Our Day 42
Immersion – 42
“le passé composé”
Past Tense of Regular Verbs – “ The Compound Past”
• In French we can express the past tense in several ways.
• The simplest and the most common way is “le passé composé” (luh pah-sey kohN-poh-zey) = the compound past, which is made up of more than one component; the auxiliary verb (“avoir” or “être”) conjucated in the present tense and the past participle of the desired verb.
• We shall discuss the “le passé composé” with “avoir” verb.
Rule:
| Present conjugation of “avoir” + the past participle of the desired verb |
|---|
Now we shall (i) recall the present conjugation of “avoir”
(ii) learn the past participles of some regular verbs and then
(iii) learn “le passé composé” (the compound past)
(i) the present conjugation of “avoir”
| ai,as, a, avons, avez, ont |
|---|
(ii) rule to form past participles of regular verbs
Group I : Change the “-er” infinitive into “ –é ”
GroupII : Change the “-ir” infinitive into “-i”
Group III: Change the “-re”infinitive into “-u”
Table of past participle and past tense
Group I
| Group I verb | Past Participle | le passé composé/ the past compound tense |
Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| parler | parlé | J’ai parlé |
I spoke/I have spoken I did speak |
| habiter | habité | Tu as habité |
You lived/You have lived You did live |
| travailler | travaillé | Il/Elle a travaillé |
He/She worked/ He/She has worked He/She did work |
| regarder | regardé | Nous avons regardé |
We looked/We have looked We did look |
| écouter | écouté | Vous avez écouté |
You listened/You have listened You did listen |
| voyager | voyagé | Ils ont voyagé |
They travelled/They have travelled They did travel |
| téléphoner | téléphoné | Elles ont téléphoné |
They telephoned/They have telephoned They did telephoned |
Group II
| Group II verb | Past Participle | le passé composé/ the past compound tense |
Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| finir | fini | J’ai fini | I finished/I have finished/I did finish |
| garantir | garanti | Tu as garanti | You guranteed |
| choisir | choisi | Il a choisi | He choose |
| grossir | grossi | Elle a grossi | She put on weight |
| maigrir | maigri | Nous avons maigri | We reduced |
| saisir | saisi | Vous avez saisi | You seized |
| raccourcir | raccourci | Ils ont raccourci | They shortened |
| remplir | rempli | Elles ont rempli | They fulfilled |
Group III
| Group III verb | Past Participle | le passé composé/ the past compound tense |
Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| répondre | répondu | J’ai répondu | I answered/I have answered/I did answer |
| répandre | répandu | Tu répandu | You spread |
| attendre | attendu | Il a attendu | He waited |
| entendre | entendu | Elle a entendu | She understood |
| vendre | vendu | Nous avons vendu | We sold |
| perdre | perdu | Vous avez perdu | You lost |
| tendre | tendu | Ils ont tendu | They strained |
| tordre | tordu | Elles ont tordu | They twisted |
Note: The French compound past tense translates all three forms of the English past
Exercise 1:
1. J’ai parlé =I spoke/Ihave spoken.
2. Ils ont parlé=They spoke/They have spoken.
3. Elle a fini=She finished /She has finished.
4. Vous avez fini=you finished/you have finished
5. Nous avons mangé=we ate /we have eaten
6. Il a mangé la pomme =He ate the apple/he has eaten the apple
7. Tu as mangé=You ate/you have eaten
8. As-tu mangé?=Did you eat?/Have you eaten?
9. Ils ont mangé=They ate/They have eaten.
10. Ont-ils mangé?=Did they eat?/have they eaten?
11. Ils n’ont pas mangé=They didn’t eat/They have not eaten.
12. N’ont ils pas mangé?=Didn’t they eat?/Have they not eaten?
13. Elle a visité Londre =She visited London/She has visited London
14. Elle n’a pas visité=She did not visit/She has not visited
15. N’a-t-elle pas visité?=Didn’t she visit?/has she not visited?
16. Nous avons allé=We went/ we have gone
17. Ils ont jouré tennis =They played tennis/They have played tennis
18. J’ai répondu=I answered/I have answered
19. Vous n’avez pas répondu=You did not answer/You have not answered
20. Nous avons entendu=We understood/We have understood
21. Avez-vous entendu?=Did you understand?/Have you understood?
Exercise 2: Read the following sentences , identify the verbs, and translate:
habité en France
Il a choisi le fromage
Elles ont dépensé 15 euros
1. J’ai habité en France
2. J’ai travaillé en Italie
3. J’ai reservé les chambres
4. Elle a écouté la radio
5. Elle a regradé la télévision
6. Elle a préparé le rapport
7. Il a grossi
8. Il a choisi le fromage
9. Il a fini le livre
10. Nous avons copié le document
11. Nous avons acheté la voiture
12. Nous avons téléphoné
13. Vous avez guaranti la plantinlaser
14. Vous avez saisi l’occasion
15. Nous avez invité le président
16. Ils ont maigri
17. Elles ont dépensé 15 euros
18. Elles ont traversé la manche
Past participles of common irregular verbs
| verb | Past Participle |
|---|---|
| être | été |
| avoir | eu |
| faire | fait |
| voir | vu |
| pouvoir | pu |
| vouloir | voulu |
| prendre | pris |
Note: To form the compound past of the above verbs also use the same rule given above(Present conjugation of “avoir” + the past participle of the desired verb)
Example:
1. Nous avons été en re tard=We were late.
2. Il a eu un message=He had a message
3. Qu’est –ce que tu as fait?=What did you do?
4. J’ai vu le directeur=I saw the director.
5. Vous avez pu téléphoner à votre bureau=You were able to call your office.
6. J’ai voulu un rendez-vous =I wanted an appointment.
7. Ils ont pris l’avion=They took the plane.
