The French Perfect Tense

The French Perfect Tense

1. Used to express a completed action in the past

2. Translates as either:

   • I did
   • I did do
   • I have done

3. Constructed with 2 parts:

   • Auxiliary verb
     • Either a form of:
       • Être
         • Used if the verb you want to use (e.g. If you wanted to say 'I went' the verb would be to go, or aller) is:
           • In MRS VANDETRAMP
             • Monter + dans
             • Rester
             • Sortir
             • Venir
             • Arriver
             • Naître
             • Descendre + de
             • Entrer + dans
             • Tomber
             • Retourner
             • Aller
             • Mourir
             • Partir
           • One of the 4 compunds
             • Revenir
             • Rentrer
             • Repartir
             • Devenir
           • A reflexive verb
             • Used in the same way except the reflexive pronoun comes before the auxiliary verb (form of être)
       • Avoir
         • If the verb you want to use is not in MRS VANDETRAMP, not one of the 4 compounds and not reflexive, then you use a form of avoir as the auxiliary verb
   • Past Participle
     • Regular Past Participles are formed by taking off the ending in the infinitive and adding:
       • for -er verbs, add -é
       • for -ir verbs, add -i
       • for -re verbs, add -u
     • The irregular Past Participles have no pattern, so you just have to learn them
     • If the auxiliary verb is a form of être (only être not avoir), you make the past participle agree with the subject by adding an -e if the person is feminine, an -s if the subject is plural and has at least one male in it, and -es if the subject is plural and only made up of women, if the subject does not fit these circumstances then you just leave it as it is.

4. FORMATION: Subject + Auxiliary Verb + Past Participle