The Passé Composé in French (with auxiliary avoir)

The passé composé in French which corresponds to the English simple past tense is an important past tense that is frequently used in French. This is also called the present perfect. We use this tense to talk about actions and events that were completed in the past. 

To form the passé composé we will need two verbs one is the auxiliary verb avoir or être conjugated in present tense followed by the past participle (le participe passé) of the verb.  

Subject Pronoun +Auxiliary in Present tense+Past Participle

In this post, we will look at the formation of past tense with the auxiliary avoir and follow it with another post on the formation of auxiliary être.

Passe Compose with Auxiliary Avoir

Formation

Passé Composé in French is formed by using two verbs and an auxiliary and the past participle of the verb. First, we are looking at verbs that use auxiliary avoir which is conjugated in the present tense and is followed by the past participle of the actual verb in the sentence. 

Subject pronoun +Auxiliary Verb Avoir in Present Tense+Past Participle

Past participles will usually end with -é, -i, -t or -u. There are some simple rules that will help us remember the past participles for most common verbs. However, there is a small list of exceptions which you will need to memorize.

For all regular -er verbs, we will replace the infinitive -er with -é. Check the list of regular ‘er’ verbs.

être and avoir the two most important verbs are exceptions. Past participle for être is été and for avoir it is eu. Both of them use avoir as their auxiliary.

Conjugation

Subject	Auxiliary	Aimer	Finir	Vendre	Être	Avoir
J’	ai	aimé	fini	vendu	été	eu
Tu	as	aimé	fini	vendu	été	eu
Il/Elle/On	a	aimé	fini	vendu	été	eu
Nous	avons	aimé	fini	vendu	été	eu
Vous	avez	aimé	fini	vendu	été	eu
Ils/Elles	ont	aimé	fini	vendu	été	eu

Usage 

We use  passé composé to express any of the following:

I. An action completed in the past

We use the passé composé to talk about one-time actions that started and completed in the past. It is important to note that tense places the emphasis on the result or consequences of the action in the present.

Examples:

1. Elle a acheté du pain. – She bought some bread
2. Nous avons étudié ensemble le weekend dernier. – We studied together last weekend
3. Ils ont déjà mangé leur dîner. – They have already eaten their dinner.

II. An action repeated a number of times in the past

1. J’ai visité la France plusieurs fois l’année dernière. – I visited France several  times last year.
2. Il a décidé de jouer au foot chaque mercredi et samedi. – He has decided to play football every Wednesday and Saturday.
3. Anna a mangé au restaurant chaque jour la semaine dernière. – Anna ate at the restaurant every day last week.

III. A series of actions completed in the past

1. J’ai lu le livre, et j’ai dormi. – I read the book, and then I slept.
2. Elle a visité la tour Eiffel et elle pris beaucoup des photos. – She visited the Eiffel tower and she took a lot of photos.

Passé composé is used for the English equivalents of simple past as well as present perfect. For example, j’ai mangé can mean

1. I ate   (simple past)
2. I have eaten   (present perfect)

Expressions of Time for Passe Compose

Hier-Yesterday

Hier soir – Last evening

La semain dernière – Last week

Le weekend dernier – Last weekend

L’année dernière- Last year

Le mois dernier – Last month

Le lundi dernier – Last monday

Il y a deux jours – Two days ago

Il y a trois ans – Three years ago

dernier (adverb) (masculine)

dernière- féminine

Irregular French Past Participles

Here is a list of past participles for some commonly used verbs grouped by their ending in the past participle.

Verb	Past participle	Verb	Past participle
Ending with ‘u’		Ending with ‘s’
Avoir  (to have)	eu	Apprendre  (to learn)	appris
Boire  (to drink)	bu	Asseoir  (to sit)	assis
Connaître  (to know)	connu	Comprendre  (to understand)	compris
Courir  (to run)	couru	Mettre  (to put)	mis
Croire   (to believe)	cru	Prendre   (to take)	pris
Décevoir   (to deceive; to disappoint)	déçu	Ending with ‘t’
Devoir  (to have to, must)	dû	Conduire  (to drive)	conduit
Falloir  (to have to)	fallu	Construire  (to build)	construit
Lire  (to read)	lu	Couvrir   (to cover)	couvert
Obtenir  (to obtain)	obtenu	Craindre   (to fear)	craint
Plaire   (to please)	plu	Découvrir   (to discover)	découvert
Pleuvoir   (to rain)	plu	Dire  (to say)	dit
Pouvoir   (to be able to)	pu	Écrire  (to write)	écrit
Recevoir   (to receive)	reçu	Faire  (to do; to make)	fait
Savoir  (to know)	su	Mourir  (to die)	mort
Tenir   (to hold)	tenu	Offrir  (to offer)	offert
Vivre  (to live)	vécu	Ouvrir  (to open)	ouvert
Valoir   (to be worth)	valu	Réduire   (to reduce)	réduit
Voir  (to see)	vu	Souffrir   (to suffer)	souffert
Vouloir  (to want)	voulu	Ending with ‘i’
Ending with ‘é’		Rire   (to laugh)	ri
Être  (to be)	été	Suivre  (to follow)	suivi
Naître  (to be born)	né	dormir	dormi
And all ‘er’ verbs

Exercices:

1. Hier, ma maman est moi, nous _____________(faire) des courses.
2. Hier soir, elle ___________ mal  à la tête.(avoir)
3. Le weekend dernier, J’ _________________(inviter) mes amis à dîner.
4. Vous _____________________(regarder) le film Avatar?
5. Hier, J’ ____________________(être) en retard pour mon cours de maths.
6. Hier, il ________________________(manger) au restaurant avec ses amis.
7. Nous ______________________(étudier) très dur pour gagner des bonnes notes à l’examen.
8. Elle ______________________(finir) son travail à l’heure.
9. La semain dernier, Il m’ _________________(dire) qu’il va à New York.
10. Il ______________(attendre) pour le train toute la journée.

Ans Key: avons fait, a eu, ai invité, avez regardé, ai ete, a mange, avons travaillé, a fini,a dit, a attendu.