A2 · The past
Passé composé with être
A second auxiliary English got rid of, and an agreement with it.
At a glance
- Remember
- English lost this auxiliary; the list has to be learnt cold.
- When
- Before the past
- The past
- Past linked to the present
- The present
- The future
- Completed in the future
The past — Something that happened, finished, and stays where it happened.
- Form
- je suis allé, alléeI went
- Signal words
- aller
- venir
- partir
- arriver
- rester
- Trap
- Wrong:Elle a allée au marché.Right:Elle est allée au marché.
Your turn
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The form
How the forms are built
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in French. The colours show what changes from one form to the next.
stem (regular) stem (irregular) tense marker person ending auxiliary verb
| I went | je suis allé, allée |
| you came | tu es venu, venue |
| he left / she left | il est parti / elle est partie |
| we stayed | nous sommes restés, restées |
| you came in (plural) | vous êtes entrés, entrées |
| they arrived (m) / they arrived (f) | ils sont arrivés / elles sont arrivées |
| I got up | je me suis levé, levée |
| you got up | tu t’es levé, levée |
| he got up / she got up | il s’est levé / elle s’est levée |
| we got up | nous nous sommes levés, levées |
| you got up (plural, polite) | vous vous êtes levés, levées |
| they got up (m) / they got up (f) | ils se sont levés / elles se sont levées |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
Verbs of movement and of change of state take être.
Elle est arrivée à midi.She arrived at midday.
The participle agrees with the subject.
Mes sœurs sont parties tôt.My sisters left early.
All reflexive verbs take être.
Nous nous sommes couchés tard.We went to bed late.
Some of these verbs take avoir once an object follows.
Il est monté. Il a monté les valises.He went up. He carried the cases up.
Example sentences
Je suis allé au marché ce matin.I went to the market this morning.
Elles sont restées deux jours.They stayed for two days.
Tu es née en quelle année ?What year were you born in?
Nous nous sommes rencontrés à Lyon.We met in Lyon.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
Nothing in the English sentence tells you which auxiliary to use, because English has only one. Meaning is not a reliable guide either: rester takes être and dormir takes avoir, though both describe staying put. And the agreement is usually inaudible — allé and allée sound identical — so it survives only if you write it deliberately.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
A manageable group of verbs builds the passé composé with être. They are almost all verbs of movement or of a change of state: aller, venir, partir, arriver, entrer, sortir, monter, descendre, rester, tomber, naître, mourir, rentrer, retourner, passer.
English used to do this and stopped. «He is risen», «the guests are arrived», «I am come» are all good older English, and by the nineteenth century «have» had taken over everywhere. So there is no instinct left to lean on: the list has to be learnt as a list, and it is short enough for that.
With these verbs the participle agrees with the subject, exactly like an adjective: elle est allée, ils sont allés, elles sont allées. All reflexive verbs take être too: je me suis levé.
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The verbs on this page, in every form: être · monter · avoir · aller