Comparative Grammar 3.2. Present Perfect Tense in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, & French

In this comparative grammar lesson of Romance languages, we study present perfect tense in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and French.

Table of Contents

• Present Perfect Tense in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, & French vs English
• Present Perfect Tense in Spanish
  • Irregular Past Participles
• Present Perfect Tense in Portuguese
  • Irregular Past Participles
• Present Perfect Tense in Italian
  • Using the Conjugation Auxiliary “Avere” vs. “Essere”
  • Irregular Past Participles
• Composite Past Tense in French
  • Using the Conjugation Auxiliary “Avoir” vs. “Être”
  • Irregular Past Participles
• Level III – Elementary

Present Perfect Tense in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, & French vs English

In English, the present perfect tense is used to describe events that happened in the past and continue in the present.

The present perfect tense in Portuguese, Italian, and French does not always correspond to the present perfect tense in English.

In Spanish, the present perfect tense, like in English, is used to describe events that happened recently or started in the past and continue in the present, e.g., “I have spoken.”

In Portuguese, the present perfect tense is used to describe repeated actions in the past that extend to the present. It is more like the present perfect continuous tense in English, e.g., “I have been working hard.”

In Italian and French, the present perfect tense is used to describe events that happened and were completed in the past or happened in the past and continue in the present. Therefore, this tense covers both the present perfect and the simple past tenses in English, that is, “I spoke” and “I have spoken” are both translated to the same tense in Italian and French. In French, this tense is also called the composite past.

In Spanish and Portuguese, the preterite tense is equivalent in many cases to the simple past in English. We will cover the preterite tense in Spanish and Portuguese in Level IV, Lesson 2.

In Summary:

	The present perfect tense is …	Example
SP	equivalent to “present perfect tense” in English	e.g., “I have spoken”
PT	equivalent to “present perfect continuous tense” in English	e.g., “I have been speaking”
IT	equivalent to “simple past tense” or “present perfect tense” in English	e.g., “I spoke” or “I have spoken”
FR

Present Perfect Tense in Spanish

The present perfect tense in Spanish, like in English, is used to describe events that happened recently or started in the past and continue in the present.

It is a compound tense, meaning it requires an auxiliary verb, in this case, the irregular verb “haber” in the present tense, followed by the past participle. The auxiliary “haber” serves a similar function to the auxiliary “have” in English, e.g., “I have done my homework.”

“-ar” verbs	subject pronoun + “haber” in present tense + (verb stem+ ado)
“-er” verbs	subject pronoun + “haber” in present tense + (verb stem+ ido)
“-ir” verbs	subject pronoun + “haber” in present tense + (verb stem+ ido)

Let us look at some verb examples and the conjugation of “haber.”

		-ar ending e.g., hablar	-er ending e.g., comer	-ir ending e.g., vivir
yo	he	hablado	comido	vivido
tú	has
él/ella/usted	ha
nosotros/-as	hemos
vosotros/-as	habéis
ellos/ellas/ustedes	han

Here are some examples:

Yo he visitado Egipto.	I have visited Egypt.
Tú has bebido el café.	You have drunk the coffee.
Ella ha hablado con su madre.	She has spoken to her mother.
Nosotros hemos comido.	We have eaten.
Ellos han vivido aquí.	They have lived here.

Irregular Past Participles

There are a few verbs with irregular past participles that need to be memorized.

Verb	Past Participle	Meaning	Examples
abrir	abierto	to open	He abierto la puerta. I have opened the door.
absolver	absuelto	to absolve	Lo han absuelto. They have absolved him.
cubrir	cubierto	to cover	Hemos cubierto el suelo. We have covered the floor.
decir	dicho	to say	Te lo he dicho. I have told you so.
escribir	escrito	to write	Ella ha escrito una carta. She has written a letter.
freír	frito	to fry	¿Has frito la papa? Have you fried the potato?
hacer	hecho	to do	He hecho la tarea. I have done the task.
imprimir	impreso	to print	He impreso la foto. I have printed the photo.
morir	muerto	to die	Él ha muerto. He has died.
poner	puesto	to put	Él nos ha puesto en peligro. He has put us in danger.
proveer	provisto	to provide	Hemos provisto el agua. We have provided water.
resolver	resuelto	to resolve	Ella ha resuelto el problema. he has resolved the problem.
romper	roto	to break	Ella ha roto la ventana. She has broken the window.
satisfacer	satisfecho	to satisfy	Mi trabajo me ha satisfecho. My work has satisfied me.
ver	visto	to see	No lo he visto. I haven’t seen him.
volver	vuelto	to return	Ella no ha vuelto. She hasn’t returned.

Among the above exceptions, it is acceptable for the verbs “freír,” “imprimir,” and “proveer” to use the past participle in the regular form as “freído,” “imprimido,” and “proveído.” However, only irregular forms are acceptable if used as adjectives.

The verbs above can be used with prefixes that change the meaning, but the irregular form remains the same. For example, the past participles of “revolver” (to scramble), “devolver” (to return), and “envolver” (to wrap) are “revuelto,” “devuelto,” and “envuelto,” respectively, which are all similar to the past participle of the original verb “volver” without the prefix, i.e., “vuelto.”

Another minor orthographic irregularity is in the case of “-er” and “-ir” verbs if the stem ends in a vowel, e.g., the stem of “leer” (to read) is “le-.” In this case, the “i” in the past participle ending is accented, i.e., “-ído.” Thus, the past participle of “leer” is “leído.” Other examples include “caer” (to fall), “creer” (to believe), “oír” (to hear), “poseer” (to possess), “reír” (to laugh), and “traer” (to bring). An exception to the accented “i” rule is verbs with a “-uir” ending. In this case, the “i” is not accented, e.g., “destruir” (to destroy) becomes “destruido.”

Present Perfect Tense in Portuguese

The present perfect tense is used in Portuguese to describe repeated actions in the past that extend to the present. It is more similar to the present perfect continuous tense in English, e.g., “I have been working hard.”

The present perfect is a compound tense, meaning it requires an auxiliary verb, in this case, the irregular verb “ter” or “haver” in the present tense, followed by the past participle. The auxiliary “ter” or “haver” serves a similar function to the auxiliary “have” in English, e.g., “I have done my homework.”

“-ar” verbs	“ter”/“haver” in present tense + (verb stem+ ado)
“-er” verbs	“ter”/“haver” in present tense + (verb stem+ ido)
“-ir” verbs	“ter”/“haver” in present tense + (verb stem+ ido)

Both “ter” and “haver” are grammatically correct and can be used interchangeably. However, the use of “haver” is usually limited to writing. In everyday language, the verb “ter” is often used.

The table below summarizes the conjugation rules of the three verb groups in the present perfect tense:

		-ar ending e.g., falar	-er ending e.g., comer	-ir ending e.g., partir
eu	tenho/hei	falado	comido	partido
ele/ela/você	tem/há
nós	temos/havemos
eles/elas/vocês	têm/hão

Here are some more examples in context:

Você tem bebido o café.	You have been drinking coffee.
Ela tem falado com a mãe.	She has been speaking to her mother.
Nós temos comido.	We have been eating.
Eles têm vivido aqui.	They have been living here.

Irregular Past Participles

1. There are a few verbs with irregular past participles:

Verb	Past Participle	Meaning	Examples
abrir	aberto	to open	Eu tenho aberto a porta. I have been opening the door.
cobrir	coberto	to cover	Nós temos coberto o chão. We have been covering the floor.
dizer	dito	to say	Eu te tenho dito isso. I have been telling you so.
escrever	escrito	to write	Ela tem escrito uma carta. She has been writing a letter.
fazer	feito	to do	Eu tenho feito a tarefa. I have been doing the task.
pôr	posto	to put	Ele nos tem posto em perigo. He has been putting us in danger.
ver	visto	to see	Eu tenho visto o último evento. I have been seeing the latest event.
vir	vindo	to come	O homem têm vindo de longe. The man has been coming from far away.

• Notice that the past participle and the gerund of the verb “vir” (to come) are identical, i.e., “vindo.”
• The verbs above can be used with prefixes that change the meaning, but the irregular form remains the same. For example, the past participles of the verb “descobrir” (to discover) is “descoberto,” which is similar to the past participle of the original verb “cobrir” without the prefix, i.e., “coberto.”

2. There are also some verbs that have both regular and irregular past participles. Here are the most common ones:

aceitar	to accept	aceitado, aceito
acender	to turn on or to light	acendido, aceso
dispersar	to disperse	dispersado, disperso
eleger	to elect	elegido, eleito
entregar	to deliver	entregado, entregue
expressar	to express	expressado, expresso
exprimir	to express	exprimido, expresso
expulsar	to expel or to throw out	expulsado, expulso
extinguir	to extinguish	extinguido, extinto
fritar	to fry	fritado, frito
ganhar	to win	ganhado, ganho
gastar	to spend	gastado, gasto
impergir	to immerse	imergido, imerso
limpar	to clean	limpado, limpo
matar	to kill	matado, morto
pagar	to pay	pagado, pago
pegar	to get	pegado, pego
prender	to arrest or hold	prendido, preso
salvar	to save	salvado, salvo
soltar	to release	soltado, solto
submergir	to submerge	submergido, submerso
suprimir	to suppress	suprimido, supresso
suspender	to suspend	suspendido, suspenso

In general, it is preferrable, but not always required, to use the regular form when the past participle is used after the auxiliary “ter” or “haver,” e.g., “Ele tem aceitado” (He has been accepting). On the other hand, the irregular shorter form is often used when the past participle is used as an adjective, e.g., “É aceito aqui” (It is accepted here).

Present Perfect Tense in Italian

In Italian, the present perfect tense is used to describe events that happened and were completed in the past or happened in the past and continue in the present. Therefore, this tense covers both the present perfect and the simple past tenses in English, that is, “I spoke” and “I have spoken” are both translated to the same tense in Italian.

The present perfect is a compound tense, meaning it requires an auxiliary verb. In English, we use the verb “to have” in the present tense as an auxiliary, e.g., “I have done my homework.”

In Italian, some verbs use the auxiliary “avere” (to have), while others use the auxiliary “essere” (to be) in the present tense, followed by the past participle.  

The past participle of regular verbs using the auxiliary “avere” (to have) is formed by adding the appropriate suffix for “-are,” “-ere,” and “-ire” verbs.

“-are” verbs	“avere” in the present tense	“verb stem” + “-ato”
“-ere” verbs		“verb stem” + “-uto”
“-ire” verbs		“verb stem” + “-ito”

The past participle of regular verbs using the auxiliary “essere” (to be) is formed in a similar way. One additional requirement here is that the suffix of the past participle must agree with the subject in gender and number, that is, the past participle essentially requires the treatment of an adjective.

“-are” verbs	“essere” in the present tense	“verb stem” + “-ato”/ “-ata”/ “-ati”/ “-ate”
“-ere” verbs		“verb stem” + “-uto”/ “-uta”/ “-uti”/ “-ute”
“-ire” verbs		“verb stem” + “-ito”/ “-ita”/ “-iti”/ “-ite”

Let us look at some examples of verbs conjugated using the auxiliary “avere”:

		-are ending e.g., parlare	-ere ending e.g., vendere	-ire ending e.g., finire
io	ho	parlato	venduto	finito
tu	hai
lui/lei	ha
noi	abbiamo
voi	avete
loro	hanno

Here are some examples in context:

Io ho visitato l’Egitto l’anno scorso.	I visited Egypt last year.
Tu hai finito il tuo lavoro.	You have finished your work.
Lui ha parlato con sua madre.	He spoke with his mother.
Noi abbiamo mangiato tutto il cibo.	We have eaten all the food.
Sono sicuro che mi avete sentito ieri sera.	I am sure you heard me last night.
Loro hanno lavorato qui per due anni.	They worked here for two years.

Now, let us look at some examples of verbs conjugated using the auxiliary “essere”:

		-are ending e.g., andare	-ere ending e.g., cadere	-ire ending e.g., partire
io	sono	andato/-a	caduto/-a	partito/-a
tu	sei	andato/-a	caduto/-a	partito/-a
lui	è	andato	caduto	partito
lei	è	andata	caduta	partita
noi	siamo	andati/-e	caduti/-e	partiti/-e
voi	siete	andati/-e	caduti/-e	partiti/-e
loro	sono	andati/-e	caduti/-e	partiti/-e

Here are some more examples:

Sono andato in palestra la scorsa settimana.	I went to the gym last week.
Sei partito presto ieri sera.	You left early last night.
Lui è caduto dalle scale.	He fell down the stairs.
Siamo entrati nella stanza.	We have entered the room.
Voi siete arrivati tardi la scorsa notte.	You arrived late last night.
Ieri loro sono usciti insieme.	They went out together yesterday.

Notice that in some of these examples, the present perfect tense in Italian corresponds to the present perfect, whereas in others it corresponds to the simple past tense depending on the context.

Using the Conjugation Auxiliary “Avere” vs. “Essere”

You are perhaps wondering when to use the auxiliary “avere” and when to use the auxiliary “essere” to form the past participle. The vast majority of Italian verbs, including all transitive[1] verbs, are conjugated using the auxiliary “avere.” Thus, it is easier to memorize the verbs that use “essere.” First, all transitive non-reflexive verbs use “avere.” If you can rule that out, the following categories, although not comprehensive, contain most verbs that use “essere”:

• A group of intransitive verbs related to motion (e.g., to go, to come, to return, to enter, to leave, to fall, to enter, etc.).

andare	to go	scappare	to escape
arrivare	to arrive	scendere	to go down or descend
cadere	to fall	tornare	to return
entrare	to enter	uscire	to go out
partire	to leave	venire	to come
salire	to go up

Remember that all the verbs above that use “essere” are motion-related. However, not all motion-related verbs use “essere.” This should serve as a guideline to help you memorize the verbs in this category.

• A group of intransitive verbs related to change or transformation (e.g., to become, to be born, to die, to appear, to disappear, to lose weight, etc.).

apparire	to appear	ingrandire	to get bigger
cambiare	to change	migliorare	to get better
crescere	to grow	morire	to die
dimagrire	to lose weight	nascere	to be born
diminuire	to diminish	peggiorare	to get worse
dipendere da	to depend on or cause	sparire	to disappear
diventare	to become	svanire	to vanish
guarire	to heal	volare	to fly

Notice that the above verbs use “essere” only when they are in transitive form, that is when there is a direct object acted upon. If the verb is transitive, “avere” must be used. For example:

Verb	Example
cambiare to change	È cambiato molto di recente.	He has changed a lot recently.
	Ha cambiato il mondo.	He has changed the world.
crescere to raise or grow	È cresciuta in città.	She grew up in the city.
	Ha cresciuto tre figli.	She raised three children.
guarire to heal	La mia pelle è guarita.	My skin has healed.
	La crema ha guarito la mia pelle.	The cream healed my skin.

• Verbs that are always in the third-person, e.g., “costare” (to cost), “durare” (to last), “occorrere” (to take or to be necessary), “succedere” (to happen), etc. Here are some examples:

Verb	Meaning	Example
costare	to cost	Mi è costato molto. It has cost me a lot.
durare	to last	Il volo è durato un’ora. The flight lasted one hour.
occorrere	to be necessary or to take	Sono occorsi tre giorni per dipingere la casa. It took three days to paint the house.
succedere	to happen	Per favore, dimmi cosa è successo. Please, tell me what happened.

• Many, but not all, verbs like “piacere.” Refer to Lesson 1 of this level. Here are some examples:

Verb	Meaning	Example
bastare	to be enough	Il cibo gli è bastato. The food was enough for him.
importare	to be important	Non ci è importato. We didn’t care.
mancare	to miss	Mi è mancata mia sorella. I missed my sister.
parere	to seem	L’idea mi è parsa ragionevole. The idea seemed reasonable to me.
sembrare	to seem	Questo ragazzo mi è sembrato strano. This guy seemed strange to me.
servire	to need or be of use	Mi è servito un altro libro. I needed one more book.

• All reflexive verbs, which will be covered in detail in Level IV, Lesson 3, e.g., “chiamarsi” (to call oneself), “lavarsi” (to wash oneself), etc.

Irregular Past Participles

There are some verbs with irregular past participles that need to be memorized.

Verb	Past Participle	Meaning	Examples
accendere	acceso	to switch on	All’arrivo, ha acceso la luce. Upon arrival, he turned on the light.
aprire	aperto	to open	Ho aperto la porta. I have opened the door.
bere	bevuto	to drink	Quanto hai bevuto? How much did you drink?
chiedere	chiesto	to ask	Mi ha chiesto di aiutarlo. He asked me to help him.
chiudere	chiuso	to close	Oggi il negozio ha chiuso tardi. The shop closed late today.
coprire	coperto	to cover	Ho coperto il pavimento. I have covered the floor.
correre	corso	to run	Oggi ho corso di mattina. Today I ran in the morning.
cuocere	cotto	to cook	Ha cotto una bella bistecca. He cooked a nice steak.
decidere	deciso	to decide	Abbiamo deciso di partire. We decided to leave.
dire	detto	to say	Te l’ho detto dall’inizio. I told you from the beginning.
discutere	discusso	to discuss	Hanno discusso l’argomento. They discussed the topic.
dividere	diviso	to divide	Ho diviso la torta a fette. I divided the cake into slices.
fare	fatto	to do	Ho fatto tutto il lavoro. I have done all the work.
friggere	fritto	to fry	Hai fritto la patata? Have you fried the potato?
leggere	letto	to read	Hai letto questo articolo? Have you read this article?
mettere	messo	to put	Ho messo la roba nel furgone. I put the stuff in the van.
morire	morto	to die	È morto l’anno scorso. He died last year.
nascere	nato	to be born	È nato e cresciuto qui. He was born and raised here.
offendere	offeso	to offend	Mi dispiace se ti ho offeso. I’m sorry if I offended you.
perdere	perso	to lose	Ho perso le chiavi. I lost my keys.
piangere	pianto	to cry	Ha pianto per la sua perdita. He cried over his loss.
porre	posto	to put	Abbiamo posto fine a questo. We have put an end to this.
ridere	riso	to laugh	Ho riso quando me l’hanno detto. I laughed when they told me.
rimanere	rimasto	to remain	Sono rimasti con noi per due notti. They stayed with us for two nights.
risolvere	risolto	to resolve	Lei ha risolto il problema. She has resolved the problem.
rompere	rotto	to break	Lei ha rotto la finestra. She has broken the window.
soddisfare	soddisfatto	to satisfy	Il mio lavoro mi ha soddisfatto. My work has satisfied me.
scegliere	scelto	to choose	Ho scelto questo prodotto. I chose this product.
scendere	sceso	to descend or go down	Lui è sceso le scale. He went down the stairs.
scrivere	scritto	to write	Ha scritto una lettera. She has written a letter.
soffrire	sofferto	to suffer	Ha sofferto molto nella vita. He has suffered a lot in life.
spegnere	spento	to switch off	Ha spento la luce ed è uscito. He turned off the light and went out.
tradurre	tradotto	to translate	Ho tradotto il documento. I have translated the document.
vedere	visto	to see	Non l’ho visto. I haven’t seen him.
venire	venuto	to come	Non è ancora venuta. She hasn’t come yet.
vincere	vinto	to win	Ha vinto molto facilmente. He won very easily.
vivere	vissuto	to live	Hanno vissuto qui per anni. They have lived here for years.

• Some verbs have both regular and irregular past participle forms:

Verb	Meaning	Regular Past Part.	Irregular Past Part.
vedere	to see	veduto	visto
perdere	to lose	perduto	perso
succedere	to happen	succeduto	successo
seppellire	to bury	seppellito	sepolto
cedere	to search	ceduto	cesso

Although both regular and irregular forms are considered grammatically correct, note the following:

1. Except for the verb “cedere,” the use of irregular forms is more common in daily spoken language.
2. The use of “veduto,” “perduto,” and “succeduto” is often found in literary domain and may sound archaic.
3. The regular form “perduto” is often used in the context of morality or soul-searching, e.g., “anima perduta” (lost soul). In the context of losing one’s way or going astray, the irregular form is often used, e.g., “Ho perso la mia strada” (I have lost my way).
4. The regular form “succeduto” is often only used when “succedere” means “to succeed,” as in: “Il re è succeduto a suo padre” (The king succeeded his father).
5. The irregular form “cesso” of the verb “cedere” is used in colloquial language as a noun meaning “toilet.”
6. The verbs above can be used with prefixes that change the meaning, but the irregular form remains the same. For example, the verb “rivedere,” derived from “vedere,” has two past participle forms: “riveduto” and “rivisto.” Similarly, the past participle of the verb “assolvere” (to absolve) is “assolto,” similar to “risolto,” the past participle of “risolvere” (to resolve).

Composite Past Tense in French

The compound past tense, or the passé composé in French, is used to describe events that happened and were completed in the past or happened in the past and continue in the present. In French, this tense covers both the present perfect and the simple past tenses in English, that is, “I spoke” and “I have spoken” are both translated to the same tense in French.

The compound past is a compound tense, meaning it requires an auxiliary verb. In English, we use the verb “to have” in the present tense as an auxiliary to form the present perfect tense, e.g., “I have done my homework.”

In French, some verbs use the auxiliary “avoir” (to have), while others use the auxiliary “être” (to be) in the present tense, followed by the past participle. 

The past participle of regular verbs using the auxiliary “avoir” (to have) is formed by adding the appropriate suffix for “-er,” “-ir,” and “-re” verbs.

“-er” verbs	“avoir” in the present tense	“verb stem” + “-é”
“-ir” verbs		“verb stem” + “-i”
“-re” verbs		“verb stem” + “-u”

The past participle of regular verbs using the auxiliary “être” (to be) is formed in a similar way. One additional requirement here is that the suffix of the past participle must agree with the subject in gender and number, that is, the past participle essentially requires the treatment of an adjective.

“-er” verbs	“être” in the present tense	“verb stem” + “-é”/ “-ée”/ “-és”/ “-ées”
“-ir” verbs		“verb stem” + “-i”/ “-ie”/ “-is”/ “-ies”
“-re” verbs		“verb stem” + “-u”/ “-ue”/ “-us”/ “-ues”

Let us look at some examples of verbs conjugated using the auxiliary “avoir”:

		-er ending e.g., parler	-ir ending e.g., finir	-re ending e.g., vendre
j’	ai	parlé	fini	vendu
tu	as
il/elle/on	a
nous	avons
vous	avez
ils/elles	ont

Here are some more examples:

J’ai visité l’Egypte l’année dernière.	I visited Egypt last year.
Tu as terminé ton travail.	You have finished your work.
Il a parlé avec sa mère.	He spoke with his mother.
Nous avons mangé toute la nourriture.	We have eaten all the food.
Je suis sûr que vous m’avez entendu hier soir.	I am sure you heard me last night.
Ils ont travaillé ici pendant deux ans.	They worked here for two years.

Notice that in some of these examples, the compound past in French corresponds to the present perfect, whereas in others it corresponds to the simple past tense depending on the context.

Now, let us look at some examples of verbs conjugated using the auxiliary “être”:

		-er ending e.g., aller	-ir ending e.g., partir	-re ending e.g., descendre
je	suis	allé(e)	parti(e)	descendu(e)
tu	es	allé(e)	parti(e)	descendu(e)
il/on	est	allé	parti	descendu
elle	est	allée	partie	descendue
nous	sommes	allé(e)s	parti(e)s	descendu(e)s
vous	êtes	allé(e)s	parti(e)s	descendu(e)s
ils	sont	allés	partis	descendus
elles	sont	allées	parties	descendues

Here are some more examples:

Je suis allé à la gym la semaine dernière.	I went to the gym last week.
Tu es parti tôt hier soir.	You left early last night.
Elle est tombée dans les escaliers.	She fell down the stairs.
Nous sommes entrés dans la salle.	We have entered the room.
Vous êtes arrivés tard hier soir.	You arrived late last night.
Ils sont sortis ensemble hier.	They went out together yesterday.

Using the Conjugation Auxiliary “Avoir” vs. “Être”

Finally, we discuss when to use the auxiliary “avoir” and the auxiliary “être” to form the past participle. The vast majority of French verbs, including all transitive^[2] non-reflexive verbs, are conjugated using the auxiliary “avoir.” Thus, it is easier to memorize the verbs that use “être.” There are two main categories of verbs that use the auxiliary “être”:

1. Some intransitive verbs related to motion (e.g., to go, to come, to return, to enter, to leave, to fall, to enter, etc.) and a few others related to change or transformation (e.g., to become, to be born, to die, to lose weight, etc.).

aller	to go	échapper	to escape
arriver	to arrive	descendre	to go down or descend
tomber	to fall	tourner	to turn
entrer	to enter	retourner revenir rentrer	to return [3]
partir	to leave	sortir	to go out
monter	to climb or go up	venir	to come
rester	to stay	demeurer	to remain
naître	to be born	mourir	to die
devenir	to become	passer	to pass
diminuer	to diminish	maigrir	to lose weight

Remember that all the verbs above that use “être” are either motion or transformation-related. However, not all motion and transformation-related verbs use “être.” This should only serve as a guideline to help you memorize the verbs in this category.

Notice that the above verbs use “être” only when they are in intransitive form, that is when there is no direct object acted upon. If the verb is transitive, “avoir” must be used. For example:

Verb	Example
retourner to return	Il est retourné au travail hier.	He returned to work yesterday.
	J’ai retourné l’enveloppe.	I returned the envelope.
passer to pass or spend	Je suis passé par le parc.	I passed by the park.
	J’y ai passé deux jours.	I spent two days there.
entrer to enter	Il est entré dans la pièce.	He entered the room.
	Il a entré les données dans le fichier.	He entered the data into the file.

• All reflexive verbs, which will be covered in detail in Level IV, Lesson 3, e.g., “s’appeler” (to call oneself), “se laver” (to wash oneself), etc.

Irregular Past Participles

Some verbs have irregular past participles and need to be memorized.

Verb	Past Participle	Meaning	Examples
acquérir	acquis	to acquire	Il a acquis la nouvelle maison. He acquired the new house.
apprendre	appris	to learn	Elle a appris le français si vite. She learned French so quickly.
avoir	eu	to have	J’ai eu mal à la tête. I had a headache.
boire	bu	to drink	Combien as-tu bu? How much did you drink?
comprendre	compris	to understand	J’ai compris les consignes. I understood the instructions.
conduire	conduit	to drive	J’ai conduit trois heures. I drove three hours.
craindre	craint	to fear	Ils ont craint l’ennemi. They feared the enemy.
devoir	dû	must	J’ai dû me lever tôt aujourd’hui. I had to wake up early today.
dire	dit	to say	Ils nous ont dit que c’était fermé. They told us it was closed.
écrire	écrit	to write	Elle a écrit une lettre. She has written a letter.
être	été	to be	Nous avons été occupés. We have been busy.
faire	fait	to do	J’ai fait tout le travail. I have done all the work.
falloir	fallu	to have to	Il a fallu ajuster la taille. They had to adjust the size.
lire	lu	to read	Avez-vous lu cet article? Have you read this article?
mettre	mis	to put	J’ai mis les affaires dans le van. I put the stuff in the van.
mourir	mort	to die	Il est mort l’année dernière. He died last year.
naître	né	to be born	Il est né et a été élevé ici. He was born and raised here.
offrir	offert	to offer	Il a offert son aide. He offered to help.
ouvrir	ouvert	to lose	J’ai ouvert la porte. I have opened the door.
peindre	peint	to paint	Il a peint le paysage. He painted the landscape.
plaire	plu	to please	J’espère que l’endroit t’a plu. I hope you liked the place.
pleuvoir	plu	to rain	Il a plu hier soir. It rained last night.
pouvoir	pu	can	Nous n’avons pas pu sortir hier. We couldn’t go out yesterday.
prendre	pris	to take	Il a pris des photos de la voiture. He took photos of the car.
recevoir	reçu	to receive	Il a reçu ma lettre. He received my letter.
rire	ri	to laugh	J’ai ri quand ils me l’ont dit. I laughed when they told me.
savoir	su	to know	Il a su nous orienter. He knew how to guide us.
suivre	suivi	to follow	Elle a suivi les règles. She has followed the rules.
vivre	vécu	to live	Ils ont vécu ici pendant des années. They have lived here for years.
voir	vu	to see	Je ne l’ai pas vu. I haven’t seen him.
vouloir	voulu	to want	Elle a voulu juste une tranche. She wanted just one slice.

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[1] A verb is transitive if it requires an object. For example, the “to bring” can only be transitive, because the meaning is not complete without an object, e.g., “I bring.”

[2] A verb is transitive if it requires an object. For example, the “to bring” can only be transitive, because the meaning is not complete without an object, e.g., “I bring.”

[3] The three verbs “retourner,” “revenir,” and “rentrer” can all be used to mean “to return”:

• The verb “retourner” means “to go back to where the speaker is not,” e.g., “J’habitais à Paris quand j’étais jeune. Je vais y retourner cet été” (I lived in Paris when I was young. I will return this summer). It can also mean “to return (something),” e.g., “Je vais retourner le livre demain” (I will return the book tomorrow).
• The verb “revenir” means “to return to where the speaker is, that is, to come back,” e.g., “Il est déjà parti mais il va bientôt revenir” (He has already left but will return soon).
• The verb “rentrer” means “to return (home),” where “home” can refer to a house, country, place of residence, etc., e.g., “Je vais rentrer chez moi à midi” (I will return home at noon).

Next: The Verb “To Know”

Back to: Comparative Grammar Lessons

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