Formation du Passé Composé

How does French passé composé work?

The French passé composé most often in English is a simple past (I played), but it can also be a present perfect (I have played) or an emphatic past (I did play). The literary equivalent of the passé composé is the passé simple.

The words passé and composé mean ‘compound past’. Thus, the passé composé always has two parts:

1. the helping verb, also called ‘auxiliary’
2. the past participle of the chosen verb

There are only two possible auxiliaries in French ÊTRE or AVOIR. They are the ones carrying the conjugation. The second part of the compound past is the past participle. This one stays pretty much the same throughout all the conjugations.

AVOIR

j’ai + past participle

tu as + past participle

elle a + past participle

il a + past participle

on a + past participle

nous avons + past participle

vous avez + past participle

ils ont + past participle

elles ont + past participle

ÊTRE

je suis + past participle

tu es + past participle

elle est + past participle

il est + past participle

on est + past participle

nous sommes + past participle

vous êtes + past participle

ils sont + past participle

elles sont + past participle

In context

1. J’ai aimé la chanson.
   • I liked the song.
2. Tu as bu de l’eau glacée hier.
   • You drank ice water yesterday.
3. Elle a dit non.
   • She said no.
4. On a pris un café.
   • We had a cup of coffee.
5. Nous sommes allés au café.
   • We went to the café.
6. Vous avez découvert la vérité.
   • You discovered the truth.
7. Ils sont partis.
   • They left.

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