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Teaching guidelines +/- 15 minutes

Learn how to form and use the French past participle, a verb form essential for expressing completed actions and forming the passé composé with auxiliary verbs 'être' and 'avoir'. This lesson explains regular and irregular past participle endings with examples like 'mangé', 'fini', and 'bu', plus special forms of common verbs such as 'être', 'avoir', and 'faire'. Understand key differences between French and English past participles for better mastery of past tenses.
  1. The past participle is used to form the passé composé by adding the auxiliary être or avoir.
 Terminaisons (Endings)Exemples (Examples)
Réguliers (Regular)

-er-é

-ir-i

-re-u

MangerMangé

FinirFini

BoireBu

Irréguliers (Irregular)

-re-is

-re-it

-ir-ert

ApprendreAppris (Appris)

DireDit  (Said)

OffrirOffert (Offered)

Forme particulière (Particular form)

Être (To be)

Avoir (Have)

Faire (To do)

Été

Eu

Fait

Exercise 1: Multiple Choice

Instruction: Choose the correct solution

1. Nous avons ______ une table pour quatre personnes.

(We ______ a table for four people.)

2. Le serveur a ______ la carte des plats.

(The waiter ______ the menu.)

3. J'ai ______ une boisson et un dessert délicieux.

(I ______ a drink and a delicious dessert.)

4. Ils ont ______ le plat principal rapidement.

(They ______ the main course quickly.)

5. Le dessert a été ______ par le restaurant.

(The dessert was ______ by the restaurant.)

6. J'ai ______ un pourboire au serveur sympathique.

(I ______ a tip for the friendly waiter.)

The Past Participle in French

The past participle is a crucial verb form used to express completed actions. It is an essential part of forming the passé composé, one of the most common past tenses in French, by combining it with the auxiliary verbs être or avoir.

Regular Past Participles

French verbs are grouped into three main types based on their infinitive endings, each forming the past participle with specific endings:

  • -er verbs like manger become mangé
  • -ir verbs like finir become fini
  • -re verbs like boire become bu

Irregular Past Participles

Some verbs form their past participles irregularly, which must be memorized. Examples include:

  • Apprendre → appris
  • Dire → dit
  • Offrir → offert

Special Cases

Certain common verbs have unique past participles that are also irregular. Pay attention to:

  • Être → été
  • Avoir → eu
  • Faire → fait

Learning Highlights

This lesson covers both the formation and the usage of the past participle. You will learn how to recognize regular endings and familiarize yourself with important irregular forms. Examples provided include mangé (eaten), fini (finished), and bu (drunk), helping you understand real verbs in action.

Note on Usage and Translation Differences

In English, the past participle often looks similar to the past tense but is used with auxiliary verbs like have. French past participles are more complex due to gender and number agreements in some cases, especially when using être as the auxiliary (e.g., elle est allée). Also, some French past participles differ significantly from their English equivalents, so memorizing irregular forms is essential for fluency. Focus on connecting verbs you use daily with their past participle forms to build confidence.

Useful phrases to practice include "J'ai mangé" (I ate), "Il a fini" (He finished), and "Nous avons offert" (We offered), which will help you start expressing past events naturally in French.

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Azéline Perrin

Bachelor Degree in Applied Foreign Languages

Université de Lorraine

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Last Updated:

Thursday, 26/06/2025 18:36