LE PASSÉ COMPOSÉ (1)
A. Le passé composé with avoir. / Regular Verbs
The passé composé (p/c) is used to express an action completed in the past. The p/c of most verbs consists of the present tense form of the auxiliary* verb avoir followed by the past participle of the conjugated verb.
*auxiliary verb is also called or helping verb.
Part #1 Part #2
¯ ¯
avoir + past participle
(conjugated to the subjet) (of the verb)
2 distinct parts to form the passé composé
Let’s have a look at the verb parler (to speak) in the p/c.
parler = infinitive
parlé = past participle
PARLER
Singular / PluralFirst person / J’ ai parlé / Nous avons parlé
Second person / Tu as parlé / Vous avez parlé
Third person / Il / elle a parlé / Ils / elles ont parlé
In English depending on the circumstances, you would have 2 possible translations.
J’ai parlé = I spoke / I did speak (preterit)
I have spoken (present perfect)
· The past participle of a regular verb is formed by replacing the infinitive ending by the appropriate past participle ending.
-er → -é / -ir → -i / -re → -uparler → parlé / finir → fini / vendre → vendu
B. Negative form.
The negative form of the p/c is formed by placing ne (or n’) before the conjugated form of avoir and pas (or most other negative words) after it.
(In other words, sandwich the helping verb avoir with ne…….pas)
PARLER
Singular / PluralFirst person / Je n’ ai pas parlé / Nous n’ avons pas parlé
Second person / Tu n’ as pas parlé / Vous n’ avez pas parlé
Third person / Il / elle n’ a pas parlé / Ils / elles n’ ont pas parlé
In English depending on the circumstances, you would have 2 possible translations.
Je n’ai pas parlé = I didn’t speak / I did speak (preterit)
I haven’t spoken / I have not spoken (present perfect)
C. Questions (interrogative form).
There are 3 ways to ask a question using the passé composé:
1) Intonation.
Just raise your voice at the end of a regular sentence.
Tu as mangé au restaurant? Have you eaten at the restaurant?
Did you eat at the restaurant?
2) Est-ce que….
Just add Est-ce que or a question word followed by est-ce que
Est-ce que tu as mangé au restaurant? Have you eaten at the restaurant?
Did you eat at the restaurant?
Où est-ce que tu as mangé? Where have you eaten? Where did you eat?
3) Inversion
When inversion is used to ask a question in passé composé, the subject pronoun and the auxiliary verb are inverted.
Avez-vous préparé votre leçon? Have you prepared your lesson?
Did you prepare your lesson?
In negative questions, the ne and pas are placed around the inverted auxiliary verb and pronoun. Negative invertions in passé composé are limited to formal language.
N’avez-vous pas préparé votre leçon? Haven’t you prepared your lesson?
Didn’t you prepare your lesson?
IMPORTANT : Be careful as irregular verbs have irregular past participles
VANDERTRAMP VERBS
B. Le passé composé with ETRE
1. The verbs below are the basic ones conjugated with être in compound tenses.
You can learn these verbs as a mnemonic. That lovely old couple DR & MRS P. VANDERTRAMP contains all the first letters of the verbs taking être.
Devenir
Retourner
Mourir
Rentrer
Sortir
Passer **
Venir
Arriver
Naître
Descendre
Entrer
Revenir
Tomber
Rester
Aller
Monter
Partir
VERY IMPORTANT POINT:
You should note that the past participle of all the above verbs agrees with the subject in number and gender. For example, you write:
Mme Vandertramp est morte, because Mme Vandertramp is feminine and singular, so the past participle agrees. Thus:
· Elle est partie (Feminine singular)
· Nous sommes rentrés (Masculine plural) OR
· Nous sommes rentrées (Feminine plural)
· Je suis venu (Masculine singular) OR
· Je suis venue (Feminine singular)
La maison d'être
·
L’IMPARFAIT (1)
L’Imparfait is an action that occurs in the past. It expresses what was happening or what used to happen.
1 Exemple: I was speaking to my friend. = Je parlais à mon copain.
You use the Imparfait when:
When the action is repeated.
2 Exemple: I used to go to the gym every day! J’allais au gym tous les jours.
When the action is habitual.
3 Exemple: When I was little I used to ride my bike every day! Quand j’étais petit je montais (or) je faisais une promenade à vélo tous les jours.
When you describe a person, a place, a thing in the past.
Exemple: 4 She was pretty = Elle était belle!
5 It was a beautiful city. =C’était une belle ville!
6 The Monet painting was huge! = Le tableau de Monet était grand!
To talk about the weather:
Exemple: 7 It was sunny. Il faisait du soleil!
8 It was raining! Il pleuvait
To talk about someone’s age:
Exemple: 9 He was 10 years old when he started 5th grade??? = Il avait dix ans quand il a commencé la sixieme!???
How to construct the Imperfect tense:
Step 1: Find the “nous” form of the present tense of any verb.
Step 2: Drop the “ons”
Step 3: Add Imperfect endings: ais, ais, ait, ions, iez, aient
Exemple:
Parler
Nous parlons
Drop ons and add:
I was talking = Je parlais
Avoir:
Nous avons
Drop ons and add:
You had a cold!
Vous aviez un rhume!
L’Impératif (Commands)
Forms
1. Conjugation: tu
The imperative is conjugated like the present tense, but the subject is dropped. In the singular (tu), the form is the same as the first person of the present tense (je), but without a subject.
Je répète: Répète! Je finis: Finis! Je prends: Prends!
2. Conjugation: vous
In the singular, polite form, and in the plural (vous), the form is the same as the second person plural of the present tense, but without a subject.
Vous répétez: Répétez! Vous finissez: Finissez!
3. Conjugation: nous
For the first person plural (nous), the form is the same as the first person plural of the present tense, but without a subject.
Nous répétons: Répétons! (let's repeat!) Nous finissons: Finissons! (let's finish!)
4. The Negative Form
The negative form ne … pas surrounds the verb in the imperative form:
N'écrivez pas! Ne répète pas!
5. Reflexive Verbs in the Imperative
When using a reflexive verb in this form, the object pronoun follows the verb.
Regarde-toi! Asseyez-vous!
Look at yourself! Sit down!
In the negative form, the pronoun precedes the verb.
Ne te perds pas! Ne vous dépêchez pas!
Don't get lost! Don't hurry!
6. Irregular Verbs in the Imperative
Aller: Va! Allons! Allez!
Ouvrir Ouvre! Ouvrons! Ouvrez!
Souffrir Souffre! Souffrons! Souffrez
LES COMPLEMENTS D’OBJETS (OBJECT PRONOUNS)
® DEVANT LE VERBE PRINCIPAL -- ORDER OF PRONOUNS IN A SENTENCE
mete
nous
vous / le
la
l’
les / lui
leur / y / en
/y/ stands for there, a location, a place /en/ means a quantity of something; some
Verbes qui utilisent les objets directs: le, la, les, l’
Acheter
Admirer
Adorer
Aimer
Apprendre
Ausculter
Avaler
Comprendre
Connaître
Ecouter
Examiner
Faire
Inviter
Laver
Manger
Nettoyer
Oublier
Ouvrir
Payer
Prendre
Prendre
Regarder
Savoir
Trouver
Voir
Verbes qui utilisent les objets indirects: me, te, lui, nous, vous, leur
Demander à
Dire à:
Donner à
Ecrire à:
Envoyer à
Expliquer à:
Lire à
Montrer à:
Offrir à:
Parler à
Object Pronouns
Direct object pronouns:
Ask the question Who? or What? Placed before the verb, The answer is the D.O.
ME
TE
LE, LA, L’
NOUS VOUS
LES
*** vous prenez le train è vous le prenez
Indirect object:
Answers the question to whom? or for whom? In French, it can be identified by:
à (sometimes pour) + a person - (à Pierre ---- pour le prof)
ME
TE
LUI
NOUS
VOUS
LEUR
*** Elle a écrit au Président è elle lui a écrit ***
EN
Use «en» when you see a partitive (du, de, d’, de l, de la, des)
*** Je veux de la glace è j’en veux ***
Use «en» with a specific quantity (un garçon, deux stylos, 30 personnes…)
Use en VERB un, deux, 30
***Il a pris deux aspirines è il en a pris deux ***
Use «en» after an adverb of quantity (beaucoup, trop, assez, peu…)
Use en VERB adverb of quantity
*** Tu manges trop de bonbons è Tu en manges trop ***
Y
Use «y» for à + a thing or any location (sur la table, devant le bureau, dans sa poche…
*** Nous répondons à la question du prof è Nous y répondons ***
***Sylvie ne mange jamais à la cantine è Sylvie n’y mange jamais***
Position of Object Pronouns
Simple Tenses (one verb tenses) like the present:
The pronoun goes right before the verb
*** Vous parlez au frère de Jean è Vous lui parlez***
Compound tenses (avoir or être + past participle)
Like the passé composé
The pronoun goes right before the auxiliary (avoir or être)
***Pierrette a vu son cousin è Pierrette l’a vu***
*** Nous n’avons pas acheté assez de pain è nous n’en avons pas acheté assez***
Infinitive
If there is an infinitive, the pronoun goes right before the infinitive
*** Nous voulons faire les devoirs è Nous aimons les faire
Affirmative Impérative (commands)
The pronoun folles the verb with a hyphen
*** Monte à ta chambre è Montes-y***
Négative impérative (negative commands)
The pronoun goes right before the verb
*** Ne parle pas à ce garçon è Ne lui parle pas***
Double Object Pronouns
This means using two of the above pronouns in the same sentence
Order of the pronouns for all tenses except for the affirmative imperative
Me le
Te la lui y en
Nous l’ leur
V ous les
***Vous avez vu ce film au cinéma è vous l’y avez vu***
***Ne donnons pas ce livre au prof è Ne le lui donnons pas ***
Order of the pronouns after the affirmative imperative
Le -moi
La -lui
VERB- l’ -nous -y -en
Les -vous
-leur
***Mettez les vêtements dans la machine à laver! è Mettez-les-y***
The irregular verbs Savoir and Connaître both mean 'to know. Listen first to the pronunciation of their forms in the present.
je sais / nous savons
tu sais / vous savez
il/elle/on sait / ils/elles savent
past participle : su
je connais / nous connaissons
tu connais / vous connaissez
il/elle/on connaît / ils/elles connaissent
past participle : connu