu as | You have(singular/ informal) | vous avez | You have(formal/plural) |
| il/elle a | He/She has | ils/elles ont | They have |
être – to be (présent, l’indicatif)
| je suis | I am | nous sommes | We are |
| tu es | You are(singular/ informal) | vous êtes | You are(formal/plural) |
| il/elle est | He/She is | ils/elles sont | They are |
>>Master 20 of the most common French verbs!
Forming past participles for the passé composé
The next part of the passé composé is the past participle. We recognize past participles in English in following examples:
- They studied the document. They have studied it for four hours.
- I wrote to the mayor. I have written to the mayor three times now.
- She took the shortcut. She has taken the shortcut before.
It is often formed just like the English simple past tense by adding -ed to the base form a verb, but there are many irregular past participles in English.
Regular -ER, -IR, and -RE verbs
The passé composé is going to form past participles using the following formula most of the time:
| Remove ending from infinitive | Add new ending: | Example: |
| -ER | -é | acheter (to buy) becomes acheté (bought) |
| -IR | -i | choisir (to choose) becomes choisi (chosen) |
| -RE | -u | vendre (to sell) becomes vendu (sold) |
Here’s a full example of the regular verb finir (to finish) in the passé composé. Notice that the conjugation of avoir changes with each subject, but the past participle stays exactly the same.
finir – to finish (passé composé)
| J’ai fini | I have finished | nous avons fini | We have finished |
| Tu as fini | You have finished(singular/ informal) | vous avez fini | You have finished(formal/plural) |
| il/elle a fini | He/She has finished | ils/elles ont fini | They have finished |
Irregular verbs
Just because a past participle is irregular in English, such as “bought,” “left,” or “become,” it doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be irregular in French. The reverse is also true. Common regular past participles in English can be irregular in French, so they don’t follow the same rules.
Here are several common irregular French past participles:
| Infinitive | Past Participle |
| être (to be) | été (been) |
| avoir (to have) | eu (had) |
| faire (to be) | fait (done) |
| dire (to say) | dit (said) |
| voir (to see) | vu (seen) |
| devoir (to be obligated to) | dû (had to) |
| vouloir (to want) | voulu (wanted) |
| pouvoir (to be able to) | pu (was able to) |
| valoir (to be worth) | valu (been worth) |
| savoir (to know) | su (known) |
| mettre (to put) | mis (put) |
| ouvrir (to open) | ouvert (opened) |
| prendre (to take) | pris (took) |
| boire (to drink) | bu (drunk) |
| naître (to be born) | né (was born) |
| mourir (to die) | mort (died) |
| écrire (to write) | écrit (written) |
| venir (to come) | venu (come) |
| croire (to believe) | cru (believed) |
| connaître (to know) | connu (known) |
| comprendre (to understand) | compris (understood) |
| vivre (to live) | vécu (lived) |
| asseoir (to sit) | assis (sat) |
| lire (to read) | lu (read) |
| recevoir (to receive) | reçu (received) |
| offrir (to offer) | offert (offered) |
| conduire (to drive) | conduit (driven) |
| rire (to laugh) | ri (laughed) |
| tenir (to hold) | tenu (held) |
| craindre (to fear) | craint (feared) |
| traduire (to translate) | traduit (translated) |
| éteindre (to turn off, extinguish) | éteint (turned off) |
| cuire (to cook) | cuit (cooked) |
| acquérir (to acquire) | acquis (acquired) |
| atteindre (to attain) | atteint (attained) |
| construire (to construct) | construit (built) |
| courir (to run) | couru (run) |
| décevoir (to deceive, to disappoint) | déçu (deceived, disappointed) |
| joindre (to join) | joint (joined) |
| peindre (to paint) | peint (painted) |
| plaire (to please) | plu (pleased) |
| pleuvoir (to rain) | plu (has rained) |
| produire (to produce) | produit (produced) |
| souffrir (to suffer) | souffert (suffered) |
| suivre (to follow) | suivi (followed) |
Verbs that take être in the passé composé
While the vast majority of verbs in French will use avoir (to have) as the auxiliary verb, there are two main groups of verbs which will instead require être (to be) as the first part of the passé composé structure. In all cases where être is the helping verb, the past participle will need to agree with the subject in both gender and number.
First, any reflexive verb in French will require être as the helping verb and will need past participle agreement. Reflexive verbs are easy to recognize in the infinitive because they include the reflexive pronoun se. The subject who is doing the action is also the one receiving it.
- Se brosser: Elle s’est brossée les dents. = She brushed her teeth.
- Se laver: Je me suis lavé les mains. = I washed my hands.
- Se réveiller: A quelle heure est-ce que vous vous êtes réveillés ? = What time did you all wake up?
The other group is a list of 17 verbs of motion or change in state.
| Infinitive | Past Participle |
| naître (to be born) | né(e)(s) |
| devenir (to become) | devenu(e)(s) |
| mourir (to die) | mort(e)(s) |
| aller (to go) | allé(e)(s) |
| partir (to leave) | parti(e)(s) |
| sortir (to go out) | sorti(e)(s) |
| arriver (to arrive) | arrivé(e)(s) |
| venir (to come) | venu(e)(s) |
| revenir (to come back) | revenu(e)(s) |
| retourner (to return) | retourné(e)(s) |
| entrer (to enter) | entré(e)(s) |
| rentrer (to re-enter) | rentré(e)(s) |
| rester (to stay) | resté(e)(s) |
| passer par (to go past) | passé(e)(s) |
| monter (to go up) | monté(e)(s) |
| descendre (to go down) | descendu(e)(s) |
| tomber (to fall) | tombé(e)(s) |
Many learners find it helpful to use MRS D.R. VANDERTRAMPP as an acronym to remember this list of verbs. The danger here is to apply it to too many verbs that happen to start with these letters, but it can help greatly to eliminate other verbs. For example, there is no B in the name, so boire (to drink) must be conjugated with avoir. If you know that the two verbs that start with M are mourir (to die) and monter (to go up), you’ll be sure that manger (to eat) is an avoir verb.
- Mourir
- Rester
- Sortir
- Descendre
- Rentrer
- Venir
- Arriver
- Naître
- Devenir
- Entrer
- Retourner
- Tomber
- Revenir
- Aller
- Monter
- Partir
- Passer par
Another helpful tip is to imagine the “House of Être.” Imagine that you can come, arrive, and either pass by or enter the house. You can stay in the house or go somewhere else. You can go up, go down or fall down the stairs. You can leave or go out from the house, and then return, come back, and re-enter. You can be born in the house, become who you are, and then die in the house.
A combination of these memory aids can give you a boost while you are learning past tense structures. Thankfully, these are common verbs, so it won’t be long before they come to you naturally, and “je suis arrivée” (I have arrived) just sounds correct to your ear.
Applying the passé composé to common irregular verbs in French
Common irregular verbs include être (to be), avoir (to have), faire (to do/make), and aller (to go).
Être in the passé composé
Être (to be) uses avoir as the auxiliary verb. The past participle is été. For example:
- J’ai été malade toute la semaine. = I have been sick all week.
- Il a été ravi de vous voir. = He was delighted to see you.
être – to be (passé composé)
| j’ai été | I was | nous avons été | We were |
| tu as été | You were(singular/ informal) | vous avez été | You were(formal/plural) |
| il/elle a été | He/She was | ils/elles ont été | They were |
Avoir in the passé composé
Avoir (to have) uses itself as the auxiliary verb. The past participle is eu. For example:
- Vous avez eu beaucoup de succès. = You have had a lot of success.
- Ils ont eu des difficultés à commencer. = They had trouble starting.
avoir – to have (passé composé)
| j’ai eu | I had | nous avons eu | We had |
| tu as eu | You had(singular/ informal) | vous avez eu | You had(formal/plural) |
| il/elle a eu | He/She had | ils/elles ont eu | They had |
Faire in the passé composé
Faire (to do, to make) uses avoir as an auxiliary verb. The past participle is fait. For example:
- J’ai fait du ski trois fois. = I have skied three times.
- Il a fait le lit et elle a fait la vaisselle. = He made the bed and she did the dishes.
- Nous avons fait une pizza. = We made a pizza.
faire – to do, to make (passé composé)
| j’ai fait | I did/made | nous avons fait | We did/made |
| tu as fait | You did/made(singular/ informal) | vous avez fait | You did/made(formal/plural) |
| il/elle a fait | He/She did/made | ils/elles ont fait | They did/made |
Aller in the passé composé
Aller (to go) uses être as an auxiliary verb. The past participle is allé and will also require agreement with the subject in gender and number. For example:
- Mes parents sont allés au restaurant. = My parents went to the restaurant.
- Tu es allé à l’école cette semaine ? = Did you go to school this week?
aller – to go (passé composé)
| je suis allé je suis allée |
I went (m.) I went (f.) |
nous sommes allés nous sommes allées |
We went (m.) We went (f.) |
| tu es allé tu es allée |
You went (m.) You went (f.) (singular/ informal) |
vous êtes allé vous êtes allée vous êtes allésvous êtes allées |
You went (m.s.) You went (f. s.) You went (m. pl.) You went (f. pl) (formal/plural) |
| il est allé elle est allée |
He went She went |
ils sont allés elles sont allées |
They went (m.) They went (f.) |
>>Ready for a complete guide to verb conjugation in French?
Intermediate grammar tip: Passé composé agreement with avoir
While agreement of the past participle is a given with verbs that use être, including reflexive verbs, there are times that you will also have agreement of the past participle and subject when avoir is used.
The general rule is that if the direct object of the sentence (what/who the action is being done to) comes before avoir, the past participle must agree. This happens often when you are using direct object pronouns (it, them) in order to avoid repetition and will occur with more sophisticated sentence structures, so consider this a major achievement in French verb composition and conjugation!
For example:
- Les valises ? Je les ai achetées hier.
- J’adore la chanson que nous avons écoutée il y a deux jours.
- Les décorations que vous avez choisies sont parfaites !
>>When do I pronounce the ending? TruAccent helps you say it like a native speaker!
Master The French Passé Composé With Rosetta Stone
Using the passé composé correctly can help you tell stories about events that have already occurred. You’ll sound more accurate when you learn whether to start with avoir or être as your auxiliary verb—and even better if you know irregular past participles. If you can also add the right letters to the past participle when necessary, you’ve accomplished an amazing goal toward mastery of the French past tense!
Relying solely on knowing a bunch of grammar rules can be difficult, and if our memories fail us, we may struggle until we can apply these rules in real-life situations. Rosetta Stone can take away the guesswork and show you all the most common structures in the passé composé in authentic and engaging contexts. Start making sense of the past tense with Rosetta Stone today!
Written by Jamie Edwards
Jamie is a learner and teacher of Spanish and French. When she’s not learning new words, you’ll find her on the soccer sidelines, ski slopes, and track and field bleachers enjoying the four seasons of Western New York.
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