Le Passé Composé

What is the passé composé? The Passé Composé (P.C.) is used to describe what people DID, what HAPPENED. The Passé Composé (P.C.) is used to describe what people DID, what HAPPENED. Describes COMPLETED EVENTS and ACTIONS that took place at a specific, certain time in the past. Describes COMPLETED EVENTS and ACTIONS that took place at a specific, certain time in the past.

The English equivalent? The P.C. has several English equivalents: The P.C. has several English equivalents: “Jacques a fini le livre.” -This can mean: -Jacques finished the book. -Jacques has finished the book. -Jacques did finish the book.

Compound tense The P.C. is a COMPOUND tense, which means it consists of two parts, an auxiliary verb (sometimes called the “helping verb”) and the past participle The P.C. is a COMPOUND tense, which means it consists of two parts, an auxiliary verb (sometimes called the “helping verb”) and the past participle AUXILIARY VERB + PAST PARTICIPLE (avoir or être) The helping verb is always going to be avoir or être.

Helping (auxiliary) verbs Être Être Je suis Tu es Il est Nous sommes Vous êtes Ils sont Avoir AvoirJ’ai Tu as Il a Nous avons Vous avez Ils ont MOST VERBS USE AVOIR AS THE HELPING VERB!

PAST PARTICIPLES The past participles of regular verbs are formed as follows: -er verbser  é -ir verbs ir  i -re verbs re  u

Examples (with avoir) VOYAGER J’ai voyagé Nous avons voyagé J’ai voyagé Nous avons voyagé Tu as voyagéVous avez voyagé Tu as voyagéVous avez voyagé Il/elle a voyagéIls/elles ont voyagé Il/elle a voyagéIls/elles ont voyagé (I traveled, you traveled, etc.) (I traveled, you traveled, etc.)

Examples (with avoir) CHOISIR J’ai choisi Nous avons choisi J’ai choisi Nous avons choisi Tu as choisiVous avez choisi Tu as choisiVous avez choisi Il/elle a choisiIls/elles ont choisi Il/elle a choisiIls/elles ont choisi (I chose, you chose, etc.) (I chose, you chose, etc.)

Examples (with avoir) VENDRE J’ai vendu Nous avons vendu J’ai vendu Nous avons vendu Tu as venduVous avez vendu Tu as venduVous avez vendu Il/elle a venduIls/elles ont vendu Il/elle a venduIls/elles ont vendu (I sold, you sold, etc.) (I sold, you sold, etc.)

NEGATIVE Il a vendu sa voiture. Il a vendu sa voiture. Il n’a pas vendu sa voiture. Il n’a pas vendu sa voiture. NOTE THAT THE “NE PAS “SANDWICH” SURROUNDS THE HELPING VERB (and comes before the past participle. NOTE THAT THE “NE PAS “SANDWICH” SURROUNDS THE HELPING VERB (and comes before the past participle. You try! Make the following sentence negative. “Elle a mangé la glace.” You try! Make the following sentence negative. “Elle a mangé la glace.”

IRREGULAR PAST PARTICIPLES J’adore les verbes français!!!

Don’t forget the irregular past participles! InfinitivePast participle avoireu êtreété fairefait ouvrirouvert prendrepris mettremis suivresuivi

Irregular past participles (con’t) InfinitivePast participle boirebu croirecru voirvu savoirsu connaîtreconnu diredit lirelu Past participles- handout Vandertramps-handou

Irregular past participles (con’t) Note: all of these verbs use avoir as the helping verb. InfinitivePast participle écrireécrit pouvoirpu vouloirvoulu devoirdû tenirtenu recevoirreçu Past participles- handout Vandertramps-handou

MRS R.D. VANDERTRAMP Monter Rentrer Sortir Rester Devenir Venir Aller Naître Descendre Entrer Retourner Tomber Revenir Arriver Mourir Partir

What is special about Vandertramp verbs? They all use être as a helping verb. They all use être as a helping verb.-THEREFORE: The past participle must agree in number and gender. Elles sont mortes. (They died). (fem. pl.) Nous sommes partis à cinq heures. (pl.)

le verbe “Passer” er.htm er.htm