{"id":117583,"date":"2023-05-02T11:05:26","date_gmt":"2023-05-02T15:05:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/french-past-tense\/"},"modified":"2025-02-09T04:38:57","modified_gmt":"2025-02-09T09:38:57","slug":"french-past-tense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/french\/french-past-tense\/","title":{"rendered":"French Past Tense: A Simple Guide to Forming and Using It"},"content":{"rendered":"

The French past tense pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9<\/em> is used to talk about things that have already happened. But there are actually four main French past tenses, each used for different time frames in the past.<\/p>\n

In this article, I’ll explain everything you need to know to form and use the French past tense.
\n<\/strong>[fluentu-toc]
\n<\/p>\n

How to Form le Pass\u00e9 Compos\u00e9<\/em><\/h2>\n

Le pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9\u00a0<\/em>is a compound verb tense<\/strong> and it’s made of two parts.<\/p>\n

The first is called the\u00a0auxiliary verb,<\/strong> or helping verb, and it’s the conjugated form of either avoir\u00a0<\/em>or\u00a0\u00eatre<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

The second is called the past participle, <\/strong>which is\u00a0a verb form that appears in both English and French.\u00a0In English, the past participle typically ends in “-ed,” as in “walked”\u00a0<\/em>or “opened.”\u00a0<\/em>In French, the typical past participle endings are -\u00e9, -i<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0-u<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In English and French alike, the past participle can denote a past or completed action (e.g., “Jean opened<\/strong> the door”), but that’s not all. It can also be used to form compound tenses (“Jean had<\/strong> opened<\/strong> the door”) in the passive voice (“The door was opened by<\/strong> Jean”) and sometimes as an adjective (“The opened<\/strong>\u00a0door allows cold air to enter the room”).<\/p>\n

It’s created by replacing the last two letters of the verb’s infinitive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Using avoir<\/em><\/h3>\n

You’ll need to conjugate your helping verb to match whoever is being spoken about. Here are the conjugations for avoir<\/em><\/strong> in case you need a refresher:<\/p>\n

J‘ai<\/strong>\u00a0 <\/em> (I have)
\nTu as\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0(You have)
\nIl a<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0(He\/she has)
\nNous avons\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0(We have)
\nVous avez\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0(You have)
\nIls ont<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0(They have)<\/p>\n

Using \u00eatre:<\/em> VANDERTRAMP<\/strong> verbs<\/h3>\n

Most verbs conjugate with\u00a0avoir<\/em>, but all reflexive verbs\u2014ie. se laver<\/em> (to wash\u00a0oneself),\u00a0se figurer<\/em> (to imagine)\u2014conjugate with \u00eatre<\/em>. There are also a number of verbs called\u00a0dr. mrs. Vandertramp<\/em> verbs<\/a> that conjugate with\u00a0\u00eatre.<\/em><\/p>\n

Here’s a list of the most common\u00a0\u00eatre\u00a0<\/em>verbs, their past participles and their definitions. Just remember the fun little mnemonic:\u00a0DR.\u00a0<\/strong>&\u00a0MRS. VANDERTRAMP.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

D<\/b>evenir<\/em> (to become) –\u00a0devenu<\/strong>*<\/em>
\nR<\/b>evenir<\/em> (to return) –\u00a0revenu<\/strong>*<\/em><\/p>\n

M<\/b>onter <\/em>(to go up, ascend) – mont\u00e9<\/strong><\/b><\/em>
\nR<\/b>ester<\/em> (to stay) –\u00a0rest\u00e9<\/strong>
\n<\/em>S<\/b>ortir<\/em> (to come out) –\u00a0sorti<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

V<\/b>enir <\/em>(to come) –\u00a0venu<\/strong>*<\/b><\/em>
\nA<\/b>ller<\/em> (to go) – all\u00e9<\/strong><\/b><\/em>
\nN<\/b>a\u00eetre<\/em> (to be born) – n\u00e9<\/strong>*<\/b><\/em>
\nD<\/b>escendre <\/em>(to go down, descend) – descendu<\/strong><\/b><\/em>
\nE<\/b>ntrer<\/em> (to enter) – entr\u00e9<\/strong><\/b><\/em>
\nR<\/b>entrer<\/em> (to return) – rentr\u00e9<\/strong><\/b><\/em>
\nT<\/b>omber<\/em> (to fall) – tomb\u00e9<\/strong><\/b><\/em>
\nR<\/b>etourner <\/em>\u00a0(to go back) – retourn\u00e9<\/strong><\/b><\/em>
\nA<\/b>rriver<\/em> (to arrive) – arriv\u00e9<\/strong><\/b><\/em>
\nM<\/b>ourir <\/em>\u00a0(to die) – mort<\/strong>*<\/b><\/em>
\nP<\/b>artir<\/em> (to leave) – parti<\/strong>*<\/em><\/p>\n

You may have noticed that with the exception of\u00a0na\u00eetre\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0mourir,\u00a0<\/em>all of these verbs are movement verbs: going, coming, arriving, leaving, etc. Keep this in mind when you’re rattling your brain to remember which helping verb you need.<\/p>\n

Rejoice, because with a few exceptions, these\u00a0\u00eatre\u00a0<\/em>verbs are regular. Those with asterisks are the irregular ones you’ll need to remember.<\/p>\n

Verbs that take \u00eatre\u00a0<\/i>involve one more step. After conjugating with your helping verb, you add your past participle in the mix, just like before, but this time, you agree the past participle with your subject:<\/strong><\/p>\n