J'ai visité Paris.
English: I visited Paris.
- Language
- French
- Level
- B1
- Unit
- Temps et modes verbaux
- Practice types
- 0
What this grammar point covers
The 'passé composé' is a French past tense used to talk about actions or events that are completed in the past.
When to use it
Use the passé composé to describe actions that happened once or a specific number of times in the past, or to talk about events that are finished.
Key forms
- avoir/être (present) + past participle
- Example: j'ai mangé, tu as fini, il est allé
Examples
Elle a fini ses devoirs.
English: She finished her homework.
Nous sommes arrivés à l'heure.
English: We arrived on time.
Ils ont regardé un film.
English: They watched a movie.
Tips
- Most verbs use 'avoir' as the auxiliary, but some use 'être' (like verbs of movement: aller, venir, arriver, partir).
- The past participle sometimes changes to agree in gender and number when using 'être'.
- Do not forget to use the correct auxiliary (avoir or être) for each verb.
Exceptions and edge cases
- Some verbs have irregular past participles (e.g., 'avoir' → 'eu', 'être' → 'été', 'faire' → 'fait').
- Reflexive verbs always use 'être' as the auxiliary.