Reference · module 7
What I did
Everything this module explains, on one page.
Passé composé with avoir
Say what you did, using the everyday past tense.
- The passé composé is the past tense of conversation. It has two parts: avoir in the present plus a past participle. J'ai mangé — I ate, literally I have eaten.
- For -er verbs the participle ends in -é: parler → parlé, regarder → regardé, travailler → travaillé. It sounds exactly like the infinitive, so listen for avoir.
- Time words set the scene: hier — yesterday, ce matin — this morning, le week-end dernier — last weekend, il y a deux jours — two days ago.
The mistake you are about to make
Hier je mangé une pizza.
Hier j'ai mangé une pizza.
English ate is one word, so the helper verb gets dropped. The passé composé always needs avoir: j'ai mangé.
Irregular participles
Use the most common irregular past participles.
- The most used verbs have irregular participles, and they simply have to be learned: faire → fait, prendre → pris, mettre → mis, dire → dit, écrire → écrit.
- Three short ones cause trouble: avoir → eu, être → été, voir → vu. J'ai eu de la chance — I was lucky; j'ai été malade — I was ill; j'ai vu Paul — I saw Paul.
- Many -ir verbs end in -i: finir → fini, choisir → choisi, dormir → dormi. So j'ai fini means I finished, and j'ai bien dormi means I slept well.
The mistake you are about to make
J'ai prendu le train.
J'ai pris le train.
Regular patterns tempt a regular form, like English taked. The common verbs are irregular: pris, fait, vu.
Negative past
Say what you did not do.
- In the passé composé, ne … pas wraps avoir, not the participle: je n'ai pas mangé. The participle comes after pas.
- Other negatives take the same place: je n'ai jamais vu Paris — I have never seen Paris; il n'a rien dit — he said nothing.
- Questions work as in the present: Tu as fini ? with a rising voice, or Est-ce que tu as fini ? Answer yes with oui and a full sentence: oui, j'ai fini.
The mistake you are about to make
Je n'ai mangé pas.
Je n'ai pas mangé.
The meaning sits in mangé, so pas drifts after it. Ne … pas wraps the helper verb avoir.