Introduction to the passé composé
The passé composé is a compound past tense used in French to express actions that were completed in the past. It is one of the most commonly used past tenses in French, especially in spoken language. Of the past tenses in French, this is the one most used. The Passé Composé is used to describe specific actions or events that happened and were completed in the past. It’s often used for actions that occurred at a specific point in time or for a limited duration. So how to conjugate it? Luckily, this is where French verb conjugation gets easy.
Formation of the passé composé
Passé composé = present tense of avoir or être + the past participle of the main verb
For example:
- J’ai aimé
- I have loved
Which auxiliary verb to use?
For most verbs, the auxiliary verb used in the Passé Composé is avoir (to have). For a select group of verbs, primarily intransitive verbs that express motion or a change of state, the auxiliary verb used is être (to be). Examples are aller (to go), venir (to come), arriver (to arrive) and partir (to leave). And as a helpful reminder the present tense conjugation for être and avoir
| Avoir (To have) | Être (To be) | |
| Je | ai | suis |
| Tu | as | es |
| Il/Elle/On | a | est |
| Nous | avons | sommes |
| Vous | avez | êtes |
| Ils/Elles | ont | sont |
How to make the past participle?
The past participle is the conjugated form of the verb that expresses the action’s completion. It is very simple to make. Regular verbs form their past participle by adding “-é” for -er verbs, “-i” for -ir verbs, and “-u” for -re verbs. Irregular verbs have unique past participle forms that need to be memorized.
| Parler (To speak) | Manger (To eat) | Aimer (To love) | |
| Past participle | parlé | mangé | aimé |
| Finir (To finish) | Choisir (To choose) | Établir (To establish) | |
| Past participle | fini | choisi | établi |
| Répondre (To answer) | Vendre (to sell) | Attendre (to wait) | |
| Past participle | repondu | vendu | attendu |
More examples of the passé compose
- J’ai mangé
- I ate
In this example, ai is the present tense conjugation of the auxiliary verb avoir and mangé is the past participle of the verb manger (to eat).
- J’ai répondu à toutes les questions
- I answered all the questions
- Elle a vendu sa voiture hier
- She sold her car yesterday
- Nous avons attendu le train pendant une heure.
- We waited for the train for an hour
- Ils ont fini leurs devoirs avant le dîner
- They finished their homework before dinner
- Tu as choisi le bon chemin
- You chose the right path
- Le gouvernement a établi de nouvelles règles pour la sécurité routière
- The government established new rules for road safety
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