Learn French (Past tense )

The past tense in French is called “le passé composé.” It is used to talk about completed actions or events that happened in the past. The passé composé is formed using an auxiliary verb (either “avoir” or “être”) and the past participle of the main verb.

1. Conjugation with “avoir” as the auxiliary verb: In most cases, the auxiliary verb “avoir” is used with the past participle of the main verb. Here’s how to form the passé composé with “avoir”:
   • Step 1: Choose the appropriate form of the auxiliary verb “avoir” based on the subject: j’ai (I have), tu as (you have), il/elle/on a (he/she/one has), nous avons (we have), vous avez (you have), ils/elles ont (they have).
   • Step 2: Take the past participle of the main verb and add it to the auxiliary verb “avoir.”

   Example:

   • J’ai mangé une pomme. (I ate an apple.)
   • Tu as parlé avec elle. (You spoke with her.)
   • Il a regardé un film hier. (He watched a movie yesterday.)
   • Nous avons visité Paris l’année dernière. (We visited Paris last year.)
   • Vous avez travaillé dur. (You worked hard.)
   • Ils ont étudié pour l’examen. (They studied for the exam.)
2. Conjugation with “être” as the auxiliary verb: Some verbs, mainly related to movement, require the auxiliary verb “être” instead of “avoir” in the passé composé. Here’s how to form the passé composé with “être”:
   • Step 1: Choose the appropriate form of the auxiliary verb “être” based on the subject: je suis (I am), tu es (you are), il/elle/on est (he/she/one is), nous sommes (we are), vous êtes (you are), ils/elles sont (they are).
   • Step 2: Take the past participle of the main verb and agree it in gender and number with the subject.

   Example:

   • Je suis allé(e) au cinéma. (I went to the cinema.)
   • Tu es arrivé(e) hier. (You arrived yesterday.)
   • Elle est partie en vacances. (She went on vacation.)
   • Nous sommes restés à la maison. (We stayed at home.)
   • Vous êtes venus en retard. (You came late.)
   • Ils sont sortis avec leurs amis. (They went out with their friends.)
3. Past participles: The past participle of regular verbs is formed by adding “-é” to the infinitive verb. However, there are many irregular verbs with different past participle forms that must be memorized.

   Examples:

   • Manger (to eat) → mangé (eaten)
   • Parler (to speak) → parlé (spoken)
   • Prendre (to take) → pris (taken)
   • Venir (to come) → venu (come)
   • Être (to be) → été (been)
4. Agreement of past participle: When using “être” as the auxiliary verb, the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject. It means that it will change its form to match the subject.

   Example:

   • Elle est allée au cinéma. (She went to the cinema.)
   • Ils sont allés au cinéma. (They went to the cinema.)
5. Time expressions: When using the passé composé, it is common to use time expressions that indicate when the action occurred, such as hier (yesterday), la semaine dernière (last week), l’année passée (last year), etc.

   Example:

   • J’ai fini mon travail hier. (I finished my work yesterday.)
   • Nous avons voyagé en Europe l’été dernier. (We traveled in Europe last summer.)

It’s important to practice conjugating verbs in the passé composé and learn the irregular past participles to become comfortable with using the past tense in French.