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Recommended Reading
FRENCH VERBS - A Introduction to the Perfect Tense / Passé Composé
French verbs are formed by: a stem + an ending (-ER, -IR or –RE).
PERFECT TENSE (e.g.: I played)
Two groups
There are two groups of verbs for the perfect tense:
- the “être” verbs: the 16 verbs of movement
- the “avoir” verbs: all the other verbs
Three parts
The perfect tense is made by 3 parts:
subject (I, you...) + “être” or “avoir” in the present tense + main verb
We already know how to do être” and “avoir” in the present tense.
The ending of the main verb changes in the perfect tense as well.
The ending
For example, “I played” will not be “J’ai jouer” but “J’ai joué”!
It is very simple, and you need to make sure you write this ending properly as examiners are very strict on this.
So, how do we know how to change the endings? EASY!
-ER verbs: -er turns into -é (jouer j’ai joué)
-IR verbs: -ir turns into -i (finir j’ai fini)
-RE verbs: -re turns into -u (attendre j’ai attendu)
Unfortunately, there are some irregular verbs, and we need to know them. The main ones are: “être”(j’ai été), “avoir” (j’ai eu), “faire” (j’ai fait).
So all the “avoir” verbs are very easy to form.
Now, we need to concentrate on the “être” verbs, as they require a bit more attention.
The “être” verbs
Do you remember what we need to add at the end of the adjectives if they are feminine or plural? Yes, an -s or an -e (or even both).
For example, if we are talking about a tall boy, we would say “un grand garcon”, but for a tall girl, we would say “grande”, and for more than one girl, we would say “grandes”.
The “être” verbs work the same way: the ending of the main verb will also need an -e or an -s depending on the subject.
Let’s take an example: “rester” (to stay). As this is an –ER verb, we already know the -er will turn into -é.
So, if a boy says “I stayed”, we would say “je suis resté”, but if a girl says “I stayed”, we would say “je suis restée”. And if a group of boys says it, we would say “nous sommes restés”, and a group of girls, “nous sommes restées”.
Note: if we have a group of boys and girls, this will be in the masculine form (no -e).
Summary:
To write in the perfect tense, we need to answer these questions:
- is it an “être” or “avoir” verb?
- if it is an “être” verb, who is the subject? (Masculine? Feminine? Plural?)
- last but not least, never forget the accent on the -e for the –ER verbs: if you write “j’ai joue” instead of “j’ai joué”, you will not be awarded any mark!
Your turn now: do you remember “être” and “avoir” in the present tense?
ÊTRE
Je.............................
Tu.............................
Il/Elle/On...................
Nous........................
Vous.........................
Ils/Elles.....................
AVOIR
J’..............................
Tu.............................
Il/Elle/On...................
Nous........................
Vous.........................
Ils/Elles.....................
Now, an “avoir” verb in the perfect tense.
TRAVAILLER
J’..............................
Tu.............................
Il/Elle/On...................
Nous........................
Vous.........................
Ils/Elles.....................
And an “être” verb.
ALLER
Je (m) ..........................................
Je (f) ...........................................
Tu (m) ...........................................
Tu (f) ..........................................
Il...............................
Elle...........................
On............................
Vous (m.formal) ...........................................
Vous (f.formal) ...........................................
Nous (m) ...........................................
Nous (f) ...........................................
Vous (m.informal) .........................................
Vous (f.informal) ..........................................
Ils.............................
Elles.........................
AND NOW A WELL-DESERVED BREAK !
