The passé composé expresses events in the past with a distinct beginning and end or indicates a change in a state or condition.

Passé composé with avoir

For most verbs, the passé composé is formed with a present-tense form of avoir (the auxiliary verb) followed by the past participle of the verb expressing the action.

The past participle of a regular -er, -ir, and -re verbs are formed by replacing the infinitive ending with é, i, or u, respectively.

Boîte à outilsThe passé composé has three English equivalents. Example: Nous avons parlé. = We spoke. We did speak. We have spoken.

Passé composé with être

Some verbs, however, use être in the passé composé. To form the passé composé of these verbs, use a present-tense form of être and the past participle of the verb that expresses the action.

The past participles of verbs conjugated with être agree with their subjects in number and gender.

(Dr. Mrs. Vandertramp!! ↓)

To ask questions using inversion in the passé composé, invert the subject pronoun and the conjugated form of avoir/être.

Place the adverbs déjà, encore, bien, mal, and beaucoup directly before the past participle.

L’imparfait

To form the imparfait, drop the -ons ending from the nous form of the present tense and replace it with these endings.

The imparfait expresses habitual or repetitive actions in the past, or an ongoing action, event, or condition in the past with no definite beginning or end. With the verb être, it is often used for description. The verb être is irregular in the imparfait.

1. Au passé Complete each sentence by writing the correct forms of the appropriate verb in parentheses. Use the passé composé.

1. Hier soir, tu _______________________ ton ami et vous _______________________ pendant des heures. (appeler/ bavarder)

2. Lundi dernier, Monsieur et Madame Guillon _____________________ une écharpe à l'hôtel et la réception _________________________ chez eux. (oublier / téléphoner)

3. Aujourd'hui, j'_____________________ mes amis et nous _______________________ au café d'à côté. (inviter/ déjeuner)

4. Mathis ______________________ Sabine, mais il _____________________ avec sa cousine Lætitia pendant deux ans. (ne pas encore rencontrer / travailler)

5. Vous _____________________ avec votre régime (diet ), mais nous _____________________ ! (maigrir/ grossir)

6. Ils _________________________ l’examen parce qu’ils ____________________________ avant de répondre aux questions. (réussir / bien réfléchir)

7. Ce matin, j’_____________________ le bus pendant une heure pour aller en ville, puis j’____________________________ à mon oncle. (attendre/ rendre visite)

8. Nous _______________________ notre temps parce que ces personnes-là n’___________________________ notre histoire. (perdre / ne pas entendre)

You can use a direct object pronoun in the place of a direct object noun. The direct object pronoun precedes the conjugated verb unless that verb is followed by an infinitive. In this case, it precedes the infinitive.

When a direct object pronoun is used with the passé composé, the past participle must agree with it in both gender and number.

Direct and indirect object pronouns

Direct objects are nouns that receive the action of a verb. Indirect objects are things or people to whom or for whom an action is done. Indirect objects are frequently preceded by the preposition à.

Indirect object pronouns replace indirect object nouns.

Here are some verbs that take indirect object pronouns.

The impératif

The impératif is the form of a verb that is used to give commands or to offer directions, hints, and suggestions. With command forms, you do not use subject pronouns.

Form the tu command of -er verbs by dropping the -s from the present tense form. Note that aller also follows this pattern. The nous and vous command forms of -er verbs are the same as the present tense forms.

For -ir verbs, -re verbs, and most irregular verbs, all the command forms are identical to the present tense forms.

The impératif forms of avoir and être are irregular.

An object pronoun can be added to the end of an affirmative command. Use a hyphen to separate them. Use moi and toi for the first- and second-person object pronouns.

In negative commands, place object pronouns between ne and the verb. Use me and te for the first- and second-person object pronouns.

R.3-11

R.3-12

Écrivez! Describe a recent trip (real or imaginary) in at least five complete sentences. Tell where you went and with whom, how you got there, one or two things you did or did not do, and when you came home. (passé composé & imparfait!)

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