A2Unit 1 of the A2 course · « Le week-end dernier »
The passé composé is the everyday past tense in French: « j'ai mangé », « je suis allée ». This page shows how it's built with avoir or être, the irregular participles to learn, and when the participle agrees.
By the end of this unit you can: tell what you did with the passé composé.
To say what you did, use avoir in the present (j'ai, tu as, il a, nous avons, vous avez, ils ont) plus a past participle. For -er verbs, swap -er for -é: manger → mangé. One French form covers both « I ate » and « I have eaten ».
Most verbs ending in -ir just drop the r: finir → fini. Most verbs ending in -re swap -re for -u: attendre → attendu.
The most common verbs have their own past participles. Learn them in little groups: vu, bu, lu and eu rhyme; then fait, pris and été.
Avoir and être both use avoir as their helper: j'ai eu, j'ai été. Don't be thrown by the spelling: eu sounds like the French letter u.
About fifteen verbs, mostly about moving or changing state, use être instead of avoir. English speakers remember them as DR MRS VANDERTRAMP: devenir, revenir, monter, rentrer, sortir, venir, aller, naître, descendre, entrer, retourner, tomber, rester, arriver, mourir, partir.
With être, the past participle behaves like an adjective: add -e for a woman and -s for a plural. You usually can't hear it, but you must write it.
Time words usually go at the start or the end of the sentence. Il y a followed by a length of time means « ago ».
In the passé composé, ne… pas goes around avoir or être, not around the participle. Ne becomes n' before a vowel.
Camila is a Brazilian student in Lyon. On Monday morning, her classmate Jules asks about her weekend. Listen and answer.
Tap 🔊 to hear each one, recorded by a native-sounding French voice.
| Listen | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| j'ai mangéHier, j'ai mangé du poulet yassa. (Yesterday I ate chicken yassa.) | I ate / I have eaten | |
| j'ai regardé | I watched | |
| j'ai travaillé | I worked | |
| on a dansé | we dancedOn is the everyday way to say we. It takes the il / elle form: on a. | |
| j'ai fini | I finishedMost -ir verbs, like finir and choisir, end in -i. | |
| j'ai attendu | I waited (for)Most -re verbs, like attendre and vendre, end in -u. No word for « for »: j'ai attendu le bus. | |
| tu as passé un bon week-end ? | did you have a good weekend? |
| Listen | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| qu'est-ce que tu as fait ? | what did you do?Formal: Qu'est-ce que vous avez fait ? | |
| j'ai faitJ'ai fait la cuisine. (I did the cooking.) | I did / I madeFrom faire. | |
| j'ai pris | I took / I had (food, drink)From prendre. Also for transport: j'ai pris le train. | |
| j'ai vu | I sawFrom voir. | |
| j'ai bu | I drankFrom boire. | |
| j'ai lu | I read (past)From lire. Vu, bu and lu all rhyme. | |
| j'ai euJ'ai eu un examen lundi. (I had an exam on Monday.) | I hadFrom avoir. Eu is said like the French letter u. | |
| j'ai étéJ'ai été malade. (I was ill.) | I was / I have beenFrom être. Être itself uses avoir in the passé composé. |
| Listen | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| je suis allé / alléeJe suis allé à Paris. (I went to Paris.) | I wentAller takes être. A woman writes allée. Both sound the same. | |
| je suis venu / venue | I came | |
| je suis arrivé / arrivée | I arrived | |
| je suis parti / partie | I left | |
| je suis sorti / sortie | I went out | |
| je suis resté / restée | I stayedRester means to stay, not to rest. To rest is se reposer. | |
| je suis rentré / rentrée | I came home / I went back | |
| je suis né / néeJe suis née à Fort-de-France. (I was born in Fort-de-France (said by a woman).) | I was born | |
| nous sommes allés | we wentFor a plural, add an s: allés. For a group of only women: allées. |
| Listen | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| hier | yesterday | |
| hier soir | last night / yesterday evening | |
| le week-end dernier | last weekendDernier comes after the noun and agrees: la semaine dernière. | |
| la semaine dernière | last week | |
| l'année dernière | last year | |
| il y a…Je suis arrivé il y a trois jours. (I arrived three days ago.) | …agoBefore a length of time, il y a means ago. | |
| je n'ai pas…Je n'ai pas mangé. (I didn't eat.) | I didn't… | |
| je ne suis pas…Je ne suis pas sorti. (I didn't go out.) | I didn't… (with être verbs) |
This unit is part of French Ultimate's A2 course: 5 short lessons with an animated video each, speaking and listening practice, a reading and an end-of-unit test.
Start the lessons free