{"id":119289,"date":"2023-07-20T19:03:11","date_gmt":"2023-07-20T23:03:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/irregular-past-participles-french\/"},"modified":"2025-02-17T08:51:14","modified_gmt":"2025-02-17T13:51:14","slug":"irregular-past-participles-french","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/french\/irregular-past-participles-french\/","title":{"rendered":"50 Common Irregular Past Participles in French"},"content":{"rendered":"

While past participles in French seem straightforward at first, irregular ones can throw a curveball.<\/p>\n

Below I’ve covered 50 of the most commonly used irregular past participles and shown you how to use them in various contexts, from the pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9<\/em> to adjectives and even as nouns.\u00a0Plus, I’ve included practical tips and exercises.<\/p>\n

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

<\/p>\n

What is a (Regular) Past Participle?<\/h2>\n

Unlike many other languages, French does not use a preterite tense to talk about the past, but rather a composed past tense: the pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

As its name suggests, the pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9<\/em> is made up of two elements: an auxiliary verb (avoir <\/em>[to have] or \u00eatre <\/em>[to be]<\/a>) and a past participle. (If you want to learn more about how the\u00a0pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9\u00a0<\/em>is formed, there is a guide for that<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

In most cases, the past participle is formed in a very predictable way:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t
Type of group<\/strong><\/th>Explanation<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Group 1<\/strong><\/td>For 1st group verbs like parler<\/em> (to speak), the root (parl-<\/em>) is combined with the ending \u2013\u00e9<\/em> to make the past participle parl\u00e9.<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Group 2<\/strong><\/td>For 2nd\u00a0group verbs like choisir<\/em> (to choose), the root (chois-<\/em>) is combined with the ending \u2013i<\/em> to make the past participle choisi.<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Group 3<\/strong><\/td>For 3rd\u00a0group verbs like descendre<\/em> (to descend, to go down), the root (descend-<\/em>) is combined with the ending \u2013u<\/em> to make the past participle descendu.<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Of course, some verbs do not fall into these regular groups. This is when you have to deal with irregular past participles.<\/p>\n

Frequently Used Irregular French Past Participles<\/h2>\n

French learners are used to encountering exceptions and irregular verbs<\/a>, but irregular past participles can be a little bit different. Some verbs that learners are used to seeing in the irregular category, like aller\u00a0<\/em>(to go), actually look like regular verbs here (the past participle of\u00a0aller\u00a0<\/em>is all\u00e9<\/em>).<\/p>\n

This list is your one-stop shop for 50 of the most common irregular past participles:<\/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\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\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\n\t\n\t
Verb<\/strong><\/th>Past participle<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Abstenir<\/em>\u00a0(to abstain)<\/td>abstenu<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Acqu\u00e9rir<\/em> (to acquire)<\/td>acquis<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Apprendre<\/em> (to learn)<\/td>appris<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Atteindre<\/em> (to attain)<\/td>atteint<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Asseoir<\/em> (to sit)<\/td>assis<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Avoir<\/em> (to have)<\/td>eu<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Boire<\/em> (to drink)<\/td>bu<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Comprendre<\/em> (to understand)<\/td>compris<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Conduire<\/em> (to drive)<\/td>conduit<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Conna\u00eetre<\/em> (to know)<\/td>connu<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Construire<\/em> (to build)<\/td>construit<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Courir<\/em> (to run)<\/td>couru<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Couvrir<\/em>\u00a0(to cover)<\/td>couvert<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Craindre<\/em>\u00a0(to fear)<\/td>craint<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Croire<\/em>\u00a0(to believe)<\/td>cru<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
D\u00e9cevoir<\/em>\u00a0(to deceive; to disappoint)<\/td>d\u00e9\u00e7u<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
D\u00e9couvrir<\/em>\u00a0(to discover)<\/td>d\u00e9couvert<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Devoir<\/em> (to have to)<\/td>d\u00fb<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dire<\/em> (to say)<\/td>dit<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00c9crire<\/em> (to write)<\/td>\u00e9crit<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00catre<\/em> (to be)<\/td>\u00e9t\u00e9<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Faire<\/em> (to do; to make)<\/td>fait<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Falloir<\/em> (to have to)<\/td>fallu<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Instruire<\/em> (to instruct)<\/td>instruit<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Joindre<\/em> (to join; to affix)<\/td>joint<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lire<\/em> (to read)<\/td>lu<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mettre<\/em> (to put)<\/td>mis<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mourir<\/em> (to die)<\/td>mort<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Na\u00eetre<\/em> (to be born)<\/td>n\u00e9<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Obtenir<\/em> (to obtain)<\/td>obtenu<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Offrir<\/em> (to offer)<\/td>offert<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ouvrir<\/em> (to open)<\/td>ouvert<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Peindre<\/em>\u00a0(to paint)<\/td>peint<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Permettre<\/em>\u00a0(to allow; to permit)<\/td>permis<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Plaire<\/em>\u00a0(to please)<\/td>plu<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pleuvoir<\/em>\u00a0(to rain)<\/td>plu<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Prendre<\/em>\u00a0(to take)<\/td>pris<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Produire<\/em>\u00a0(to produce)<\/td>produit<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pouvoir<\/em>\u00a0(to be able to)<\/td>pu<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Recevoir<\/em>\u00a0(to receive)<\/td>re\u00e7u<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
R\u00e9duire<\/em>\u00a0(to reduce)<\/td>r\u00e9duit<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rire<\/em>\u00a0(to laugh)<\/td>ri<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Savoir<\/em> (to know)<\/td>su<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Souffrir<\/em>\u00a0(to suffer)<\/td>souffert<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Suivre<\/em> (to follow)<\/td>suivi<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tenir<\/em>\u00a0(to hold)<\/td>tenu<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Vivre<\/em> (to live)<\/td>v\u00e9cu<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Valoir<\/em>\u00a0(to be worth)<\/td>valu<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Voir<\/em> (to see)<\/td>vu<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Vouloir<\/em> (to want)<\/td>voulu<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Using Irregular Past Participles<\/h2>\n

While the most common use of past participles is in composed past tenses such as the pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9<\/em> or pluperfect<\/a>, past participles can actually be used in other ways as well.<\/p>\n

Irregular Past Participles Used as Adjectives<\/h3>\n

For instance, many past participles\u2014both regular and irregular\u2014can also become adjectives. Take a look at the examples featuring irregular past participles below:<\/p>\n

En automne, les feuilles mortes<\/strong> tombent des arbres. <\/em>(In fall, dead<\/strong> leaves fall from trees.)<\/p>\n

Le ciel est un peu couvert<\/strong> aujourd\u2019hui. <\/em>(It\u2019s a bit cloudy today. [Literally: the sky is a bit covered<\/strong> today.])<\/p>\n

Veuillez trouver mon CV et ma lettre de motivation joints<\/strong> \u00e0 cet email. <\/em>(Please find my CV and cover letter attached<\/strong> to this email.)<\/p>\n

As you may have noticed with these examples, when the past participle is used as an adjective, like other adjectives, it agrees with the noun in number and gender<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Generally speaking, past participles only agree with the subject of the sentence when they are conjugated with \u00eatre. <\/em>This includes the \u201cDR MRS VANDERTRAMP<\/a>\u201d\u00a0list of verbs as well as all reflexive verbs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For example:<\/p>\n

La fille de Gemma est n\u00e9e<\/strong> hier. <\/em>(Gemma\u2019s daughter was<\/strong> born<\/strong> yesterday.)<\/p>\n

Je me suis regard\u00e9e<\/strong> dans la glace avant de partir \u00e0 l\u2019\u00e9cole. <\/em>(I looked<\/strong> at myself in the mirror before leaving for school.)<\/p>\n

To this list, however, we must add the case of past participles used as adjectives, like in the examples above or the further examples below:<\/p>\n

Cette pi\u00e8ce de th\u00e9\u00e2tre a \u00e9t\u00e9 \u00e9crite<\/strong> en 1671. <\/em>(This play was written<\/strong> in 1671.)<\/p>\n

La maison de Paul, construite<\/strong> l\u2019ann\u00e9e derni\u00e8re, a malheureusement pris feu. <\/em>(Paul\u2019s house, which was built<\/strong> last year, unfortunately caught fire.)<\/p>\n

Note:<\/strong>\u00a0Noun agreement can also happen when the past participle is used as a past participle\u2014but only when the object pre-poses it. Let\u2019s look at some examples:<\/p>\n

Marie a pris<\/strong> la pomme qui \u00e9tait sur le comptoir. <\/em>(Marie took<\/strong> the apple that was on the counter.)<\/p>\n

In this example, the past participle pre-poses the object\u2014in this case, pomme\u2014<\/em>so it doesn’t exhibit noun agreement.<\/p>\n

Laura a laiss\u00e9 une pomme sur le comptoir, et Marie l\u2019a prise<\/strong>. <\/em>(Laura left an apple on the counter, and Marie took<\/strong> it.)<\/p>\n

In this example, however, the object\u2014in this case, the l\u2019 <\/em>that represents the apple\u2014pre-poses the past participle. This means that the past participle, pris, <\/em>agrees with the object, pomme.<\/em><\/p>\n

Irregular Past Participles Used as Nouns<\/h3>\n

In some cases, a past participle can even become a noun linked to the original meaning of the verb.<\/p>\n

For the most part, this happens with the feminized form of the past participle, for example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Irregular Past Participle<\/strong><\/th>Explanation<\/strong><\/th>Example sentence<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Conduit<\/em><\/strong><\/td>Conduit<\/em>, the past participle of conduire<\/em> (to drive) becomes conduite<\/em> (behavior)<\/td>Sa conduite<\/strong> lors de la soir\u00e9e \u00e9tait impardonnable.<\/em>
\n(Her behavior<\/strong> at the party was inexcusable.)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Craint<\/em><\/strong><\/td>Craint<\/em>, the past participle of craindre<\/em> (to fear) becomes crainte<\/em> (fear)<\/td>La crainte<\/strong> de toute m\u00e8re est que quelque chose arrive \u00e0 ses enfants.<\/em>
\n(The fear<\/strong> of any mother is that something happen to her children.)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
D\u00e9couvert<\/em><\/strong><\/td>D\u00e9couvert<\/em>, the past participle of d\u00e9couvrir<\/em> (to discover) becomes d\u00e9couverte<\/em> (discovery)<\/td>Les arch\u00e9ologues ont fait une \u00e9norme d\u00e9couverte<\/strong> lundi.<\/em>
\n(The archaeologists made an enormous discovery<\/strong> Monday.)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mis<\/em><\/strong><\/td>Mis<\/em>, the past participle of mettre<\/em> (to put) becomes mise<\/em> (stake, as in gambling)<\/td>La mise<\/strong> est de 20 euros\u2014qui veut participer ?<\/em>
\n(The stakes<\/strong> are 20 euros\u2014who\u2019s in?)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mort<\/em><\/strong><\/td>Mort<\/em>, the past participle of mourir<\/em> (to die) becomes mort<\/em> (death)<\/td>La mort<\/strong> fait peur \u00e0 tout le monde.<\/em>
\n(Death<\/strong> scares everyone.)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

In other cases, however, the masculine form is used:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Irregular Past Participle<\/strong><\/th>Explanation<\/strong><\/th>Example sentence<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Joint<\/em><\/strong><\/td>Joint<\/em>, the past participle of joindre<\/em> (to join) also means seal, as in a bathroom<\/td>Il nous faut un nouveau joint<\/strong> pour la douche.<\/em>
\n(We need a new seal<\/strong> in the shower.)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Permis<\/em><\/strong><\/td>Permis<\/em>, the past participle of permettre<\/em> (to allow) also means permit<\/td>Il a obtenu son permis<\/strong> de conduire.<\/em>
\n(He got his driver\u2019s license<\/strong>.)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Produit<\/em><\/strong><\/td>Produit<\/em>, the past participle of produire<\/em> (to produce) also means product<\/td>Est-ce que tu as achet\u00e9 du produit<\/strong> pour laver le sol ?<\/em>
\n(Did you buy cleaning products<\/strong> to wash the floor?)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Re\u00e7u<\/em><\/strong><\/td>Re\u00e7u<\/em>, the past participle of recevoir<\/em> (to receive) also means receipt<\/td>Est-ce que vous d\u00e9sirez votre re\u00e7u<\/strong> ?<\/em>
\n(Would you like your receipt<\/strong>?)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Suivi<\/em><\/strong><\/td>Suivi<\/em>, the past participle of suivre<\/em> (to follow) also means follow-up<\/td>Je vous envoie le suivi<\/strong> de votre commande.<\/em>
\n(I\u2019ll send you your order follow-up<\/strong> [tracking information].)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

How to Learn Irregular Past Participles in French<\/h2>\n

In addition to using the list and examples above to learn irregular past participles, the best way to study them is simply to practice!<\/p>\n

Here are a few great ways to learn these oddities of the French language:<\/p>\n