Past Compound Tense (Passé Composé) for 2nd and 3rd Group Verbs
Introduction
The past compound tense (passé composé) is a frequently used tense in French to talk about completed actions in the past. Its formation for 2nd and 3rd group verbs follows specific rules that we will explore.
Formation of the Passé Composé
The passé composé is formed with two elements:
- The auxiliary verb "avoir" or "être" in the present indicative
- The past participle of the main verb
Most verbs use the auxiliary "avoir", but some movement verbs and pronominal verbs use "être".
Past Participles of 2nd Group Verbs
2nd group verbs (ending in -ir in the infinitive) have past participles that end in -i.
| Infinitive | Past Participle | Example |
|---|---|---|
| finir (to finish) | fini | J'ai fini mon travail. (I finished my work.) |
| choisir (to choose) | choisi | Nous avons choisi un restaurant. (We chose a restaurant.) |
| réfléchir (to think/reflect) | réfléchi | Elle a réfléchi à la proposition. (She thought about the proposal.) |
Past Participles of 3rd Group Verbs
3rd group verbs have irregular past participles that must be memorized.
| Infinitive | Past Participle | Example |
|---|---|---|
| faire (to do/make) | fait | Il a fait ses devoirs. (He did his homework.) |
| prendre (to take) | pris | Nous avons pris le train. (We took the train.) |
| vendre (to sell) | vendu | Vous avez vendu votre maison ? (Did you sell your house?) |
| pouvoir (to be able to) | pu | Nous avons pu prendre le train. (We were able to take the train.) |
| vouloir (to want) | voulu | Tu as voulu rester chez toi. (You wanted to stay at home.) |
| voir (to see) | vu | J'ai vu un film intéressant. (I saw an interesting movie.) |
| mettre (to put) | mis | Nous avons mis 2 heures. (We took 2 hours.) |
| venir (to come) | venu | Elle est venue à la fête. (She came to the party.) (with être) |
Verbs Using "Être"
Some 3rd group verbs use "être" as an auxiliary. The most common are:
- aller (allé) - to go
- venir (venu) - to come
- partir (parti) - to leave
- sortir (sorti) - to go out
- descendre (descendu) - to go down
- naître (né) - to be born
- mourir (mort) - to die
- s'asseoir (assis) - to sit down
- se taire (tu) - to be quiet
Examples:
- Je suis allé au marché ce matin. (I went to the market this morning.)
- Il est venu me voir. (He came to see me.)
- Vous êtes descendus à la cave. (You went down to the cellar.)
Exercises
Complete the following sentences with the passé composé of the verbs in parentheses:
- Hier, nous __________ (choisir) un nouveau canapé. (Yesterday, we chose a new sofa.)
- Elle __________ (prendre) le bus pour aller au travail. (She took the bus to go to work.)
- Ils __________ (partir) en vacances la semaine dernière. (They left for vacation last week.)
- Tu __________ (voir) le dernier film de ce réalisateur ? (Did you see the latest film by this director?)
- Nous __________ (réfléchir) à votre proposition. (We thought about your proposal.)
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