In Section A of the TEF writing exam, you continue a news story — and news is written in the past. The passé composé is the tense you'll use for almost every event. Master it and half of Section A is done.
passé composé = avoir/être (present) + past participle
| 1. The helper | avoir (most verbs) or être (a small group + reflexives) |
| 2. The participle | parlé, fini, attendu… + irregulars |
| 3. Agreement | with être, the participle agrees with the subject |
| 4. Word order | helper first, then participle; negation wraps the helper |
How to study: Sections 1–2 are the machine. Sections 3–5 are the three helper cases (avoir / être / reflexive). Section 7 turns it into Section-A storytelling. Do one tab per sitting, say everything aloud.
You build the passé composé by putting a helper verb (avoir or être) in the present, then adding the past participle of your real verb.
| j' | ai mangé | I ate |
| tu | as mangé | you ate |
| il / elle / on | a mangé | he/she ate |
| nous | avons mangé | we ate |
| vous | avez mangé | you ate |
| ils / elles | ont mangé | they ate |
Notice: only the helper changes for each subject. The participle (mangé) stays the same.
The passé composé covers both English "I ate" and "I have eaten" — a single, completed action in the past.
Time words that call for the past: hier (yesterday), ce matin (this morning), la semaine dernière (last week), il y a deux jours (two days ago).
Build with avoir: "We watched" (regarder) · "They ate" (manger). → Nous avons regardé · Ils ont mangé
Three easy patterns cover the regular verbs; then a set of irregulars to memorize (they're extremely common, so they stick fast).
| ending | participle | example |
|---|---|---|
| -er | -é | parler → parlé |
| -ir | -i | finir → fini |
| -re | -u | attendre → attendu |
Learn these in small batches. They cover most of the verbs you'll actually write.
| avoir → eu | être → été |
| faire → fait | dire → dit |
| écrire → écrit | prendre → pris |
| mettre → mis | voir → vu |
| lire → lu | boire → bu |
| vouloir → voulu | pouvoir → pu |
| devoir → dû | savoir → su |
| recevoir → reçu | connaître → connu |
| venir → venu | tenir → tenu |
| ouvrir → ouvert | offrir → offert |
| naître → né | mourir → mort |
Once you know one, you know its family: prendre → pris gives appris (apprendre), compris (comprendre). mettre → mis gives promis (promettre), permis (permettre). écrire → écrit gives décrit (décrire).
Participles of: choisir · vendre · faire · voir · prendre. → choisi · vendu · fait · vu · pris
The large majority of verbs use avoir as the helper. If a verb isn't in the small "être" group (next tab), assume avoir.
Unlike être verbs, avoir verbs don't agree with the subject:
Build: "They took" (prendre) · "We did" (faire) · "She saw" (voir). → Ils ont pris · Nous avons fait · Elle a vu
A small, closed group — mostly verbs of movement or change of state — uses être as the helper. And with être, the participle agrees with the subject: add -e for feminine, -s for plural.
…and all reflexive verbs (next tab).
| Il est allé. | masculine → no change |
| Elle est allée. | feminine → +e |
| Ils sont allés. | masc. plural → +s |
| Elles sont allées. | fem. plural → +es |
monter, descendre, sortir, passer, rentrer use avoir when they have a direct object: Elle est montée (she went up) but Elle a monté les valises (she took the suitcases up). Rare in beginner writing — just be aware.
Build (watch agreement): "She left" (partir) · "They (m.) came" (venir) · "We (f.) stayed" (rester). → Elle est partie · Ils sont venus · Nous sommes restées
Reflexive (pronominal) verbs — se lever, se laver, se coucher, se réveiller — always take être, and the pronoun stays with the verb. The participle usually agrees with the subject.
| je | me suis levé(e) | |
| tu | t'es levé(e) | |
| il / elle | s'est levé / levée | |
| nous | nous sommes levé(e)s | |
| vous | vous êtes levé(e)(s) | |
| ils / elles | se sont levés / levées |
The participle agrees with the subject unless a direct object follows: Elle s'est lavée (she washed → agrees) but Elle s'est lavé les mains (she washed her hands → object follows → no agreement). B1-level detail; note it and move on.
Build: "He got up" (se lever) · "She woke up" (se réveiller) · "They (m.) went to bed" (se coucher). → Il s'est levé · Elle s'est réveillée · Ils se sont couchés
The key rule: ne … pas wraps the helper, not the whole verb. The participle stays outside, at the end.
Make negative: "J'ai fini." · "Elle est partie." → Je n'ai pas fini · Elle n'est pas partie
This is exactly the Section A skill: place your actions in time and connect them. Here's the toolkit.
The Section A move: a chain of passé-composé events + time/sequence connectors = a news continuation. You'll add background detail with the imparfait in Lesson 5, but this is already the backbone.
Order these into a sequence: "les secours sont intervenus" · "un accident s'est produit" · "la route a été fermée". → D'abord un accident s'est produit ; ensuite les secours sont intervenus ; finalement la route a été fermée.
The recurring passé-composé errors. Re-read before every Section A task.
The questions this lesson always raises.
Quiz for instant feedback, then write about yesterday and a short news-style story.
Score: 0 / 18☐ Build passé composé with avoir ☐ Know the être-verb group ☐ Make the participle agree with être ☐ Handle reflexive verbs (me suis levé) ☐ Form irregular participles ☐ Place "pas" correctly ☐ Chain events with time + sequence connectors ☐ Spot all 10 top mistakes in your own writing.
Homework: in the Drill Bank, do PC — auxiliaire, PC — accord, and Participes passés; then the whole PC vs Imparfait drill. Rewrite both paragraphs, fixing every mistake.
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