{"id":118447,"date":"2023-07-21T20:40:57","date_gmt":"2023-07-22T00:40:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/dr-mrs-vandertramp-verbs\/"},"modified":"2025-02-17T10:03:19","modified_gmt":"2025-02-17T15:03:19","slug":"dr-mrs-vandertramp-verbs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/french\/dr-mrs-vandertramp-verbs\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dr. And Mrs. Vandertramp Verbs for Using \u201cAvoir\u201d or \u201c\u00catre\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the trickiest\u2014but most important\u2014exceptions in French grammar involves the verbs that pair with \u00eatre<\/em> instead of avoir<\/em> in the pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9.<\/em> These are commonly remembered using the mnemonic “Dr. and Mrs. Vandertramp,” a tool designed to make an essential grammar rule more accessible.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll break down this mnemonic, explain its quirks and share memory strategies to help you conquer this aspect of French grammar.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What Are Vandertramp Verbs<\/h2>\n

First off, let’s get one thing straight: if you ask any French person about Vandertramp verbs, they’ll probably look at you quite quizzically.<\/p>\n

The Dr. Mrs. Vandertramp mnemonic is used exclusively by foreign language learners to remember an essential French grammar exception. But to understand the exception, you must first understand the rule.<\/p>\n

Dr. Mrs. Vandertramp verbs apply to the pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9<\/strong>,\u00a0<\/em>a French verb tense used to talk about the past.<\/p>\n

As its name (which translates to “composed past”) suggests, the pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>is made up of two parts: the auxiliary verb<\/strong><\/a> and the past participle of the lexical verb<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Too much grammar-ese? Let’s break it down further.<\/p>\n

The auxiliary verb is also sometimes known as the “helping” verb in English. It’s a verb that doesn’t have any lexical meaning but rather performs a grammatical function. In the case of the\u00a0pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9<\/em>, its presence lets the listener know that the verb phrase is in the past. The lexical verb, on the other hand, is the verb that brings actual meaning to the sentence.<\/p>\n

For example:<\/p>\n

J’ai parl\u00e9<\/strong> avec ma m\u00e8re. <\/em>(I spoke with my mother.)<\/p>\n

In this sentence, the auxiliary verb is avoir<\/strong><\/em> (to have)\u2014the one conjugated<\/a> in the simple present tense<\/a>. The lexical verb is parler <\/strong><\/em>(to speak) and the past participle of the lexical verb (parl\u00e9<\/em><\/strong>) is used.<\/p>\n

Past Participle Overview<\/h3>\n

Past participles generally follow a simple rule. For verbs ending in -er<\/strong><\/em>, -ir<\/strong><\/em> and -re<\/strong><\/em>, the past participle is made by adding the suffix -\u00e9<\/em><\/strong>, -i<\/em><\/strong> and -u<\/em><\/strong> to the root, respectively.<\/p>\n

For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
French Verbs<\/th>Past Participle Form<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
parler<\/strong><\/em> <\/a>\n (to speak)<\/td> parl\u00e9<\/strong><\/em> <\/a>\n (spoken)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
dessiner<\/strong><\/em> <\/a>\n (to draw)<\/td> dessin\u00e9<\/strong><\/em> <\/a>\n (drawn)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
tomber<\/strong><\/em> <\/a>\n (to fall)<\/td> tomb\u00e9<\/strong><\/em> <\/a>\n (fallen)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
choisir<\/strong><\/em> <\/a>\n \u00a0(to choose)<\/td> choisi<\/strong><\/em> <\/a>\n (chosen)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
finir<\/strong><\/em> <\/a>\n (to finish)<\/td> fini<\/strong><\/em> <\/a>\n (finished)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
p\u00e2lir<\/strong><\/em> <\/a>\n \u00a0(to become pale)<\/td> p\u00e2li<\/strong><\/em> <\/a>\n (paled)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
descendre<\/strong><\/em> <\/a>\n (to go down)<\/td> descendu<\/strong><\/em> <\/a>\n (went down)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
rendre<\/strong><\/em> <\/a>\n (to return)<\/td> rendu<\/strong><\/em> <\/a>\n (returned)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
fendre<\/strong><\/em> <\/a>\n (to split)<\/td> fendu<\/strong><\/em> <\/a>\n (split)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

There are, of course, exceptions to this. Here are a few of the most common irregular past participles<\/a>:<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
French Verbs<\/th>Irregular Past Participle Form<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
devoir<\/em> <\/a>\n (to have to)<\/td> d\u00fb<\/em><\/strong> <\/a>\n (should)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
avoir<\/em> <\/a>\n (to have)<\/td> eu<\/em><\/strong> <\/a>\n (had)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
pouvoir<\/em> <\/a>\n (to be able to)<\/td> pu<\/em><\/strong> <\/a>\n (could)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
faire<\/em> <\/a>\n (to do\/make)<\/td> fait<\/em><\/strong> <\/a>\n (did)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
savoir<\/em> <\/a>\n (to know)<\/td> su<\/em><\/strong> <\/a>\n (known)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
conna\u00eetre<\/em> <\/a>\n (to know)<\/td> connu<\/em><\/strong> <\/a>\n (known)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
voir<\/em> <\/a>\n (to see)<\/td> vu<\/em><\/strong> <\/a>\n (seen)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
boire<\/em> <\/a>\n (to drink)<\/td> bu<\/em><\/strong> <\/a>\n (drank)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
vouloir<\/em> <\/a>\n (to want)<\/td> voulu<\/em><\/strong> <\/a>\n (wanted)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Auxiliary Verbs<\/h3>\n

In most cases, the auxiliary verb used in the\u00a0pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9 <\/em>is avoir<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/em>The verb is conjugated in the present according to the subject pronoun<\/a> being used. However, in certain exceptional cases\u00a0\u00eatre<\/em> <\/strong>(to be) is used\u2014and that’s where our friends the Vandertramps come in.<\/p>\n

Dr. Mrs. Vandertramp as a Mnemonic Device<\/h2>\n

Dr. Mrs. Vandertramp is a mnemonic device used to remember which verbs are conjugated with\u00a0\u00eatre<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>as opposed to\u00a0avoir<\/em>\u00a0in the pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9<\/em>.\u00a0<\/em>These are the verbs associated with the mnemonic:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Dr. Mrs. Vandertramp Verbs<\/th>English Translation<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
D<\/strong>evenir<\/em> <\/a>\n <\/td>to become<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
R<\/strong>evenir<\/em> <\/a>\n <\/td>to come back<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
M<\/strong>onter<\/em> <\/a>\n <\/td>to go up<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
R<\/strong>etourner<\/em> <\/a>\n <\/td>to return<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
S<\/strong>ortir<\/em> <\/a>\n <\/td>to go out<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
V<\/strong>enir<\/em> <\/a>\n <\/td>to come<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
A<\/strong>ller<\/em> <\/a>\n <\/td>to go<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
N<\/strong>a\u00eetre<\/em> <\/a>\n <\/td>to be born<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
D<\/strong>escendre<\/em> <\/a>\n <\/td>to go down<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
E<\/strong>ntrer<\/em> <\/a>\n <\/td>to enter<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
R<\/strong>entrer<\/em> <\/a>\n <\/td>to go home\/to return<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
T<\/strong>omber<\/em> <\/a>\n <\/td>to fall<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
R<\/strong>ester<\/em> <\/a>\n <\/td>to remain<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
A<\/strong>rriver<\/em> <\/a>\n <\/td>to arrive<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
M<\/strong>ourir<\/em> <\/a>\n <\/td>to die<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
P<\/strong>artir<\/em> <\/a>\n <\/td>to leave<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

A lot of these verbs are similar in meaning. This video from our YouTube channel<\/a> should help clear up any confusion between some of the verbs.<\/p>\n

<\/lite-youtube><\/p>\n

For many, the easiest way to learn these verbs is to simply memorize the phrase, filling each verb in next to the appropriate letter and using the mnemonic as a guide.<\/p>\n

However, there are other ways to memorize these verbs that you may prefer.<\/p>\n

The House Mnemonic<\/h3>\n

This is a different mnemonic device used to remember the Dr. Mrs. Vandertramp verbs that involves drawing a house. Draw a house with a door, stairs and windows, then label it with the \u00eatre<\/em> verbs. This becomes a circuit.<\/p>\n

First, someone\u00a0arrives at the house (arriver)<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/em>He has come (venir)<\/em><\/strong> to the house. Then he enters\u00a0(entrer)<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>the house and goes up the stairs (monter)<\/em><\/strong>. Then he goes downstairs (descendre)<\/em><\/strong>. Then he returns upstairs (retourner)<\/em><\/strong> and falls down the stairs (tomber)<\/em><\/strong>. He remains in the house for a bit (rester)<\/em><\/strong> before deciding to leave (partir)<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/i>He tries the door, but sees that it’s locked, so he goes out (sortir)<\/em><\/strong> the window. And then he goes\u00a0(aller)<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>on his way.<\/p>\n

This mnemonic also includes one verb that doesn’t feature in the Vandertramp mnemonic, passer par <\/strong><\/em>(pass by).\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

When\u00a0passer <\/i><\/strong>(to pass) is used without the preposition\u00a0par<\/em><\/strong> (by), it uses\u00a0avoir<\/em><\/strong>. However, when\u00a0par<\/em>\u00a0is added,\u00a0passer<\/em>\u00a0takes\u00a0\u00eatre<\/em><\/strong>, and the same is true with other prepositions.<\/p>\n

For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t
Passer<\/em> With Avoir<\/em><\/th>Passer<\/em> With \u00catre<\/em><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
J\u2019ai pass\u00e9<\/strong> un bon moment hier soir.<\/em>
\n <\/a>\n
\n(I had a good time last night.)<\/td>		 Je suis pass\u00e9<\/strong> par la petite rue derri\u00e8re chez toi.<\/em>
\n <\/a>\n
\n(I passed by\/via the little road behind your house.)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
J\u2019ai pass\u00e9<\/strong> la compote de pommes dans une passoire. <\/em>
\n <\/a>\n
\n(I passed the applesauce through a strainer.)<\/td>		 Je suis pass\u00e9<\/strong> devant la biblioth\u00e8que.<\/em>
\n <\/a>\n
\n(I passed by the library.)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
J\u2019ai pass\u00e9<\/strong> le pain \u00e0 Herv\u00e9.<\/em>
\n <\/a>\n
\n(I passed the bread to Herv\u00e9.)<\/td>		 Je suis pass\u00e9<\/strong> au supermarch\u00e9.<\/em>
\n <\/a>\n
\n(I went to the supermarket.)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

While the mnemonic doesn’t include all of the prepositions,\u00a0passer par <\/em><\/strong>or\u00a0passer devant <\/em><\/strong>is easily inserted into the house circuit (for example,\u00a0passer devant\u00a0<\/em>by the window or\u00a0passer par\u00a0<\/em>in the kitchen). This makes it easy to remember that every time passer\u00a0<\/em>is used with a preposition<\/strong>, it becomes one of the members of the house verbs.<\/p>\n

With this mnemonic, the derivatives (devenir, revenir, rentrer)<\/em><\/strong> as well as the beginning and end-of-life verbs (na\u00eetre, mourir)<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0must be memorized and remembered separately. This is the mnemonic preferred by most French mother tongue learners, as it’s a very visual way of learning.<\/p>\n

Exceptions to the Vandertramp Rule<\/h2>\n

It wouldn’t be a French grammar rule without a few exceptions. You’ll see certain Dr. Mrs. Vandertramp verbs used with the auxiliary\u00a0<\/strong>avoir<\/strong>,\u00a0<\/em>and this is not necessarily a mistake\u2014a change in auxiliary can reflect a change in the meaning of the verb.<\/p>\n

For example, even though sortir <\/em><\/strong><\/a>is a Vandertramp verb, you can see the sentence J’ai sorti<\/strong> les poubelles<\/em>, meaning “I took out the trash.”<\/p>\n

Here are a few other such examples:<\/p>\n

J’ai mont\u00e9<\/strong> les courses jusqu’au troisi\u00e8me \u00e9tage. <\/em>(I carried the groceries up to the third floor.)<\/p>\n

J’ai retourn\u00e9<\/strong> mon T-shirt. <\/em>(I turned my T-shirt inside out.)<\/p>\n

J’ai sorti<\/strong> le chien. <\/em>(I took the dog outside.)<\/p>\n

J’ai descendu<\/strong> les bouteilles au recyclage. <\/em>(I took the bottles down to the recycling bin.)<\/p>\n

J’ai rentr\u00e9<\/strong> les donn\u00e9es dans le tableau. <\/em>(I entered the data into the table.)<\/p>\n

The reason for these exceptions is a bit complex\u2014you may just want to remember that when the Vandertramp verbs are transitive (i.e., they take a direct object<\/a>), they are conjugated in the past with\u00a0avoir\u00a0<\/em>instead of\u00a0\u00eatre.<\/em><\/p>\n

Exercise Bank<\/h2>\n

Of course, the best way to get a handle on these somewhat tricky verbs is to try them out. Here are some of our favorite exercises using the Vandertramp verbs:<\/p>\n