The passé composé is the main past tense in spoken and written French. It expresses a completed action in the past — « J'ai fini » means both « I finished » and « I have finished ». Master its two building blocks and its agreement rules and you unlock most past-tense communication.
1 · How it's built
Every passé composé has two parts: an auxiliary verb (avoir or être) in the present tense, followed by the past participle of the main verb.
2 · Forming the past participle
Regular verbs form their participle predictably from the three families:
| Group | Ending | Example | Participle |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ER | -é | parler | parlé |
| -IR | -i | finir | fini |
| -RE | -u | vendre | vendu |
| Infinitive | Participle | Infinitive | Participle |
|---|---|---|---|
| avoir | eu | voir | vu |
| être | été | dire | dit |
| faire | fait | écrire | écrit |
| prendre | pris | mettre | mis |
| lire | lu | boire | bu |
| devoir | dû | pouvoir | pu |
3 · Verbs with avoir (the majority)
Most verbs take avoir. The participle does NOT change for the subject.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | ai parlé |
| tu | as parlé |
| il / elle | a parlé |
| nous | avons parlé |
| vous | avez parlé |
| ils / elles | ont parlé |
4 · Verbs with être
A small group of movement and state-change verbs take être. A classic memory aid is DR & MRS VANDERTRAMP. With être, the participle agrees with the subject (add -e for feminine, -s for plural).
| Verb | Meaning | Verb | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Devenir | to become | Entrer | to enter |
| Revenir | to come back | Retourner | to return |
| Monter | to go up | Tomber | to fall |
| Rester | to stay | Rentrer | to go home |
| Sortir | to go out | Arriver | to arrive |
| Venir | to come | Mourir | to die |
| Aller | to go | Partir | to leave |
| Naître | to be born | Descendre | to go down |
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | suis allé(e) |
| tu | es allé(e) |
| il / elle | est allé(e) |
| nous | sommes allé(e)s |
| vous | êtes allé(e)s |
| ils / elles | sont allé(e)s |
5 · Agreement rules
This is where points are won and lost. With être, the participle agrees with the SUBJECT. With avoir, it agrees only with a direct object that comes BEFORE the verb (never with one that follows).
- Elle est arrivée.She arrived. (être → feminine agreement)
- Ils sont partis.They left. (être → masculine plural)
- La lettre que j'ai écrite.The letter I wrote. (« que » = preceding object → agreement)
- J'ai écrit une lettre.I wrote a letter. (object follows → no agreement)
6 · Reflexive (pronominal) verbs
Pronominal verbs always take être, and the participle usually agrees with the reflexive pronoun.
- Je me suis levé(e).I got up.
- Ils se sont couchés.They went to bed.
7 · Negation
In the negative, ne … pas wraps around the auxiliary only.
- Je n'ai pas mangé.I didn't eat.
- Elle n'est pas venue.She didn't come.
Common mistakes
Elision is obligatory: je + ai → j'ai.
être verbs agree with the subject; « elle » is feminine → allée.
aller takes être, never avoir.
partir takes être, and the participle agrees → partis.