the verb essayer in passe compose

formes composées / compound tenses

conditionnel

*Blue letters in conjugations are irregular forms. ( example ) *Red letters in conjugations are exceptions to the model. ( example ) *Grayed conjugations are forms that are extremely rare.

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Conjugation of the French verb essayer

Conjugaison du verbe essayer

• Voix active
• Voix passive
• Temps simples
• Temps composés

j’ essaie / essaye

tu essaies / essayes

il (elle) essaie / essaye

nous essayons

vous essayez

ils (elles) essaient / essayent

j’ essayais

tu essayais

il (elle) essayait

nous essayions

vous essayiez

ils (elles) essayaient

Passé simple

il (elle) essaya

nous essayâmes

vous essayâtes

ils (elles) essayèrent

Futur simple

j’ essaierai / essayerai

tu essaieras / essayeras

il (elle) essaiera / essayera

nous essaierons / essayerons

vous essaierez / essayerez

ils (elles) essaieront / essayeront

CONDITIONNEL

j’ essaierais / essayerais

tu essaierais / essayerais

il (elle) essaierait / essayerait

nous essaierions / essayerions

vous essaieriez / essayeriez

ils (elles) essaieraient / essayeraient

que j’ essaie / essaye

que tu essaies / essayes

qu’il (elle) essaie / essaye

que nous essayions

que vous essayiez

qu’ils (elles) essaient / essayent

que j’ essayasse

que tu essayasses

qu’il (elle) essayât

que nous essayassions

que vous essayassiez

qu’ils (elles) essayassent

essaie / essaye

Passé composé

j’ ai essayé

tu as essayé

il (elle) a essayé

nous avons essayé

vous avez essayé

ils (elles) ont essayé

Plus-que-parfait

j’ avais essayé

tu avais essayé

il (elle) avait essayé

nous avions essayé

vous aviez essayé

ils (elles) avaient essayé

Passé antérieur

j’ eus essayé

tu eus essayé

il (elle) eut essayé

nous eûmes essayé

vous eûtes essayé

ils (elles) eurent essayé

Futur antérieur

j’ aurai essayé

tu auras essayé

il (elle) aura essayé

nous aurons essayé

vous aurez essayé

ils (elles) auront essayé

j’ aurais essayé

tu aurais essayé

il (elle) aurait essayé

nous aurions essayé

vous auriez essayé

ils (elles) auraient essayé

que j’ aie essayé

que tu aies essayé

qu’il (elle) ait essayé

que nous ayons essayé

que vous ayez essayé

qu’ils (elles) aient essayé

que j’ eusse essayé

que tu eusses essayé

qu’il (elle) eût essayé

que nous eussions essayé

que vous eussiez essayé

qu’ils (elles) eussent essayé

ayons essayé

ayez essayé

avoir essayé

ayant essayé essayé (é, ée, és, ées)

je suis essayé(e)

tu es essayé(e)

il (elle) est essayé(e)

nous sommes essayé(e)s

vous êtes essayé(e)s

ils (elles) sont essayé(e)s

j’ étais essayé(e)

tu étais essayé(e)

il (elle) était essayé(e)

nous étions essayé(e)s

vous étiez essayé(e)s

ils (elles) étaient essayé(e)s

je fus essayé(e)

tu fus essayé(e)

il (elle) fut essayé(e)

nous fûmes essayé(e)s

vous fûtes essayé(e)s

ils (elles) furent essayé(e)s

je serai essayé(e)

tu seras essayé(e)

il (elle) sera essayé(e)

nous serons essayé(e)s

vous serez essayé(e)s

ils (elles) seront essayé(e)s

je serais essayé(e)

tu serais essayé(e)

il (elle) serait essayé(e)

nous serions essayé(e)s

vous seriez essayé(e)s

ils (elles) seraient essayé(e)s

que je sois essayé(e)

que tu sois essayé(e)

qu’il (elle) soit essayé(e)

que nous soyons essayé(e)s

que vous soyez essayé(e)s

qu’ils (elles) soient essayé(e)s

que je fusse essayé(e)

que tu fusses essayé(e)

qu’il (elle) fût essayé(e)

que nous fussions essayé(e)s

que vous fussiez essayé(e)s

qu’ils (elles) fussent essayé(e)s

soyons essayé(e)s

soyez essayé(e)s

être essayé(e)(s)

étant essayé(e)(s)

j’ ai été essayé(e)

tu as été essayé(e)

il (elle) a été essayé(e)

nous avons été essayé(e)s

vous avez été essayé(e)s

ils (elles) ont été essayé(e)s

j’ avais été essayé(e)

il (elle) avait été essayé(e)

nous avions été essayé(e)s

ils (elles) avaient été essayé(e)s

j’ eus été essayé(e)

tu eus été essayé(e)

il (elle) eut été essayé(e)

nous eûmes été essayé(e)s

vous eûtes été essayé(e)s

ils (elles) eurent été essayé(e)s

j’ aurai été essayé(e)

tu auras été essayé(e)

il (elle) aura été essayé(e)

nous aurons été essayé(e)s

vous aurez été essayé(e)s

ils (elles) auront été essayé(e)s

j’ aurais été essayé(e)

il (elle) aurait été essayé(e)

nous aurions été essayé(e)s

vous auriez été essayé(e)s

ils (elles) auraient été essayé(e)s

que j’ aie été essayé(e)

que tu aies été essayé(e)

qu’il (elle) ait été essayé(e)

que nous ayons été essayé(e)s

que vous ayez été essayé(e)s

qu’ils (elles) aient été essayé(e)s

que j’ eusse été essayé(e)

que tu eusses été essayé(e)

qu’il (elle) eût été essayé(e)

que nous eussions été essayé(e)s

que vous eussiez été essayé(e)s

qu’ils (elles) eussent été essayé(e)s

aie été essayé(e)

ayons été essayé(e)s

ayez été essayé(e)s

avoir été essayé(e)(s)

ayant été essayé(e)(s)

French: essayer

French verb 'essayer' conjugated.

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• Essayer Conjugation

Essayer to try, to attempt

Essayer - indicative.

Essayer - Perfect

Essayer - Subjunctive

Essayer - Conditional

Essayer - Imperative (Commands)

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Voir la voix passive

Verbe transitif du 1 er groupe / Auxiliaire avoir

Utiliser un objet pour en éprouver les qualités, en contrôler le fonctionnement ; soumettre un matériau, une machine à un essai. Lire plus

Remarques : Les formes conjuguées du verbe peuvent s'écrire avec un y ou un i devant e muet : il essaie ou il essaye, il essaiera ou il essayera . Attention au i après le y aux première et deuxième personnes du pluriel, à l'indicatif imparfait et au subjonctif présent : (que) nous essayions , (que) vous essayiez .

• j' essaie / essaye
• tu essaies / essayes
• il, elle essaie / essaye
• nous essayons
• vous essayez
• ils, elles essaient / essayent

- Imparfait

• j' essayais
• tu essayais
• il, elle essayait
• nous essayions
• vous essayiez
• ils, elles essayaient

- Passé simple

• il, elle essaya
• nous essayâmes
• vous essayâtes
• ils, elles essayèrent
• j' essaierai / essayerai
• tu essaieras / essayeras
• il, elle essaiera / essayera
• nous essaierons / essayerons
• vous essaierez / essayerez
• ils, elles essaieront / essayeront

- Passé composé

• j' ai essayé
• tu as essayé
• il, elle a essayé
• nous avons essayé
• vous avez essayé
• ils, elles ont essayé

- Plus-que-parfait

• j' avais essayé
• tu avais essayé
• il, elle avait essayé
• nous avions essayé
• vous aviez essayé
• ils, elles avaient essayé

- Passé antérieur

• j' eus essayé
• tu eus essayé
• il, elle eut essayé
• nous eûmes essayé
• vous eûtes essayé
• ils, elles eurent essayé

- Futur antérieur

• j' aurai essayé
• tu auras essayé
• il, elle aura essayé
• nous aurons essayé
• vous aurez essayé
• ils, elles auront essayé
• que j' essaie / essaye
• que tu essaies / essayes
• qu'il, qu'elle essaie / essaye
• que nous essayions
• que vous essayiez
• qu'ils, qu'elles essaient / essayent
• que j' essayasse
• que tu essayasses
• qu'il, qu'elle essayât
• que nous essayassions
• que vous essayassiez
• qu'ils, qu'elles essayassent
• que j' eusse essayé
• que tu eusses essayé
• qu'il, qu'elle eût essayé
• que nous eussions essayé
• que vous eussiez essayé
• qu'ils, qu'elles eussent essayé
• que j' aie essayé
• que tu aies essayé
• qu'il, qu'elle ait essayé
• que nous ayons essayé
• que vous ayez essayé
• qu'ils, qu'elles aient essayé
• CONDITIONNEL
• j' essaierais / essayerais
• tu essaierais / essayerais
• il, elle essaierait / essayerait
• nous essaierions / essayerions
• vous essaieriez / essayeriez
• ils, elles essaieraient / essayeraient
• j' aurais essayé
• tu aurais essayé
• il, elle aurait essayé
• nous aurions essayé
• vous auriez essayé
• ils, elles auraient essayé
• essaie / essaye
• ayons essayé
• ayez essayé
• avoir essayé
• ayant essayé

 SYNONYMES contrôler - expérimenter - s'efforcer de - s'évertuer - s'ingénier - tâcher - tenter - tester - vérifier

 CONTRAIRES refuser - renoncer - s'abstenir

Recherche: 2 résultat(s)

verbe transitif du 1 er groupe.

Conjugaison: Indicatif / Subjonctif / Conditionnel / Impératif / Infinitif / Participe /

verbe pronominal du 1 er groupe.

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Verb Table for essayer

All conjugation types.

• Conjugation with avoir (Currently shown)
• Reflexive (conjugation with être)

Indicatif  •  Subjonctif  •  Conditionnel  •  Impératif  •  Formes impersonnelles

Passé simple

Futur simple

Passé composé

Plus-que-parfait

Passé antérieur

Futur antérieur

Participe présent

Participe passé

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Conjugation of the French Verb "Essayer"

Mappa concettuale.

Mastering the French verb 'essayer' involves understanding its unique conjugation patterns, such as the optional 'y' to 'i' change in certain forms. This guide covers present, past, imperfect, conditional, and future tenses, as well as the use of the auxiliary verb 'avoir' in compound tenses. It also provides strategies to avoid common errors and enhance memorization of the correct forms, emphasizing the importance of pronunciation in the French language.

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Regular -er Verb with Unique Characteristics

Meaning and usage of "essayer".

"Essayer" is a regular -er verb in French that means 'to try' and has a unique characteristic of changing 'y' to 'i' in certain forms

Optional 'y' to 'i' Change in Certain Tenses

Pronunciation and Spelling Changes

In the singular and third person plural forms of certain tenses, the 'y' in "essayer" may change to an 'i', affecting both pronunciation and spelling

Dual Spelling in First Person Singular Present Tense

The first person singular present tense of "essayer" can be spelled as 'j'essaie' or 'j'essaye', highlighting the intricacies of French orthographic conventions

Conjugation Patterns and Usage in Different Tenses

"Essayer" follows regular -er verb conjugation patterns, with the optional 'y' to 'i' change in some forms, and is used to describe actions or states occurring at the moment of speaking

Essential Tenses for Everyday Communication

Present tense conjugation.

The present tense conjugation of "essayer" is similar to that of other regular -er verbs, but with the optional 'y' to 'i' change in some forms

Passé Composé

The passé composé, formed with the auxiliary verb 'avoir' and the past participle 'essayé', is used to convey completed actions in the past

Imperfect Tense and Other Moods

Imperfect Tense

The imperfect tense, or imparfait, describes past actions that were ongoing or habitual

Subjunctive Mood

The subjunctive mood, expressing doubt, desire, or uncertainty, includes forms like 'que j'essaie' and 'que vous essayiez'

Conditional Mood

The conditional mood, used for hypothetical scenarios, is conjugated as 'j'essayerais' or 'vous essayeriez'

Future and Past Tenses

Future tense.

The future tense of "essayer" is formed by adding the appropriate endings to the infinitive and discusses future events

Plus-Que-Parfait

The plus-que-parfait, a form of the perfect tense, is constructed with the imperfect tense of 'avoir' and the past participle 'essayé', used for actions that had been completed before another past action

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In French, the verb 'essayer' translates to '______,' and it belongs to the ______-er verb category.

to try regular

Optional 'y' to 'i' change in 'essayer'

Occurs in singular forms except nous/vous; 'j'essaie' or 'j'essaye'.

Present tense usage in French

Describes actions/states at the moment of speaking; used daily.

Dual spelling in French orthography

Some verbs like 'essayer' have two correct spellings; 'essaie' or 'essaye'.

The ______ tense is used to express completed actions in the past with the verb 'essayer'.

passé composé

Imperfect Tense Usage

Describes ongoing/habitual past actions, sets scene for narratives.

Subjunctive Mood Function

Expresses doubt, desire, uncertainty, used in dependent clauses.

Conditional Mood Application

Used for hypotheticals, polite requests, and future events in the past.

To express future actions in French, 'essayer' changes to 'j'essaierai' for 'I will try', and 'ils/elles essaieront' for 'they will try'.

j'essaierai ils/elles essaieront

Essayer conjugation exception: 'y' to 'i' shift

In certain forms, 'essayer' changes 'y' to 'i' before a silent 'e'.

Essayer 1st person singular present tense: dual spelling

In present tense, 'essayer' can be spelled as 'j'essaie' or 'j'essaye'.

In the present tense 'nous' form of 'essayer', it's important to remember the double '______', and to use the correct auxiliary verb in compound tenses.

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What is the unique aspect of the french verb "essayer" in terms of conjugation, how is "essayer" conjugated in the present tense, and what does it signify, how do you form the passé composé with "essayer," and what is its significance, can you describe the use of "essayer" in the imperfect, subjunctive, and conditional moods, what are the future and plus-que-parfait tenses of "essayer" used for, is "essayer" considered a regular or irregular verb, and why, what are some common mistakes when conjugating "essayer" and how can they be avoided, contenuti simili, esplora altre mappe su argomenti simili.

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Understanding the Basics of Essayer Conjugation in French

Present Tense Conjugation of Essayer

Past tense mastery with essayer, exploring the imperfect and conditional forms of essayer, future and perfect tenses in essayer conjugation, regular vs. irregular patterns in essayer conjugation, avoiding common mistakes and tips for conjugating essayer.

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French Verb Conjugation Using "Essayer" (to Try)

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• Pronunciation & Conversation
• Resources For Teachers

The French verb  essayer  means "to try." It's a simple word that can easily be confused with  essuyer  (to wipe) , so be sure to look and listen for that 'A' in  essayer .

In order to place  essayer  into the past, present, or future tense, the verb needs to be conjugated . Just follow along in this lesson and you'll be saying "tried" and "trying" in French before you know it.

Conjugating the French Verb  Essayer ​​

Essayer  is an optional stem-changing verb . Typically with verbs that end in - yer , the 'Y' has to change to an 'I' in certain forms. The rules are a little more casual with  essayer  as you'll see in the table. When there are two forms of the conjugation, you can use either.

The stem of  essayer  is  essay -. To this, a variety of infinitive endings is added that conform with the subject pronoun as well as the tense of the sentence. For instance, "I try" is " j'essaie " or " j'essaye ." Similarly, there are two options for "we will try": " nous essaierons " or " nous essayerons ."

All this leaves you with many words to memorize. The good news is that there are many opportunities to practice it and use  essayer  as you "try" things throughout your day.

The Present Participle of  Essayer

The  present participle  of essayer is  essayant . This is as simple as adding - ant  to the verb stem. Not only does it work as a verb, but it can also become an adjective, gerund, or noun when needed.

The Past Participle and Passé Composé

The  past participle   essayé  is used to form the  passé composé , a common past tense form of "tried" in French. To use this, you'll also need to conjugate the  auxiliary verb   avoir . For example, "I tried" is " j'ai essayé " and "we tried" is " nous avons essayé ."

More Simple  Essayer  Conjugations to Know

When the action of trying is in some way questionable, you can turn to the subjunctive verb mood . Similarly, if it's dependent on something, the conditional verb mood is used.

With less frequency, you will come across the passé simple or the imperfect subjunctive . These are mostly found in formal writing and will help considerably with reading comprehension.

To use  essayer  in commands or direct requests, turn to the imperative verb form . When using this, the subject pronoun is not required: use " essaie " instead of " tu essaie ."

• How to Conjugate "Essuyer" (to Wipe)
• How to Conjugate the French Verb 'Dire' (to Say)
• Using the French Future Tense
• Learn How to Conjugate the Verb "Penser" (to Think)
• Learn How to Conjugate the French Verb "Passer" (to Pass)
• How to Conjugate the French Verb "Admirer" (to Admire)
• How to Conjugate the French Irregular Verb 'Écrire' ('to Write')
• Conjugate the Irregular French Verb Boire (to Drink)
• Comprendre: To Understand
• Conjugate the Irregular French Verb Connaître, to Know
• Learn to Conjugate the French Irregular Verb Lire (to Read)
• French Irregular -RE Verbs
• Passé composé: French Compound Past Tense
• How to Conjugate "Louer" (to Rent)
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• Learn the Conjugations for "Présenter" (to Present)

Verb conjugation of "essayer" in French

Le passé composé: the past tense in French

What is the passé composé , when to use the passé composé in french, how to conjugate the passé composé in french, participe passé : the french past participle, avoir or être, agreement of the participe passé.

• Exercises – Passé composé

The passé composé is the most important past tense in French. It corresponds to the English simple past (I did, I saw …) or sometimes the present perfect (I have done, I have seen …) .

The passé composé talks about actions that were completed in the past and emphasises their results or consequences in the present.

In spoken language, the passé composé is always used instead of the passé simple . We form the passé composé using the auxiliary verbs avoir or être followed by the past participle (le participe passé ) of the verb.

Learn everything you need to know about the French passé composé with Lingolia’s quick and easy examples, then put your knowledge to the test in the free exercises.

Hier, Michel a rangé son bureau.

Il a décidé de ranger son bureau chaque semaine.

We use the passé composé to talk about one-time, completed actions that took place in the past. This tense places the emphasis on the result or consequences of the action.

Learners of French often find it difficult to know when to use the passé composé and when to use the imperfect tense . Go to our page dedicated to the difference between the imparfait and passé composé to learn when to use which tense, then test yourself in the free exercises.

To conjugate the passé composé we use the present tense of avoir or être as an auxiliary verb, followed by the past participle (participe passé) of the main verb.

In negative sentences , the past participle comes after the second part of the negation (pas) .

For reflexive verbs , the reflexive pronoun comes after the first part of the negation (ne) and before the auxiliary verb (avoir/être) .

To see the conjugation of any French verb in the passé composé go to our verb conjugator .

For regular er/ ir/re -verbs, the past participle is formed as follows:

• If the infinitive ends in -er , the participle ends in é Example: aim er – aim é
• If the infinitive ends in -ir , the participle ends in i Example: fin ir – fin i
• If the infinitive ends in -re , the participle ends in u Example: vend re - vend u

For the irregular verbs, however, we have to look up the past participle form in the list of irregular verbs or check the verb conjugator — or simply learn the forms by heart.

Most verbs construct the passé composé with avoir, however être is used as the auxiliary verb in the following cases:

• with reflexive verbs
• with the following verbs of movement: naître/mourir be born/die , aller/venir go/come , monter/descendre go up/go down , arriver/partir arrive/leave , entrer/sortir enter/go out , apparaître appear , rester stay , retourner return , tomber fall and their related forms such as: revenir come back , rentrer go back in , remonter go back up , redescendre go back down , repartir leave again .

Note: we use avoir when descendre, ( r)entrer, (re)monter, retourner and sortir are followed by a direct object. In this case, the meaning of the verb often changes.

Need a handy trick to remember which verbs take être as their auxiliary in the passé composé ? Check out our page on the difference between avoir and être.

For some verbs, the participe passé has to agree in gender and number with either the subject or the object of the sentence. This agreement is necessary in the following situations:

• When a verb takes être as an auxiliary, the participle agrees in gender and number with the subject. Example: Il est all é dans son bureau. He went to his office. Elle est all ée dans son bureau. She went to her office. Ils sont all és dans leurs bureaux. They went to their offices. Elles sont all ées dans leurs bureaux. They (only women) went to their offices.
• For verbs that take avoir in the passé composé , the participle only agrees in gender and number with a direct object that comes before the verb. This direct object can take three possible forms: a personal pronoun (me, te, le, la, nous, vous, les) , the relative pronoun que , or a noun placed before the verb (usually in questions and exclamations). Example: Il a rangé son bureau . → Il l' a rang é . He cleaned up his office. → He cleaned it (Fr. masc. sing.) up. Il a rangé sa chambre . → Il l' a rang ée . He cleaned up his room.→ He cleaned it (Fr. fem. sing. ) up. Il a rangé ses dossiers . → Il les a rang és . He sorted his files. → He sorted them (Fr. masc. p lural) . Il a rangé ses cartes de visite . → Il les a rang ées . He sorted his business cards.→ He sorted them (Fr. fem. p lural) .

The participe passé does not agree with the subject of the following verbs: se téléphoner to call each other , se parler to talk to each other , se mentir to lie to each other , se plaire (complaire/déplaire) to like each other , se sourire to smile at each other , se rire to laugh at each other , se nuire to hurt each other , se succéder to succeed each other , se suffire to be enough , se ressembler to look like each other , s’en vouloir to be annoyed with each other . This is because the reflexive pronoun is an indirect object. It is used in the sense of “each other” for these verbs.

se rendre compte

Although it is reflexive, the past participle of the verb se rendre compte (to realise) does not agree with the subject of the sentence. This is because the word compte acts as a direct object (se rendre quoi ? → compte).

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The ultimate guide to the passé composé (and a handy rule)

November 3, 2021

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“Please don’t use the passé simple tense in your essay.”

This is the first sentence our professor told us, a group of French college students, as we were about to take an exam.

“Most French college students don’t know how to use the passé simple properly”, he went on.

My professor was right. Most French people don’t know how to use the passé simple properly because they rarely need to use it.

This is great news for you as a French learner, because it means you probably don’t need to bother learning this complicated tense.

if your only goal is to communicate with locals, you only need to know two French past tenses: le passé composé and l’imparfait . That’s why these are the tenses we focus on in our conversational French app .

Today’s article will show you when and how to use the passé composé and how the DR MRS P. VANDERTRAMP acronym can help you.

When should you use the passé composé?

The bad news is that French people use several past tenses.

The good news is that le passé composé is the most common tense and that you can already express yourself well if it’s the only French past tense you know.

Le passé composé is the equivalent of:

• The simple past (j’ai fait, I did)
• The present perfect (j’ai fait, I have done)

You use it to highlight the consequences of past actions and to talk about:

• Completed actions.
• Repeated actions.
• Series of actions.
• Conditions in likely situations.

How to conjugate verbs in the passé composé tense

The passé composé is a compound tense, meaning you need two components to conjugate a verb.

• A helping verb (être or avoir) conjugated in the present tense.
• The past participle (participe passé) of the verb you want to conjugate.

Let’s see how this works in practice!

1. Choose your helping verb/auxiliary verb

The first step to conjugating a verb in the passé composé is to find out what helping verb (also called auxiliary verb) it uses: être or avoir.

Avoir (to have) is the most common helping verb.

If you ever find yourself in the middle of a conversation wondering whether to use avoir or être to conjugate in the passé composé, choose avoir. It’s the most common helping verb and is likely to be the one you need.

Once you know the verb you want to conjugate in the passé composé uses “avoir”, you simply need to conjugate avoir in the present tense and add the past participle (participe passé).

Être and the DR MRS P. VANDERTRAMP acronym

Être is less common than “avoir” as an auxiliary verb but a few common French verbs use it when conjugated in the passé composé.

An easy way to remember some of these verbs is to use the Dr and Mrs Vandertramp or Dr Mrs P Vandertramp mnemonics.

Each letter in the sentence Dr and Mrs P Vandertramp represents the beginning of a verb that uses être as a helping verb when conjugated in the passé composé.

Other verbs that use être include:

• All reflexive verbs (verbs that use “se”.)
• Some verbs indicating movement or a change of state.

Once you know the verb you want to conjugate in the passé composé uses être, it’s time to conjugate être in the present tense

2. Add the past participle

Verbs in the passé composé are formed by putting together a helping verb (être or avoir) conjugated in the present tense + a past participle.

Once you know what helping verb to use, all you need to do is add the past participle of the verb you want to conjugate.

The majority of French verbs are regular and forming their past participle is easy.

Simply use the recipe below:

Regular ER verbs => é Regular IR verbs => i Regular RE verbs => u

Manger => J’ai mangé Finir => J’ai fini Vendre => J’ai vendu

There are also a few irregular verb patterns:

• Faire, dire and other verbs in ire => it
• Connaitre and other verbs in aitre => u
• Venir and other verbs in enir => enu
• Prendre and other verbs in -endre => pris

Some irregular verbs won’t match any of these patterns, if that’s the case, you need to look up the individual past participle conjugation.

This includes:

#3 Make the verb agree in number and gender

Passé composé agreement of verbs using être as a helping verb

Verbs using être as a helping verb to form their passé composé agree in gender and number with the subject.

• Je suis arrivé(e) => you add a e if the subject if female.
• Ils sont arrivé(s) (you add a “s” is the subject is plural).
• Elles sont arrivé(es) ( you add a e plus a s if the subject is plural and female.)

If the subject is a group of 10 women and 1 man, you are supposed to act as if the entire group was male because French grammar considers that male always wins.

There is, however, a growing number of people who refuse to follow (and even teach) this rule they consider sexist .

Passé composé agreement of verbs using avoir as a helping verb

Verbs using avoir in the passé composé only need to agree with preceding direct objects. A simple way to know whether a verb has a preceding direct object is to ask what? after the verb.

La tarte qu’elle a mangée était excellente. The tart she ate was excellent.

Here you can say, she ate what? The tart. Since tart comes before the verb and is female, you need to agree in number and add a “e” to mangé.

If this all sounds complicated don’t worry.

While it takes a while to get used to all these new conjugations, mistakes will rarely prevent you from being understood. In fact, the French regularly make mistakes when they use the passé composé.

Learn to conjugate avoir and être, focus on learning the most common patterns and you will be able to correctly conjugate verbs in the passé composé in the majority of cases.

Want to learn the passé composé in the context of real-life conversations? Give French Together a try!

Passé Composé

By: Author David Issokson

Posted on Published: February 8, 2022  - Last updated: July 5, 2024

The French passé composé is a past tense formed by combining the present tense of avoir (to have) or être (to be) as an auxiliary verb with a past participle. For example, j’ai parlé français (I spoke French) or je suis allé en France (I went to France).

What is the French passé composé?

The passé composé is used to describe specific past actions that occurred at precise times and are completed.

On this page we’ll learn how to form the passé composé for regular as well as irregular verbs.

We’ll also look at how to form the passé composé the 17 verbs of movement which take the auxiliary verb être .

The other major French past tense is called the imperfect ( l’imparfait ). On this page we covered the French imperfect tense in detail.

On this page we covered the passé composé for reflexive verbs .

Passé composé conjugation

To form the passé composé , combine an auxiliary or helping verb ( verbe auxiliaire ) with the past participle of the verb.

The following is the passé composé of the verb parler (to speak).

The past participle parlé is the same for every person and the auxiliary verb avoir (to have) changes in accordance with each subject.

In French, every verb has one single past particle. This makes learning the passé composé much easier than the present tense.

Negation rule for the passé composé

To negate the passé composé , wrap ne…pas around the helping (auxiliary) verb. Here are few example sentences. We have bolded the ne…pas.

• Nous n ‘avons pas mangé. We have not eaten.
• Ils n ‘ont pas dansé. They didn’t dance.
• Vous n ‘avez pas voyagé. You have not traveled.

Passé composé for regular verbs

Regular -er verbs.

To form the past participle for regular -er verbs, remove the -er on the infinitive (to form) of the verb and replace it with é . Hence:

parler -> parl er -> parlé

Here are the regular -er verbs manger (to eat), travailler (to work) and habiter (to live) in the passé composé .

Regular -ir verbs

To form the past participle with regular -ir verbs, drop the -ir on the infinitive and replace it with -i .

finir (to finish) -> fin ir -> fini

Here are the regular -ir verbs choisir (to choose), réussir (to succeed) and obéir (to obey) in the passé composé :

Regular -re verbs

To form the past participle for for regular -re verbs, drop the -re and replace it with -u .

vendre (to sell) -> vendre -> vendu

Here are some examples of regular -re verbs attendre (to wait), entendre (to hear), répondre (to reply, answer) in the passé composé .

Here are some example sentences with regular verbs in the passé composé.

• Nous avons mangé la pizza. We at the pizza.
• Marie a fini son repas. Marie finished her meal.
• Georges a vendu la voiture. Georges sold the car.

Irregular verbs in the passé composé

Irregular verb s have irregular past participles in the passé composé . The following is a list of commonly used irregular verbs and with their past participles.

Irregular past participles

The following example sentences are formed with irregular verbs in the passé composé .

• J’ai lu le livre. I read the book.
• Pierre a fait un gâteau. Pierre made a cake.
• Martin a bu le café. Martin drank the coffee.
• Nous avons vu un film. We saw a movie.

Groups of irregular verbs in the passé composé

Groups of related irregular verbs share related past participles. For every irregular “base” verb in the following table you will find the past participles of related verbs.

To form the past pariciples for verbs ending in -rir , remove the -rir from the infintive and replace with -ert . For example:

• Ouvrir (to open) -> j’ai ouvert I opened
• Couvrir (to cover) -> j’ai couvert I covered
• Découvrir (to discover) -> j’ai découvert I discovered
• Souffrir (to suffer) -> j’ai souffert I suffered

Être verbs in the passé composé

In French, there is a list of seventeen verbs which take the auxiliary verb être (to be) in the passé composé . These tend to be verbs of movement.

In the previous section, all of there verbs which took the auxiliary verb avoir were transitive .

This means that the action of a verb is carried out onto an object . For example, “I eat pizza” becomes “I ate the the pizza” ( j’ai mangé la pizza ).

However, the following être verbs are intransitive , meaning that the action of the verb is not carried out onto any particular object . In essence, the subject and object are the same .

Detailed explanation:

I’m staying home. -> I’m not carrying out the action of staying onto anything else. I am both the subject and the object . I’m not doing anything to anything else.

Hence, Je reste chez moi (I stay home) becomes Je suis resté chez moi (I stayed home).

The following is aller (to go) in the passé composé .

The past participle of a a verb that uses être as an auxiliary verb in the passé composé must agree in gender and number with the subject.

There is an extra -e or -s is added to the past participle if the subject is feminine or plural.

Dr. & Mrs. Vandertramp

A fun mnemonic device for memorizing the group of French verbs that are conjugated with être in the passé composé is called Dr. & Mrs. Vandertramp. These letters are the first letters of the list of verbs.

The following example sentences are verbs which require être as an auxiliary verb in the passé composé .

• Je suis rentré chez moi à 11h00 . I returned home at 11 o’clock.
• Il est devenu très riche. He became very rich.
• Martin est monté la montagne . Martin climbed up the mountain.

Verbs which can take auxiliary verbs être and avoir

Some verbs take both être and avoir as auxiliary verbs. The difference is whether the verb is transitive (has a direct object and takes avoir ) or intransitive (doesn’t have a direct object an thus takes être ).

Passer = to pass by, spend time

• Je suis passé par la poste. I went by the post office.
• J’ai passé trois ans en France. I spent three years in France.

Sortir = to leave, to take out

• Je suis sorti de la maison . I left the house.
• J’ai sorti la poubelle. I took the trash out.

Monter = to climb, to take up

• Je suis monté la montagne. I climbed the mountain.
• Je suis monté la boîte dans le grenier. I brought the box up to the attic.

Descendre = to go down, take down

• Je suis descendu dans la cave. I went down to the basement.
• J’ai descendu la boîte dans la cave. I brought the box down to the basement.

My good friend, Camille, at Frenchtoday.com also provides an excellent post on the passé composé . In her post, Camille, provides crystal-clear grammatical explanations with lots super helpful example sentences.

Related lessons:

• Imperfect tense
• Future tense
• Conditional tense
• Reflexive verbs
• Passé Composé (Wikipedia)

French grammar | Lessons by David Issokson

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David Issokson

David Issokson is a lifelong language learner and speaks over seven languages. Of all the languages he speaks, he's the most passionate about French! David has helped hundreds of students to improve their French in his private lessons. When not teaching or writing his French Word of the Day lessons, David enjoys his time skiing, hiking and mountain biking in Victor, Idaho.

See all posts by David Issokson

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French Grammar: Passé Composé with [AVOIR] – Irregular Verbs

Posted by LEAF Architect on Thursday, June 26, 2014 · Leave a Comment  

Creative Commons Image via The LEAF Project

French Grammar: Passé Composé with [AVOIR] – Irregular Verbs la grammaire française: le passé compose avec [avoir] – les verbes irréguliers

When speaking about the past in English, you choose which past tense to use depending on the  context  and the  meaning  you wish to convey. In French sentences, you choose which past tense you use depending only on the  meaning  you wish to convey.

The Passé Composé (Past Tense) is the most common past tense in French.  It is used to express an action or event (or a series of actions or events) completed in the past.  The Passé Composé (Past Tense) is used in the following instances:

1. With completed actions in the past:

J’ai étudié la leçon déjà. I studied the lesson already.

2. With a series of events or actions completed in the past:

La semaine passée, je suis allé en Floride, j’ai nagé dans l’océan et j’ai beaucoup dormi. Last week I went to Florida, I swam in the ocean, and I slept a lot.

3. With key words associated with past time ( hier, avant-hier, hier soir, une fois, tout à coup…)

Hier soir j’ai dansé avec mon mari. Last night, I danced with my husband.

The literal translation of “ Passé Composé ” is “compound past”, and it is called this because the verb form is composed of two parts: (1) the present tense of the auxiliary (or “helper”) verb, and (2) the past participle of the main verb (i.e., the verb that conveys the true meaning).

For the majority of French verbs, the Passé Composé is formed with the auxiliary (“helper”) verb AVOIR .  (See the lessons on Passé Composé with ÊTRE to learn more about French verbs that form the Passé Composé with the auxiliary (“helper”) verb être .)

The past participle is the form of the verb that is usually equivalent to  -ed  in English.  (For example: play ed , finish ed , wait ed ).  However, just as there are irregular past participles in English ( brought, sang, chose, etc. ), there are also irregular past participles in French.

The Passé Composé has three possible English translations. For example, j’ai joué can mean:

I played ( simple past ) I have played ( present perfect ) I did play ( past emphatic )

All irregular verbs conjugated with AVOIR in the Passé Composé follow the same rules as regular verbs conjugated with AVOIR in the Passé Composé .  (See the LEAF French Grammar lesson Passé Composé with AVOIR — Regular -ER/-IR/-RE Verbs for more information about regular verbs.)

As with regular verbs, the Passé Composé (Past Tense) of irregular verbs consists of three parts:

SUBJECT + PRESENT TENSE OF AUXILIARY VERB “AVOIR” + PAST PARTICIPLE OF MAIN VERB

Many common French verbs have an irregular past participle .  It is to be noted that French verbs with irregular past participles also tend to be irregular in the present tense .  It is also to be noted that many French verbs with irregular past participles correspond to an equivalent irregular past participle in English.

French verbs with irregular past participles can be grouped according to the way their past participle ends, as follows:

PAST PARTICIPLES ENDING IN –ERT :

couvrir ( to cover ) ->  couv ert ( covered )  

découvrir ( to discover ) ->  découv ert ( discovered )  

ouvrir ( to open ) ->  ouv ert ( opened )  

souffrire ( to suffer ) ->  souff ert ( suffered )  

PAST PARTICIPLES ENDING IN –I :

dormir ( to sleep ) ->  dorm i ( slept )

rire ( to laugh ) ->  r i ( laughed )

sourire ( to smile ) ->  sour i (smiled)

suivre ( to follow ) ->  suiv i ( followed )

PAST PARTICIPLES ENDING IN –IS :

apprendre ( to learn ) ->  appr is ( learned )

comprendre ( to understand ) ->  compr is ( understood )

mettre ( to put / to put on ) ->  m is ( put / put on )

permettre ( to permit / to allow ) ->  perm is ( permitted / allowed )

promettre ( to promise ) ->  prom is ( promised )

remettre ( to put back ) ->  rem is ( put back )

prendre ( to take ) ->  pr is ( took )

PAST PARTICIPLES ENDING IN –IT :

conduire ( to drive ) ->  condu it ( drove)

construire ( to construct ) ->  constru it ( constructed)

dire ( to say / to tell ) ->  d it ( said / told)

écrire ( to write ) ->  écr it ( wrote)

instruire ( to instruct ) ->  instru it ( instructed)

produire ( to produce ) ->  produ it ( produced)

reproduire ( to reproduce ) ->  reprodu it ( reproduced)

PAST PARTICIPLES ENDING IN –NT :

atteindre ( to attain ) ->  attei nt ( attained)

craindre ( to fear ) ->  crai nt ( feared)

joindre ( to join ) ->  joi nt ( joined)

peindre ( to paint ) ->  pei nt ( painted)

PAST PARTICIPLES ENDING IN –U :

boire ( to drink ) ->  b u ( drank )

connaître ( to know – a person, place, or body of work ) ->  conn u ( knew – a person, place, or body of work )

courir ( to run ) ->  cour u ( ran )

croire ( to believe ) ->  cr u ( believed )

devoir ( to have to / to owe ) ->  d û ( had to / owed )

falloir ( to be necessary ) ->  fall u ( was necessary )

lire ( to read ) ->  l u ( read )

paraître ( to appear / to seem ) ->  par u ( appeared / seemed )

plaire ( to please ) ->  pl u ( pleased ) *

pleuvoir ( to rain ) ->  pl u ( rained ) *

pouvoir ( to be able to / can ) ->  p u ( was able to / could )

recevoir ( to receive ) ->  reç u ( received )

savoir ( to know – facts or information ) ->  s u ( knew – facts or information )

tenir ( to hold ) ->  ten u ( held )

valoir ( to be worth ) ->  val u ( was worth )

vivre ( to live ) ->  véc u ( lived )

voir ( to see ) ->  v u ( saw )

vouloir ( to want ) ->  voul u ( wanted )

*Plu ( rained ) is only used with the masculine singular form : Il a plu ( It rained / It has rained / It did rain ).  Context is needed to distinguish between plu ( pleased ) and plu ( rained ).  Compare:

Il a plu à sa mère. He pleased his mother. He has pleased his mother. He did please his mother.

Il a plu toute la nuit. It rained all night. It has rained all night. It did rain all night.

TOTALLY IRREGULAR PAST PARTICIPLES! :

avoir ( to have ) ->  eu ( had )

être ( to be ) ->  été ( was )

faire ( to do / to make ) ->  fait ( did / made )

Tu as compris la leçon? Did you ( familiar ) understand the lesson?

Oui, j’ai compris la leçon. Yes, I understood the lesson.

Qui a peint La Joconde? Who painted the Mona Lisa?

Léonard de Vinci a peint La Joconde. Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa.

Vous avez lu le journal ce matin? Did you ( plural ) read the newspaper this morning?

Oui, nous avons lu le journal ce matin. Yes, we read the paper this morning.

Qu’est-ce qu’elle a dit? What did she say?

Elle a dit << Bonjour >>. She said “Hello”.

Qui a découvert le radium? Who discovered radium?

Pierre et Marie Curie ont découvert le radium. Pierre and Marie Curie discovered radium.

Un de mes employés a été encore en retard hier. One of my employees was late to work again yesterday.

Qu’est-ce que tu as fait? What did you ( familiar ) do?

J’ai eu une petite discussion avec lui. I had a little talk with him.   

• YouTube/Madame Beckwith: Passé Composé and Irregular Verbs
• YouTube/Emanuel Harper: Le Passé Composé – Partie 2
• YouTube/sdiamond1998: Passé composé of irregular verbs
• YouTube/CCPSWorldLanguage: French Irregular Verbs in Passé Composé

Category: French Grammar Lessons · Tags: avoir , composé , française , french , grammaire , grammar , irregular , passé , verbs

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