Le passé composé (the ‘perfect’ tense)

I have eaten (I ate) – j’ai mangé I have swum (I swam) – j’ai nagé What’s it all about ? The ‘perfect’ tense is used in French to talk about completed actions which have happened in the past. I have eaten (I ate) – j’ai mangé I have swum (I swam) – j’ai nagé

PRONOUN AUXILIARY MAIN VERB How is it formed ? Just like in English, French uses the verb AVOIR, - ‘to have’ - to form the ‘perfect’ tense. This is called the AUXILIARY verb, and comes between the PRONOUN and the MAIN VERB. I have eaten PRONOUN AUXILIARY MAIN VERB J’ ai mangé

So…. PRONOUN AUXILIARY MAIN VERB (I) (you) (he) (she) (we) (they) (je) j’ tu il elle nous vous ils elles (have) ai as a avons avez ont (eaten) mangé

manger ( -er, add é ) mangé vendre ( -re, add u ) vendu Main Verb Endings… The MAIN VERB ending changes depending whether it ends in ‘ER’, ‘IR’ or ‘RE’. manger ( -er, add é ) mangé finir ( -ir, add i ) fini vendre ( -re, add u ) vendu …and that’s about it…

… except … Some MAIN VERBS are irregular in the past tense and don’t follow the MAIN VERB rules. Here are some common examples: lire (to read) = lu - j’ai lu (I read) être (to be) = été - j’ai été (I was) faire (to do) = fait - tu as fait (you did) écrire (to write) = écrit - tu as écrit (you wrote) prendre (to take) = pris - il a pris (he took) boire (to drink) = bu - il a bu (he drank)

...and that really is all there is to it.

…well, almost.

PRONOUN AUXILIARY MAIN VERB With être – to be Just as in English, some verbs in French use the verb ÊTRE – ‘to be’ – as the AUXILIARY to form the ‘perfect’ tense. I was born PRONOUN AUXILIARY MAIN VERB Je suis né

So…. PRONOUN AUXILIARY MAIN VERB (I) (you) (he) (she) (we) (they) je tu il elle nous vous ils elles (was) suis es est sommes êtes sont (born) né (e) né née né (e) s né (e) (s) nés nées

These can be remembered with the mnemonic TASMAN Fortunately only a handful of verbs – an ‘unlucky few’ – use être as their AUXILIARY verb. These can be remembered with the mnemonic TASMAN Some of these unlucky few begin with the letters T, A, S, M, A and N. The rest are the opposite in meaning.

o p p o s i t e T A S M N - tomber aller sortir monter arriver naitre rester venir entrer descendre partir mourir tombé allé sorti monté arrivé né resté venu entré descendu parti mort - je suis tombé je suis allé je suis sorti je suis monté tu es arrivé tu es né tu es resté il est venu il est entré il estdescendu il est parti elle est morte (I fell) (I went) (I went out) (I climbed) (you arrived) (you were born) (he stayed) (he came) (he entered) (he went down) (he left) (she is dead)

These can be remembered with the mnemonic MR VANS TRAMPED Fortunately only a handful of verbs – an ‘unlucky thirteen’ – use être as their AUXILIARY verb. These can be remembered with the mnemonic MR VANS TRAMPED

M R V A N S T P E D - mourir rester venir arriver naître sortir tomber retourner aller monter partir entrer descendre mort resté venu arrivé né sorti tombé retourné allé monté parti entré descendu - je suis mort je suis resté je suis venu je suis arrivé tu es né tu es sorti tu es tombé tu es retourné il est allé il est monté il est parti il est entré elle est descendue (I was dead) (I stayed) (I came) (I arrived) (you were born) (you went out) (you fell) (you returned) (he went) (he climbed) (he left) (he entered) (she descended)

Agreement These ‘être’ verbs have to ‘agree’ with their respective PRONOUN. Add an ‘e’ if the person or subject spoken about is feminine. Add an ‘s’ if the subject is plural. Add an ‘e’ and an ‘s’ if the subject is feminine and plural. Stéphanie: ‘Je suis allée au parc.’ Elle est allée au parc. Elles sont allées au parc.

…And finally… All REFLEXIVE VERBS also use être as their AUXILIARY verb in the ‘perfect tense.’ se laver – je me suis lavé (I washed myself) se lever – je me suis levé ( I got myself up) Il s’est lavé (he washed himself) Elle s’est levée (she got herself up) And a few verbs related to the ‘unlucky thirteen’ use être. Rentrer – rentré – to go back in Revenir – revenu – to come back Devenir – devenu – to become Retourner – retourné – to return

Change these phrases into the passé composé. Now give these a go ! Change these phrases into the passé composé. Je monte du thé. Je descends des cendres. Nous achetons des cereales. Tu tombes. Vous allez tout de suite. Elles arrivent tot. Je prends une omelette. Nous nous lavons le matin. Je suis monté(e) du thé. Je suis descendu(e) des … Nous avons acheté des … Tu es tombé(e) Vous êtes allés tout de suite. Elles sont arrivées tot. J’ ai pris une omelette. Nous nous sommes lavé(e)s le matin. …Bravo !!

Translate these phrases into French (using the p/c). So try these too ! Translate these phrases into French (using the p/c). I drank We ate. I got up. She died. You were ill. I left at 6 o’clock. She went out. They swam. J’ ai bu. Nous avons mangé. Je me suis levé(e). Elle est morte. Tu as été malade. Je suis parti(e) Elle est sortie. Elles ont nagé / elles ont fait de la natation / elles se sont baignées. …Well done !!

And that really is it…easy!!

These can be remembered with the mnemonic MR VANS TRAMPED Fortunately only a handful of verbs – an ‘unlucky thirteen’ – use être as their AUXILIARY verb. These can be remembered with the mnemonic MR VANS TRAMPED