Agreement with être passé composé: Everything You Need to Know
When it comes to the passé composé, it can be a tricky tense to master in French. And when you add in the agreement with the auxiliary verb être, it becomes even more complex. In this article, we`ll break down everything you need to know about agreement with être passé composé.
What is the passé composé?
First, let`s review what the passé composé is. The passé composé is a compound tense that is used to talk about completed actions in the past. It is formed using an auxiliary verb (either avoir or être) and the past participle of the main verb.
For example:
J`ai mangé (I ate)
Tu as parlé (You spoke)
Il est allé (He went)
When to use être as an auxiliary verb?
The auxiliary verb être is used when the main verb expresses movement or a change of state. Some common verbs that use être in the passé composé include:
aller (to go)
arriver (to arrive)
partir (to leave)
venir (to come)
naître (to be born)
mourir (to die)
For example:
Je suis allé en France (I went to France)
Elle est venue me voir (She came to see me)
Nous sommes nés en été (We were born in the summer)
Agreement with être passé composé
When the auxiliary verb être is used in the passé composé, the past participle must agree with the subject in gender and number. This means that if the subject is masculine singular, the past participle must be masculine singular, and so on.
For example:
Je suis allé (I went) – masculine singular
Elle est allée (She went) – feminine singular
Nous sommes allés (We went) – masculine plural
Elles sont allées (They went) – feminine plural
Note: In compound tenses using avoir, the past participle does not agree with the subject in gender and number, only in cases like direct object pronouns.
Exceptions to agreement with être passé composé
There are a few exceptions to the agreement with être passé composé. They are:
1. Reflexive verbs
When using reflexive verbs in the passé composé, the past participle agrees with the subject pronoun, not the reflexive pronoun.
For example:
Je me suis lavé (I washed myself) – masculine singular
Elle s`est lavée (She washed herself) – feminine singular
Nous nous sommes lavés (We washed ourselves) – masculine plural
Elles se sont lavées (They washed themselves) – feminine plural
2. Verbs followed by a direct object
When using verbs that are followed by a direct object in the passé composé, the past participle agrees with the direct object if it comes before the verb.
For example:
Le livre que j`ai lu (The book that I read) – masculine singular
Les fleurs que j`ai achetées (The flowers that I bought) – feminine plural
3. Verbs that express a state of being
When using verbs that express a state of being in the passé composé, such as être, rester, or demeurer, the past participle does not agree with the subject.
For example:
Elle est restée à la maison (She stayed at home)
Nous sommes demeurés amis (We remained friends)
In conclusion, agreement with être passé composé can be a challenging concept to master in French. Make sure to pay attention to the subject`s gender and number when using être as an auxiliary verb, but keep in mind the exceptions mentioned above. With practice and patience, you`ll be able to use this tense with ease.