Le passé composé Describing past actions You use the passé composé to express an action that began and was completed in the past. You use the passé composé to express an action that began and was completed in the past. To form the passé composé, you use the present tense of the verb avoir and the past participle of the action verb: To form the passé composé, you use the present tense of the verb avoir and the past participle of the action verb:

For –er verbs, you change the er to é to make the past participle: For –er verbs, you change the er to é to make the past participle: Jouer Jouer J’ai jouéNous avons joué J’ai jouéNous avons joué Tu as joué Vous avez joué Tu as joué Vous avez joué Il/elle/on a joué Ils/elles ont joué Il/elle/on a joué Ils/elles ont joué

Examples: Hier soir, j’ai regardé un match de foot. Hier soir, j’ai regardé un match de foot. Yesterday, I watched a soccer game. Mon copain aussi a regardé le match. Mon copain aussi a regardé le match. My friend also watched the game.

Verbs that end in –ir change to i: Choisir (to choose) becomes choisi Choisir (to choose) becomes choisi Il a choisi le tee-shirt vert. Finir (to finish) becomes fini Finir (to finish) becomes fini J’ai fini mes devoirs. Dormir becomes dormi Dormir becomes dormi Le weekend, j’ai dormi beaucoup.

Verbs that end in –re change to u: Verbs that end in –re change to u: Attendre (to wait for) becomes attendu Attendre (to wait for) becomes attendu Il a attendu le bus. Vendre (to sell) becomes vendu Vendre (to sell) becomes vendu J’ai vendu ma voiture. Perdre (to loose) becomes perdu Perdre (to loose) becomes perdu Zut! J’ai perdu mon livre de français.

Some verbs change form completely in the past tense: Boire (bu) to drink Boire (bu) to drink Connaître (connu) to know Connaître (connu) to know Pleuvoir (plu) to rain Pleuvoir (plu) to rain Savoir (su) to know Savoir (su) to know Voir (vu) to see Voir (vu) to see Vouloir (voulu) to want Vouloir (voulu) to want Dire (dit) to say Dire (dit) to say Écrire (écrit) to write Écrire (écrit) to write Faire (fait) to do Faire (fait) to do Avoir (eu) to have Avoir (eu) to have Être (été) to be Être (été) to be Mettre (mis) to put Mettre (mis) to put Prendre (pris) to take Prendre (pris) to take Offrir (offert) to offer Offrir (offert) to offer