Past Tenses in French- PC

Past Tenses in French

Révision des temps du passé composé et de l'imparfait

Passé Composé

• means "composed past"

• describes past events that are definitely finished

• Uses a "formula"

• Subject + helping verb + past participle

Multiple Choice

Which verb is usually used as a helping verb?

• avoir

• être

• aller

• avais

Helping Verbs

• être or avoir, but usually avoir

• conjugated normally in present tense

• J'ai, tu as, il/elle/on a, nous avons, vous avez, ils/elles ont

• Then add past participle

Multiple Choice

Past Participle Formation: The past participle of regular ER verbs would end with:

• é

• e

• i

• u

• None of the above

Multiple Choice

Past Participle Formation: The past participle of regular RE verbs would end with:

• é

• e

• i

• u

• None of the above

Multiple Choice

Past Participle Formation: The past participle of regular IR verbs would end with:

• é

• e

• i

• u

• None of the above

Irregular Past Participles

• Many verbs will have irregular past participles

• No rule for why; need to be memorized

• Examples: venir, faire, pouvoir, vouloir, être, avoir...

• (venu, fait, pu, voulu, été, eu)

Irregular Past Participles

• Even verbs with irregular past participles follow the formula

• Subject + helping verb+ past participle

• J'ai eu =

• I had

Multiple Select

Translate the phrase: What would "J'ai eu" mean, if "eu" is the past participle for "avoir"?

• I had

• I was

• I am having

• have had

Using être as a Helping Verb

• Only certain verbs (~17) use être. They are known by the acronym "DR & MRS P Vandertramp"

• They follow the same formula

• The only difference is, like adjectives, the past participle must agree with the subject

Using être as a Helping Verb

• Add "s" to past participle if the subject is plural

• Add "e" to past participle if the subject is feminine

• Add both if it's feminine AND plural

• Venir

• Il est venu, Elle est venue

• Nous sommes venus, Nous sommes venues

Multiple Choice

Choose the phrases that is correct:

• Marie est né

• Vincent et moi sommes parti

• Elizabeth et Ashley sont descendues

• J'ai allée