

(They chose the blue marker.)Ĥ) Vous _ (finir) vos devoirs. (We lost our homework.)ģ) Ils _ (choisir) la feutre bleue. (I counted up to a hundred.)Ģ) Nous _ (perdre) nos devoirs.

If in doubt, look at the list of motion verbs above.ġ) Je (J’) _ (compter) jusqu’à cent. Most will use the auxiliary verb avoir, but look out for verbs of motion or direction that might take the verb être. All verbs here conjugate in the past tense as regular -er, -ir, or -re verbs. Try putting together the past tense in the context of the following sentences by transforming the verb in parenthesis into the past tense. In fact, strictly speaking, there is no present perfect tense in French grammar they are merely conjugated in a similar fashion. Its meaning corresponds most closely to our simple past tense. The sentences above are translated into English as they are on the list above because the passé composé in French does not correspond to our present perfect tense. In English, this verbal form would be interpreted as present perfect tense, not past tense. Note also: “ on” literally translates to “one ” or “a person,” but is used here to imply “we.”)Īvid French students might notice that the sentences above literally translate to “I have finished,” “He has lost,” and “We have won” respectively. (Note: This is a common chant for a winning team and its fans at sports events like soccer games. Put the two parts together and you have the complete past tense of the verb: For -er verbs, take off the -er ending and add é:įor -ir verbs, take off the -ir ending and add i:įor -re verbs, take off the -re ending and add u: For simplicity’s sake, we’ll stick to regular, non-reflexive verbs here, and avoid verbs of motion.Ģ) Like the present tense for most verbs, the past participle is formed in a regular fashion for regular verbs. ( Learn the present tense conjugation of this verb, along with other irregular verbs) The past participle of verbs using the auxiliary verb être also vary depending on whether the subject is singular, plural, masculine, or feminine. These verbs use the present tense of the verb être.

These verbs, in order, mean to go, to come, to come back, to go up or to enter, and to go down or exit. The exception to this is reflexive verbs and verbs of motion, such as aller, venir, revenir, monter, descendre, etc. It is aptly named because it is composed ( composé) of two parts: the auxiliary verb ( le verbe auxiliaire), and the past participle ( le participe passé).ġ) The auxiliary verb is usually the verb “ avoir” (to have) conjugated in the present tense: The basic past tense in French, also known as the passé composé, is used to talk about events in the past. But what about what happened yesterday, last week, or last year? You can talk about things that are happening now.
Ir verb endings french passe compose how to#
So perhaps you know now how to conjugate French verbs in the present tense. Ready to try your hand at speaking about past events in French? Tutor Carol Beth L. shares the grammar you’ll need to know…
