The most common French past tense — formed with avoir + a past participle
The passé composé is the main past tense in spoken and written French. It describes completed actions in the past. It is formed with two parts: a present-tense auxiliary (avoir or être) + a past participle.
| Part 1: avoir (present) | Part 2: past participle | English |
|---|---|---|
| j'ai | parlé | I spoke / I have spoken |
| tu as | mangé | you ate / you have eaten |
| il/elle a | fini | he/she finished |
| nous avons | attendu | we waited |
| vous avez | choisi | you chose |
| ils/elles ont | vendu | they sold |
The past participle is formed from the infinitive. Each verb group has its own ending:
| Infinitive group | Rule | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -er verbs | drop -er, add -é | parler → parlé, manger → mangé, travailler → travaillé |
| -ir verbs | drop -ir, add -i | finir → fini, choisir → choisi, partir → parti |
| -re verbs | drop -re, add -u | attendre → attendu, vendre → vendu, répondre → répondu |
Examples in full: J'ai parlé avec elle. (I spoke with her.) — Il a fini son travail. (He finished his work.) — Nous avons attendu le bus. (We waited for the bus.)
Many very common verbs have irregular past participles. These must be learned individually:
| Infinitive | Past Participle | Example |
|---|---|---|
| avoir (to have) | eu | J'ai eu de la chance. (I was lucky.) |
| être (to be) | été | Il a été malade. (He was ill.) |
| faire (to do/make) | fait | Tu as fait quoi? (What did you do?) |
| prendre (to take) | pris | Elle a pris le train. (She took the train.) |
| dire (to say) | dit | Il a dit bonjour. (He said hello.) |
| mettre (to put) | mis | J'ai mis mon manteau. (I put on my coat.) |
| voir (to see) | vu | Nous avons vu ce film. (We saw that film.) |
| savoir (to know) | su | Elle a su la vérité. (She found out the truth.) |
To make the passé composé negative, place ne...pas around the auxiliary verb (avoir), not around the whole phrase:
Note: after negation, indefinite articles change: une pizza → pas de pizza.
Unlike être verbs, avoir verbs do NOT agree with the subject. The past participle stays in its base form. There IS one exception: agreement with a preceding direct object — but this is rarely tested at A2.
| Subject | No agreement needed |
|---|---|
| Il | Il a mangé (not mangés) |
| Elle | Elle a mangé (not mangée) |
| Elles | Elles ont mangé (not mangées) |
Key rule: With avoir, the past participle does not change to match the subject. This is the opposite of être verbs (see G02).
Contrast: Elle est allée (être → agreement) vs Elle a mangé (avoir → no agreement).
| Avoid | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| J'ai été fatigué = I was tired | J'ai été fatigué / J'étais fatigué | Both are possible, but j'étais (imparfait) is more natural for states. Use a été for a temporary completed state. |
| Il a mangée la pomme. | Il a mangé la pomme. | With avoir, the past participle does NOT agree with the subject. Mangée would only apply with a preceding direct object pronoun. |
| Nous avons vendu-s. | Nous avons vendu. | The past participle with avoir never takes -s just because the subject is plural. Vendu stays as is. |
| J'ai pris-é / j'ai prendu. | J'ai pris. | Prendre has an irregular past participle: pris. Never add regular endings to irregular participles. |
| Point | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Formula | avoir (present) + past participle | J'ai mangé. (I ate.) |
| -er → -é | manger → mangé | J'ai mangé une pomme. |
| -ir → -i | finir → fini | Elle a fini son travail. |
| -re → -u | vendre → vendu | Nous avons vendu la voiture. |
| avoir → eu | irregular | J'ai eu de la chance. |
| faire → fait | irregular | Tu as fait quoi? |
| voir → vu | irregular | Nous avons vu ce film. |
| No agreement | avoir: participle unchanged | Elles ont mangé. (not mangées) |