The choice that trips up every learner
The French passé composé is built from two parts: an auxiliary (helper) verb in the present, plus a past participle. The only real decision is which auxiliary to use, avoir or être. Choose wrong and the sentence is immediately marked as non-native.
The rule is reassuringly lopsided. The vast majority of verbs use avoir. Only a small, closed group uses être, plus all reflexive verbs. Learn the être group and everything else is avoir by default.
The default: avoir
Unless a verb is on the être list or is reflexive, it forms the passé composé with avoir. With avoir, the past participle normally does not change to match the subject.
| J'ai mangé une pomme. | I ate an apple. Default auxiliary → avoir |
| Il a fini son travail. | He finished his work. No agreement with the subject |
| Nous avons vu le film. | We saw the film. avoir + participle |
| Elles ont parlé pendant des heures. | They talked for hours. Still no agreement: parlé, not parlées |
The être group: DR MRS VANDERTRAMP
This famous mnemonic captures the verbs of movement and change of state that take être. Most come in opposite pairs.
- Devenir (to become), Revenir (to come back), Monter (to go up), Rester (to stay), Sortir (to go out)
- Venir (to come), Aller (to go), Naître (to be born), Descendre (to go down), Entrer (to enter)
- Retourner (to return), Tomber (to fall), Rentrer (to go home), Arriver (to arrive), Mourir (to die), Partir (to leave)
- Think of it as a building: people are born, arrive, enter, go up, stay, come down, leave, and die. Movement and life-state verbs take être.
Reflexive verbs always take être
Every reflexive verb (one with se, like se lever or se laver) forms the passé composé with être. No exceptions. The auxiliary slots in after the reflexive pronoun.
| Je me suis levé(e) à sept heures. | I got up at seven. se lever → être |
| Elle s'est lavée. | She washed herself. Participle agrees: lavée |
| Nous nous sommes couchés tard. | We went to bed late. se coucher → être |
Agreement: the être catch
With être, the past participle agrees with the subject in gender and number, just like an adjective. Add -e for feminine, -s for plural, -es for feminine plural. This is the detail that polishes your written French.
| Il est allé. | He went. Masculine singular: allé |
| Elle est allée. | She went. Feminine: add -e → allée |
| Ils sont allés. | They went (m). Plural: add -s → allés |
| Elles sont allées. | They went (f). Feminine plural: allées |
Pronunciation: agreement you mostly do not hear
The kind twist is that most être agreements are silent in speech. You write them, but the ear barely notices.
- allé, allée, allés, allées — all four pronounced the same: IPA /aˈle/, 'ah-LAY'. The agreement is visible, not audible.
- suis — IPA /sɥi/, 'swee', the s is soft and the word glides; do not say 'soo-ee'.
- est — IPA /ɛ/, just 'eh'; the s and t are silent.
- Special note: feminine participles ending in a consonant DO change the sound. Elle est prise ('preez') adds an audible z that the masculine pris ('pree') lacks. Watch for those.
Mini-drill: avoir or être?
Choose the auxiliary and make any needed agreement, then check the key.
- 1. Elle ___ (manger) une crêpe.
- 2. Nous ___ (arriver) en retard.
- 3. Marie ___ (partir) ce matin.
- 4. Ils ___ (finir) le projet.
- 5. Je ___ (se réveiller) à six heures. (feminine speaker)
- 6. Tu ___ (voir) ce film?
Answer key
- 1. a mangé — Elle a mangé une crêpe. (avoir, no agreement)
- 2. sommes arrivés — Nous sommes arrivés. (être, plural agreement)
- 3. est partie — Marie est partie. (être, feminine agreement)
- 4. ont fini — Ils ont fini le projet. (avoir, no agreement)
- 5. me suis réveillée — Je me suis réveillée. (reflexive → être, feminine)
- 6. as vu — Tu as vu ce film? (avoir)
Frequently asked questions
How do I know whether to use avoir or être in the passé composé?
Start with avoir, because the large majority of verbs use it. Switch to être only for the DR MRS VANDERTRAMP group (verbs of movement and change of state like aller, venir, naître, mourir) and for every reflexive verb (se lever, se laver). If a verb is not on those two lists, it takes avoir.
What is DR MRS VANDERTRAMP?
It is a memory aid for the verbs that take être. Each letter starts a verb: Devenir, Revenir, Monter, Rester, Sortir, Venir, Aller, Naître, Descendre, Entrer, Retourner, Tomber, Rentrer, Arriver, Mourir, Partir. They are mostly verbs of coming and going, plus being born and dying.
Does the past participle always agree with the subject?
Only with être. With être, the participle agrees in gender and number like an adjective: il est allé, elle est allée, ils sont allés, elles sont allées. With avoir, there is normally no agreement with the subject, although there is a separate rule for a preceding direct object.
Why can't I hear most of these agreements?
Because the added -e and -s on participles ending in a vowel are silent. Allé, allée, allés, and allées all sound identical. The agreement is a written convention. The exceptions are participles ending in a consonant, where the feminine form adds an audible sound, as in pris versus prise.