The passé composé
avoir or être + the past participle.
15 minutes · A free lesson from A2 : La vie quotidienne (everyday life) · Roman and Urdu pronunciation guides and English meanings are shown under each phrase
The passé composé tells what happened: avoir or être + the past participle. J'ai mangé. · Nous sommes partis.
| passé composé | Say paseh koh(n)pohzeh | پاسے کوںپوزے | Means: the passé composé (the perfect tense) |
| avoir | Say avwar | اوواغ | Means: to have |
| être | Say ehtr | اےتغ | Means: to be |
| J'ai mangé. | Say zheh mah(n)zheh. | ژے ماںژے. | Means: I ate. / I have eaten. |
| Nous sommes partis. | Say noo som partee. | نُو سوم پاغتی. | Means: We left. |
Participles: -er → -é (mangé), -ir → -i (fini); many are irregular: pris, fait, vu, eu, été, venu, bu, lu.
| mangé | Say mah(n)zheh | ماںژے | Means: eaten |
| fini | Say feenee | فینی | Means: finished |
| pris, fait, vu, eu, été, venu, bu, lu | Say pree, feh, vue, ue, ehteh, vuhnue, bue, lue | پغی, فے, ویُ, ایُ, اےتے, وَنیُ, بیُ, لیُ | Means: taken, done, seen, had, been, come, drunk, read |
Lesson quiz
Check what you have learned. Choose an answer to see whether it is right, and why.
Quick check: Choose the right verb: “Nous ___ partis.”
- avons
- ont
- sommes
Show the answer
C: sommes — partir is a verb of movement, so it takes être: nous sommes partis.
Quick check: Choose the right form: “Elle est ___ au marché.”
- allée
- allé
- allés
Show the answer
A: allée — With être the participle agrees with the subject: elle est allée.
Quick check: Choose the past participle of “prendre”.
- prendu
- pris
- prené
Show the answer
B: pris — prendre is irregular: j'ai pris.
Quick check: Which verbs take être in the passé composé?
- Every verb ending in -er
- A small group of verbs of movement or change, and every reflexive verb
- Only être itself
Show the answer
B: A small group of verbs of movement or change, and every reflexive verb — aller, venir, partir, arriver, tomber and the rest of the group, plus reflexive verbs: je me suis levé.
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