Passé Composé: Irregular Verbs in French

The passé composé is one of the most commonly used past tenses in French. It is used to describe completed actions or events in the past. While many verbs follow regular conjugation patterns, some have irregular past participles that must be memorized.

1. Structure of Passé Composé

The passé composé is formed with two parts:

1. Auxiliary verb: Either avoir (to have) or être (to be) in the present tense.
2. Past participle: The main verb’s past form, which may be regular or irregular.

Examples:

• Regular: J’ai parlé. (I spoke.)
• Irregular: J’ai vu. (I saw.)

2. Auxiliary Verbs: Avoir vs. Être

Most verbs use avoir as the auxiliary verb. However, certain verbs, primarily those that indicate motion or a change of state, use être (e.g., aller, venir, monter, descendre).

• Elle est partie. (She left.)
• Ils ont pris le bus. (They took the bus.)

When être is the auxiliary, the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject.

• Elle est allée. (She went.)
• Ils sont allés. (They went.)

3. Common Irregular Verbs and Their Past Participles

Here is a list of frequently used irregular verbs with their past participles:

4. Agreement Rules with Être

When a verb takes être as its auxiliary, the past participle must agree with the subject in gender and number:

• Masculine singular: Il est allé. (He went.)
• Feminine singular: Elle est allée. (She went.)
• Masculine plural: Ils sont allés. (They went.)
• Feminine plural: Elles sont allées. (They went.)

For verbs using avoir, agreement occurs only when a direct object precedes the verb:

• Les fleurs que j’ai vues étaient belles. (The flowers that I saw were beautiful.)

5. Examples of Irregular Verbs in Sentences

• J’ai vu un arc-en-ciel. (I saw a rainbow.)
• Nous avons fait nos devoirs. (We did our homework.)
• Elle est venue avec ses amis. (She came with her friends.)
• Ils ont pris le train. (They took the train.)
• Tu as lu ce livre ? (Did you read this book?)

6. Tips for Mastering Irregular Verbs in Passé Composé

1. Memorize the Most Common Irregular Past Participles: Focus on frequently used verbs like avoir, être, faire, prendre, voir, and mettre.
2. Practice Agreement Rules: Pay attention to gender and number agreements when using être as the auxiliary.
3. Use Context: Write sentences or short paragraphs to practice these verbs in real-life scenarios.
4. Listen and Repeat: Practice with audio exercises or dialogues to reinforce correct conjugations.

By mastering irregular verbs in the passé composé, you’ll be able to describe past events more accurately and fluently in French.

You can take the multiple-choice quiz.

Learn the conjugation of the most important French irregular verbs in the past (passé composé).