French 3.1. Compound Past

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.

Table of Contents

• Conjugation
  • Verbs that use “Avoir” vs. Verbs that use “Être”
    • #1: Some Intransitive Verbs related to Motion or Transformation
    • 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.).
  • Verbs that use the Auxiliary “Être”: Transitive vs. Intransitive
    • #2: Reflexive Verbs
    • All reflexive verbs, covered in detail in Level IV, Lesson 3, e.g., “s’appeler” (to call oneself), “se laver” (to wash oneself), etc.
• Irregular Past Participles
• Using the Past Participle as an Adjective
• Examples of the compound past “passé composé”
  • 1. “rentrer” in passé composé
  • 2. “savoir” in passé composé
  • 3. “rester” in passé composé
  • 4. “écrire” in passé composé
  • 5. “sortir” in passé composé
• Level III – Elementary

Conjugation

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.

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.

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

Here are some more examples:

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”:

Here are some more examples:

Verbs that use “Avoir” vs. Verbs that use “Être”

Finally, you are perhaps wondering when to use the auxiliary “avoir” and the auxiliary “être” to form the past participle. The vast majority of French verbs, including all transitive[1] non-reflexive verbs, are conjugated using the auxiliary “avoir.”

[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.”

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 or Transformation

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.).

Verbs that use the Auxiliary “Être”: Transitive vs. Intransitive

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:

#2: Reflexive Verbs

All reflexive verbs, 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.

Using the Past Participle as an Adjective

Many adjectives in French are the same as the past participle, especially when active meaning is conveyed, for example:

Examples of the compound past “passé composé”

Let’s consider the conjugation of the following three verbs in the compound past, i.e., passé composé: “rentrer” (to return), “savoir” (to know), “rester” (to stay), “écrire” (to write), and “sortir” (to exit).

1. “rentrer” in passé composé

The verb “rentrer,” like some other verbs related to motion (e.g., to go, to come, to return, to enter, to leave, to fall, to enter, etc.), use the auxiliary “être” followed by the past participle.

2. “savoir” in passé composé

The verb “savoir” uses the auxiliary “avoir” and the past participle is irregular: “su.”

3. “rester” in passé composé

The verb “rester,” like other verbs related to motion (e.g., to go, to come, to return, to enter, to leave, to fall, to enter, to stay, etc.), use the auxiliary “être” followed by the past participle.

4. “écrire” in passé composé

The verb “écrire” uses the auxiliary “avoir” and the past participle is irregular: “écrit.”

5. “sortir” in passé composé

The verb “sortir,” like other verbs related to motion (e.g., to go, to come, to return, to enter, to leave, to fall, to enter, to stay, etc.), use the auxiliary “être” followed by the past participle.

Next: The Verb “to Know”: “Savoir” vs. “Connaître”

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