Le Passe Compose

Le Pass ComposPass ComposThe past tense represents actions that did happen or that happened in the past.

Examples:I played the guitar.

He finished his homework.

He waited.The Pass Compos is made up of two verbs: the helping verb or auxiliary verb PLUS the past participle of the verb.

There are two verbs that are used as the auxiliary verb in French:avoir and tre.

MOST verbs use avoir as the helping verb.

The past tense represents actions that did happen or that took place at a specific time in the past.

For example: hieryesterdayhier aprs-midiyesterday afternoonhier soirlast nighthier matinyesterday morningce matinthis morningle week-end dernierlast weekendlanne dernirelast yearla semaine dernirelast week 5 heures (5h)at 5 oclockjeudi soirThursday night

Now lets take a look at how the Pass Compos is formed

Sohow does one conjugate the verb avoir in the Present tense?

JaiNous avonsTu asVous avezIl a Ils ontElle aElles ontOn aI played the guitar.Jai jou de la guitare.

He finished his homework.Il a finI ses devoirs.

He waited.Il a attendU.

To form the past participle of regular verbs that end in er:You drop the er at the end of a regular er verb and add an (an e with an accent aigu)

Examples:skier skidanser dansbronzer bronz

Le garon a ski hier.

La fille a dans.

Lhomme a bronz la plage.

To conjugate a regular er verb in the Pass Compos, you do the following:Jai chantNous avons chantTu as chantVous avez chantIl a chantIls ont chantElle a chantElles ont chantOn a chant

NOTE: The past participle does not change according to the subject of the sentence.

Youll notice that the past tense is made up of two verbs: the helping verb, plus the past participle.On a chant.

To form the past participle of regular verbs that end in ir:You drop the ir at the end of a regular ir verb and add an i

Examples:rougir rougichoisir choisifinir fini

Lhomme a fini.

To conjugate a regular ir verb in the Pass Compos, you do the following:Jai rempliNous avons rempliTu as rempliVous avez rempliIl a rempliIls ont rempliElle a rempliElles ont rempliOn a rempli

NOTE: The past participle does not change according to the subject of the sentence.To form the past participle of regular verbs that end in re:You drop the re at the end of a regular re verb and add an u

Examples:vendre vendudescendre descenduattendre attendu

Lhomme a vendu les hot dogs.

To conjugate a regular re verb in the Pass Compos, you do the following:Jai attenduNous avons attenduTu as attenduVous avez attenduIl a attenduIls ont attenduElle a attenduElles ont attenduOn a attendu

NOTE: The past participle does not change according to the subject of the sentence.

Try these examples:Il nage.

Vous russissez la classe.

Ils vendent leurs choses.

Il a nag.

Vous avez russi la classe.

Ils ont vendu leurs choses.

What are the past participles of the following verbs?punir

discuter

entrer

voyager

entendrepunir --- PUNI

discuter --- DISCUT

adorer --- ADOR

voyager --- VOYAG

entendre --- ENTENDU

Le pre a puni son fils.

Elle a ador le garon.

La famille a voyag en France.

There are also some IRREGULAR verbs that have REGULAR past participles.The verb payer, for example, is irregular in the Present tense, but has a regular past participle.

The past participle is pay.

Exemple: Nous avons pay laddition.

Other verbs that are irregular in the Present tense, but have regular past participles are:

aller --- all

partir --- parti

sortir --- sorti

servir --- servi

dormir --- dormi

Le garon a dormi en classe.

Most verbs that are irregular in the present tense have IRREGULAR past participles.(Youll just need to memorize them!)

Verbs like: avoir, tre, faire, vouloir, pouvoir, boire, mettre, prendre, conduire, lire, crire and dire have IRREGULAR past participles.

The irregular past participles of those verbs are as follows:avoirtrefairevouloirpouvoirboiremettreprendreconduirelirecriredire

eutfaitvoulupubumisprisconduitlucritditHere are some examples to look at:La fille a conduit la voiture.

Moi, jai bu de leau.

Tu as lu le livre.

Elle a crit une lettre son copain.

More irregular verbs and their irregular past participlescroirevoirsavoirconnatredevoirrecevoirouvrir

cruvusuconnudreuouvertHere are some examples to look at:Il a vu ce film.

Elle a reu une bague de son mari.

Jai ouvert la lettre.

Tu as ouvert la boite aux lettres.

If the past participle of prendre is priswhat is the past participle for comprendre (to understand)?

comprisReview of what weve learnedHow is the Pass Compos different from the Present tense? How is it formed?

The Pass Compos represents actions that did happen or that took place at a specific time in the past.The Present tense represents actions happening now.

The Pass Compos is made up of two verbs: the helping verb or auxiliary verb (avoir or tre) PLUS the past participle of the verb.The Present tense is made up of one verb.

Exemples:We are learning a lot in class. Nous apprenons beaucoup en classe.

We learned a lot yesterday. Nous avons appris beaucoup hier.

How do you know when to use tre as the helping verb (auxiliary verb) in the Pass Compos??Most verbs use avoir as the helping verb in the Pass Compos.

However, there is a group of verbs that you should know that use tre as the helping verb in the past tense.First, lets review how to conjugate the verb tre in the Present tense?

Je suisNous sommesTu esVous tesIl est Ils sontElle estElles sontOn est

There are 17 verbs that use tre as the helping verb in the Pass Compos(And, you just need to remember them!)

But, there are two ways that you can remember which verbs use tre as the helping verb in the past tense.

The verbs that use tre in the Pass Compos are known as the coming and going verbs. Some of those verbs are verbs like: entrer, rentrer, partir, sortir, aller, and descendre, for example.

They represent verbs of motion.

Look at these verbs:

These same verbs can also be memorized as the Dr. & Mrs. P. Vandertramp verbs. descendrevenirrentrerarrivernatremonterdevenirresterentrersortirrevenirtomberpartirretournerallermourirpasserThe following verbs use tre as the helping verb:mourir (to die)natre (to be born)partir (to leave)descendre (to go down)tomber (to fall)sortir (to go out, exit)passer (to pass by)rester (to stay)rentrer (to return)entrer (to enter)arriver (to arrive)aller (to go)venir (to come)revenir (to come back)devenir (to become)retourner (to return)monter (to climb, go up)

How to conjugate the irregular verb venir in the Present tense:Je viensNous venonsTu viensVous venezIl vientIls viennentElle vientElles viennentOn vient

NOTE: Revenir and devenir are conjugated in the same wayExample: Je reviens. Ils deviennent.The verb passer can use avoir or tre in the Pass Compos depending on its meaning.See the examples below:

Jai pass un examen. I took a test.

Ma famille a pass du temps ensemble.My family spent time together.

Llve est pass la salle de classe.The student passed by the classroom.

Llve est pass la salle de classe.The student passed by the classroom.

----------------------------------------The student actually PASSED BY the classroom. In this instance, you would use the verb tre as the helping verb.

Now, some of the verbs that use tre in the past tense also have IRREGULAR past participles.mourir -- MORTnatre -- Npartir -- partidescendre -- descendutomber -- tombsortir -- sortipasser -- passrester -- rest

rentrer -- rentrentrer -- entrarriver -- arrivaller -- allvenir -- VENUrevenir -- REVENUdevenir -- DEVENUretourner -- retournmonter -- mont

Aside from the fact that these verbs use tre in the Pass Compos, the other thing that is special about these verbs isThe past participles of these verbs MUST agree with the subject of the sentence in number and gender.

For example: La fille est sortie de la classe.La fille est sortiE.

(The past participle sortie ends in an e to agree with the subject, la fille.)Look at the following examples:Lhomme est parti.Les hommes sont partis.

La fille est tombe.Les filles sont tombes.

Je suis descendu(e).Nous sommes descendu(e)s.

Here is a verb conjugated with tre in the Pass Compos.revenirJe suis revenu(e) Nous sommes revenu(e)sTu es revenu(e)Vous tes revenu(e)(s)Il est revenuIls sont revenusElle est revenueElles sont revenuesOn est revenu

NOTE: The past participles agree in number & gender with the subject of the sentence. If the subject is plural, like nous, the past participle must end in an s.Try the following examples:The girl fell.(the verb to fall is tomber)La filleLa fille est tombe.

The girls fell.Les fillesLes filles sont tombes.

The girl stayed home.(the verb to stay is rester)La filleLa fille est reste chez elle.

The girls stayed home.Les fillesLes filles sont restes chez elle.

The boy left.(the verb to leave is partir)Le garonLe garon est parti.

The boys left.Les garonsLes garons sont partis.

Review of what else weve learnedThere is a group of verbs that you should know that use tre as the helping verb in the past tense.

The past participles of those verbs must agree in number and gender with the subject of the sentence.

Look at these examples:

Lhomme est mont les escaliers.

Le vol (the flight) est arriv.

Le voleur est entr par la fentre.

Le bb est n le 30 juin.

Ma grand-mre est morte.

La fille est alle en France.

La famille est sortie en voiture.

Nous sommes rentrs 15h.

Les filles sont arrives la fte.

Questions?Now lets try some more examples on your own.Write what you did pendant le week-end.Say specifically what you did:Friday night Saturday morningSaturday afternoon Saturday night Sunday morning Sunday afternoon

Use the Pass Compos.

Vendredi soir, jai dn chez mes parents.Samedi matin, jai fait des courses.Samedi aprs-midi, jai rendu visite ma meilleure amie.Samedi soir, je suis alle au restaurant avec des amis.Dimanche matin, jai fait du shopping pour acheter des cadeaux de Nol pour mes filles.Dimanche aprs-midi, je suis sortie avec un ami.