Use a present auxiliary plus a participle: j’ai parlé, elle est arrivée. The participle alone does not form the passé composé.
Regular examples are parlé, fini and vendu. Learn irregular été, eu, fait, pris, vu, bu, lu, écrit and mis separately; spelling classes do not make every -ir or -re verb regular.
Auxiliary and verb construction
Avoir is used with most verbs in these active examples, including movement verb marcher: j’ai marché. Selected intransitive verbs such as aller, arriver, partir and rester use être; pronominal constructions also use être.
Construction matters: elle est sortie contrasts with elle a sorti le livre; je suis monté/montée contrasts with j’ai monté les valises. A movement mnemonic is not a universal rule.
Choose by construction
Negation
Standard ne/n’ and pas surround the conjugated auxiliary: je n’ai pas mangé and je ne suis pas allé/allée. The participle remains after pas.
In elle ne s’est pas lavée, se elides to s’ before est and stays before the auxiliary. Spoken French may omit ne, but practise the complete written construction here.
Negate the auxiliary
Imperfect formation
Take present nous minus -ons, then add -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient. Nous jouons gives je jouais; nous avons gives nous avions; nous faisons gives ils faisaient.
Être uses the exceptional stem ét-, giving j’étais and il était. Keep the subject and ending matched; je jouai is a different tense from je jouais.
Build the imperfect
Imperfect viewpoint
The imperfect can present a past description, habit, feeling or action in progress without viewing its completion: il faisait beau; je jouais le samedi.
Those meanings do not invariably require the imperfect. A bounded series can use the perfect: j’ai travaillé tous les jours cet été. Explain the viewpoint in its context rather than just spotting repeated action.
Viewpoint rather than a keyword
Both tenses in an account
Il pleuvait quand je suis arrivé/arrivée presents background rain and a completed arrival. Select arrivé or arrivée for the speaker’s agreement.
Samedi, il pleuvait. J’ai regardé un film. Le film était intéressant. J’ai préparé du thé. This invented account combines background and completed events without requiring personal disclosure.
An imagined Saturday
Time expressions
Hier is yesterday; la semaine dernière is last week; autrefois is formerly; d’habitude is usually. Read these expressions within the whole sentence.
Hier, il pleuvait and Hier, il a plu toute la journée use the same time expression with different viewpoints. No isolated marker mechanically decides the tense.
Understand the time phrase
Participle agreement
Non-pronominal être examples agree with their subjects: elle est allée; ils sont arrivés. Avoir does not agree with its subject in elle a mangé, but a preceding direct object can matter: les pommes qu’elle a mangées.
Pronominal agreement depends on the role of the pronoun and object: elle s’est lavée; elle s’est lavé les mains (direct object follows); elles se sont parlé (se is indirect). Using être is not sufficient to add subject agreement automatically.
Agreement needs the construction
Participle reference forms
The base masculine singular forms include parlé, fini, vendu, écrit and fait. A question requesting this reference form is different from one requesting agreement in a sentence.
Faite, finie or finis can be valid agreement forms in an appropriate context. Check the construction and reference before treating a different ending as an impossible French word.
Learn reference participles
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1.What is the base masculine singular past participle of parler?
Easy
Aparlé
Bparlu
Cparlir
Dparlis
2.What is the base masculine singular past participle of finir?
Easy
Afiné
Bfinu
Cfinis
Dfini
3.What is the base masculine singular past participle of vendre?
Easy
Avendi
Bvendis
Cvendu
Dvendé
4.What is the base masculine singular past participle of être?
Easy
Aeté
Bété
Cêté
Détu
5.What is the base masculine singular past participle of avoir?
Easy
Aeu
Bavu
Cavoir
Daué
6.What is the base masculine singular past participle of voir?
Easy
Avoi
Bvoié
Cvoit
Dvu
7.What is the base masculine singular past participle of boire?
Easy
Aboiré
Bboit
Cbu
Dboi
8.What is the base masculine singular past participle of lire?
Easy
Alit
Blu
Cli
Dlis
もっと問題
9.What is the base masculine singular past participle of écrire?
Easy
Aécrit
Bécrire
Cécri
Décru
10.What is the base masculine singular past participle of mettre?
Easy
Amettu
Bmett
Cmit
Dmis
11.Conjugate jouer in the imperfect with je.
Easy
Aje jouerai
Bje jouerais
Cje jouais
Dje jouai
12.Conjugate être in the imperfect with il.
Easy
Ail sera
Bil était
Cil étais
Dil serait
13.Conjugate avoir in the imperfect with nous.
Easy
Anous avions
Bnous avons
Cnous avions eu
Dnous aurons
14.Conjugate faire in the imperfect with ils.
Easy
Ails fesaient
Bils feront
Cils faisent
Dils faisaient
15.How do you say "I did not eat"?
Medium
AJe n'ai mangé pas
BJe ai ne pas mangé
CJe n'ai pas mangé
DJe ne pas ai mangé
16.How do you say "She went out"?
Medium
AElle va sortie
BElle est sortie
CElle a sorti
DElle est sorti
17.How do you say "They arrived"? (boys)
Medium
AIls sont arrivés
BIls ont arrivé
CIls sont arrivé
DIls sont arrivées
18.Translate “We went to the cinema”, using masculine plural agreement for nous.
Medium
ANous avons allé au cinéma
BNous sommes aller au cinéma
CNous sommes allez
DNous sommes allés au cinéma
19.Using masculine petit and the imperfect for a childhood habit, translate “When I was little, I used to play football”.
Medium
AQuand j'étais petit, j'ai jouais
BQuand j'étais petit je jouer
CQuand j'étais petit, je jouais au foot
DQuand je suis petit, j'ai joué
20.Choose the sentence with imperfect background rain and a completed arrival by a masculine singular speaker.
Medium
AIl pleuvait quand j'arrivé
BIl pleuvait quand je suis arrivé
CIl a plu quand j'arrivais
DIl pleut quand je suis arrivé
21.Which construction uses être as its auxiliary in the passé composé?
Medium
Apronominal constructions such as se laver
Bregular -er verbs
Cmodal verbs
Dall irregular verbs
22.In « Elle a mangé », does mangé agree with the subject elle?
Medium
Ayes always
Bonly for feminine
Conly for plural
Dno
23.In « Il pleuvait quand je suis arrivé », what viewpoint does il pleuvait express?
Medium
Ait is future
Bit is an order
Cit describes background weather
Dit is a completed event
24.In « Il pleuvait quand je suis arrivé », how is the arrival presented?
Medium
Ait is background
Bas a completed event in this narrative
Cit describes a habit
Dit describes the weather
25.Why does "elle est allée" end in -e?
Medium
Athe participle agrees with a feminine subject
Ballée is a noun
Cit is plural
Dit is a mistake
26.Why can the imperfect describe a past habit?
Medium
Ahabits are single events
Bhabits are future
Chabits are commands
Dit can present the habit without viewing its completion
27.Which expression means usually?
Easy
Atout à coup
Bla semaine dernière
Cd'habitude
Dhier soir
28.Which expression means yesterday?
Easy
Aquand j'étais petit
Bhier
Cd'habitude
Dautrefois
29.The perfect tense uses an auxiliary and a past participle.
Easy
True or false?
30.Aller takes avoir in the perfect.
Easy
True or false?
31.The imperfect can describe habits in the past.
Easy
True or false?
32.The past participle of prendre is pris.
Easy
True or false?
33.With être, the participle never agrees.
Medium
True or false?
34.Which verbs use être in the ordinary active intransitive perfect constructions taught here?
Medium
Aaller
Barriver
Cpartir
Drester
Emanger
35.Which are irregular participles?
Medium
Aété
Beu
Cfait
Dpris
Eparlé
36.Write a short imagined account of last weekend in French, using the perfect for an event and the imperfect for background. You may invent every detail.
