BGE AU COLLEGE J'AI CHOISI

Talking about things in the past

J'ai choisi - I chose
J'ai decidé - I decided

The Perfect Tense

Today we are going to learn how to talk about things that you did in the past. E.g. this morning, yesterday, at the weekend or last year.

E.g I went, I ate, I watched, I slept, I made......

First we need to revise some verbs

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manger

• to sleep

• to watch

• to listen

• to eat

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aller

• to go

• to watch

• to make

• to eat

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écouter

• to visit

• to listen

• to make

• to wash

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dormir

• to sleep

• to go

• to make

• to do

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regarder

• to play

• to wait

• to watch

• eat

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aller

• to read

• to go

• to watch

• to finish

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vendre

• to read

• to sell

• to have to

• to finish

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lire

• to read

• to listen

• to do

• to vomit

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devoir

• to sleep

• to go

• to have to

• to finish

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aller = to go

• false

• true

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attendre = to wait

• false

• true

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regarder = to read

• false

• true

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lire = to listen

• false

• true

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dormir = to wait

• false

• true

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vendre = to sell

• false

• true

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dormir = to sleep

• false

• true

The following rule works for about 92% of French verbs

Step 1 - Write   j'ai (I  have)

Step 2 - Take your verb  e.g. regarder, vomir,attendre

Step 3 

Chop off the 'er' and add é  e.g. regardé

Chop off the 'ir' and add i e.g. vomi
Chop off the 're and add u e.g. vendu

J'ai regardé = I watched, j'ai vomi = I was sick,  j'ai vendu = I sold

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With verbs ending in er, you chop off the ending and add

• u

• é

• i

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With verbs ending in re, you chop off the ending and add

• u

• é

• i

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With verbs ending in ir you chop off the ending and add

• u

• é

• i

Saying what you did in the past

Le week-end j'ai vomi dans ma chambre - at the weekend I was sick in my room.

Le week-end j'ai attendu le bus a Dumfries - At the weekend I waited for the bus in Dumfries.
 
Vendredi j'ai mangé et j'ai dormi en classe = On Friday I ate and I slept in class.

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J'ai ______ le bus

• écoutu

• écouti

• écouté

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J'ai ______ le bus

• attendi

• attendu

• attendé

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J'ai ______ le bus

• regardé

• regardi

• regardu

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J'ai ______ dans le bus

• dormi

• dormu

• dormé

Most useful verbs end in 'er'

• téléphoner - j'ai téléphoné

• visiter = to visit - j'ai visité

• demander = to ask - j'ai demandé

• améliorer = to improve - j'ai amélioré
  

• gagner = to win/earn - j'ai gagné

• jouer = to play - j'ai joué

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I played tennis

• j'ai joué au tennis

• J'ai gagné au tennis

• J'ai amélioré le tennis

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I improved my French

• j'ai gagné mon français

• J'ai amélioré mon français

• J'ai regardé mon français

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I visited the historic monuments

• j'ai visité les monuments historiques

• J'ai téléphoné les monuments historiques

• J'ai regardé les monuments historiques

There are not many verbs that end in 'ir' or 're'

• avertir = to warn - j'ai averti

• réussir = to succeed/pass - J'ai réussi

• Vieillir = to grow old - J'ai vieilli

• Entendre - to hear/understand - J'ai entendu

• Perdre = to lose - J'ai perdu

• Rendre = to give back - J'ai rendu

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j'ai réussi

• I got old

• I understood

• I succeeded

• I waited

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I lost my dog

• J'ai perdu mon chien

• J'ai averti mon chien

• J'ai veilli mon chien

• J'ai entendu mon chien

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I returned the book

• j'ai averti le libre

• j'ai rendu le livre

• J'ai perdu le libre

• J'ai regardé le livre

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j'ai entendu

• I got old

• I waited

• I understood

• I passed

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J'ai veilli

• I got old

• I lost

• I waited

• I finished

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Which verb below makes the most sense.

J'ai ____ a mes examens

• veilli

• réussi

• visité

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Which verb below makes the most sense.

J'ai ____ la question

• entendu

• gagné

• averti

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Which verb below makes the most sense.

J'ai ____ mon téléphone portable

• perdu

• réussi

• veilli

Mon week-end

Le week-end j'ai fait beaucoup de choses, le matin a huit heures j'ai regardé la télévision avec mes soeurs. A midi j'ai mangé un sandwich au fromage au restaurant.  A trois heures j'ai téléphoné a ma grand-mere et apres j'ai visité le musé en ville. :)

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I watched tv with my sisters

• true

• false

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I ate a ham sandwich

• true

• false

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I phoned my grandfather

• true

• false

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I visited the museum

• true

• false

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I ate the sandwich at 1 o'clock

• true

• false

There are a few verbs that don't follow the rule of adding é/i/u. You just need to learn them.

• Faire - to do/make = J'ai fait = I did

• Lire - to read = j'ai lu = I read

• Devoir - to have to = J'ai du = I had to

• Pouvoir - to be able to = J'ai pu = I was able to

• Voir = To see = J'ai vu

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J'ai vu

• I was able to

• I saw

• I read

• I made

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J'ai du

• i had to

• I saw

• I read

• I made

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J'ai pu

• i had to

• I read

• I was able to

• I made

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J'ai fait

• I made

• I read

• I had to

• I made

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J'ai lu

• I saw

• I read

• I had to

• I was able to

The final exceptions! 13 verbs don't use 'j'ai' to form the past tense. They use 'je suis' The ones you need most are.

• Aller = to go - Je suis allé(e)

• Rester  = to stay - Je suis resté(e)

• Sortir = to go out - Je suis sorti(e)

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Je suis allé

• I stayed

• I went out

• I went

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Je suis resté

• I stayed

• I went out

• I went

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Je suis allé

• I stayed

• I went out

• I went

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Je suis sorti

• I stayed

• I went out

• I went

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L'année dernière j'ai étudié le dessin et la chimie

• Last year I studied art and French

• Last year I studied IT and chemistry

• Last year I studied art and chemistry

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L'année dernière je suis allée en Chine avec le collège et j'ai visité les monuments historiques.

• Last year I went to China with my family and I visited historic monuments

• Last year I stayed in China with the school and I saw historic monuments

• Last year I went to China with the school and I visited historic monuments

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L'année dernière j'ai passé un examen de maths et j'ai réussi.

• Last year I sat a maths exam and I passed.

• Last year I sat a maths exam and I failed

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L'année dernière je ne suis pas allé en vacances, je suis resté à CD et j'ai travaillé dans un petit café et j'ai gagné beaucoup d'argent.

• Last year I didn't go on holiday I stayed in CD and worked in a big cafe and earned a lot of money

• Last year I went on holiday to CD where I worked in a small cafe and earned a lot of money

• Last year I didn't go on holiday, I stated in CD and I worked in a small cafe and I earned a lot of money

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L'année dernière je suis allé en France afin d'améliorer mon français. Je suis allé à Paris et j'ai vu les monuments et j'ai mangé la cuisine française.

• Last year I went to Spain to improve my French. I stayed in Paris and I visited the monuments and I ate French food.

• Last year I went to France in order to improve my French. I went to Paris and I saw the monuments and I ate French food.

• Two years ago I went to France in order to improve my French. I stayed in Paris and I visited the museums and I ate French food.