Learn how to form the passé composé in French using the auxiliary verbs "avoir" and "être." This lesson covers key rules and examples, showing how to conjugate past actions with both auxiliaries. Understand when to use "avoir" with an unchanged past participle and when to use "être" with agreement in gender and number. Perfect for beginning French learners wanting to master past tense expressions.
- With the auxiliary avoir the past participle does not agree with the subject.
- With the auxiliary être, the past participle agrees with the subject.
| Avoir + Participe passé (Have + Past Participle) | Être + participe passé (Être + past participle) |
| J'ai + gagné (I have + won) | Je suis + allé (I am + gone) |
| Tu as + joué (You have + played) | Tu es + venu (You are + come) |
| Il a + couru (He has + run) | Elle est + partie (She is + left) |
| Nous avons + mangé (We have + eaten) | Nous sommes + sortis (We are + went out) |
| Vous avez + dit (You have + said) | Vous êtes + entrés (You are + entered) |
| Elles ont + pensé (They have + thought) | Elles sont + arrivées (They are + arrived) |
Exercise 1: Le passé composé avec "avoir" et "être"
Instruction: Fill in the correct word.
as gagné, as joué, a joué, a couru, avons gagné, avez couru, sont venus, suis allé
1.
Jouer :
Ma famille ... au rugby dimanche.
(My family played rugby on Sunday.)
2.
Courir :
Vous ... sur le terrain.
(You ran on the field.)
3.
Jouer :
Tu ... au tennis pendant dix ans.
(You played tennis for ten years.)
4.
Gagner :
Nous ... la compétition la plus importante.
(We have won the most important competition.)
5.
Courir :
Elle ... aussi vite que sa copine.
(She ran as fast as her friend.)
6.
Aller:
Je ... courir avec mes amis.
(I went running with my friends.)
7.
Gagner :
Tu ... tous tes matchs cette année.
(You have won all your matches this year.)
8.
Venir:
Tous tes amis ... jouer au foot avec toi.
(All your friends came to play football with you.)
Exercise 2: Multiple Choice
Instruction: Choose the correct solution
1. Tu ___ joué au football hier au stade.
(You ___ played football yesterday at the stadium.)2. Nous ___ allés à la piscine pour faire de la natation.
(We ___ went to the swimming pool to swim.)3. Elle ___ gagné un match de tennis la semaine dernière.
(She ___ won a tennis match last week.)4. Vous ___ couru rapidement jusqu'au terrain de rugby.
(You ___ ran quickly to the rugby field.)5. Ils ___ venus au stade pour regarder un match de basketball.
(They ___ come to the stadium to watch a basketball match.)6. Tu ___ joué au cyclisme ce week-end et tu as gagné.
(You ___ cycled this weekend and you won.)
