Le passé composé

The perfect tense

The “passé composé”, or the “perfect tense”, is a past tense and is used to talk about things:

that happened (e.g. I did / I played / I went)

or that have happened (e.g. I have done / I have played / I have

been)

3

It is made up of _______ parts.three

1on

2

Who did or has done the action?

Remember the right order!

1on

Find the conjugated verb forms in the wordsearch :

avoir and être

2 Follow these simple steps to decide which auxiliary verb to use.

Is the verb reflexive?(starts with “se” in the infinitive

e.g. se laver / se brosser)

Choose your infinitive

Use être

no yes

Is the verb in Mrs Van der Tramp?

no yes

Use avoir

M Monter To climb

R Rester To stay

S Sortir To go out

V Venir To come

A Arriver To arrive

N Naitre To be born

D Descendre To go down

E Entrer To go in

R Retourner To go back

T Tomber To fall

R Rentrer To go back

A Aller To go

M mourir To die

P Partir To leave

Is the verb reflexive?(starts with “se” in the infinitive

e.g. se laver / se brosser)

Choose your infinitive

Use être

no yes

Is the verb in Mrs Van der Tramp?

no yes

Use avoir Decide who did the verb. Choose the correct part of avoir / être.

Add the past participle

Is the verb reflexive?(starts with “se” in the infinitive

e.g. se laver / se brosser)

Choose your infinitive

no

Is the verb in Mrs Van der Tramp?

no

Use avoir Decide who did the verb.Choose the correct part of avoir / être.

Add the past participle

Did you use être?

no

Finished!

Example 1 – She played

jouer

Elle jouéa

3

How many types of infinitive are there? 3

What are they? ER RE IR

Summary:•Regular past participles are formed by taking the infinitive and

replacing the “er”, “re” or “ir” with “é”, “u” or “i”

•Irregular past participles have to be learnt by heart

é u iWhat do you replace each one with to form the past participle of regular verbs?

Irregular past participlesThese are a few of the most commonly used verbs which have

irregular past participles:

French English

InfinitivePast

participleInfinitive

Past participle

avoir eu to have hadboire bu to drink drank

conduire conduit to drive droveconnaitre

savoirconnu

suto know knew

courir couru to run rancroire cru to believe believeddevoir du to have to had to

dire dit to say saidécrire écrit to write wroteêtre été to be was

French English

InfinitivePast

participleInfinitive

Past participle

faire fait to do didlire lu to read read

mettre mis to put putmourir mort to die diednaître né to be born was born

pouvoir pu to be able couldprendre pris to take took

rire ri to laugh laughedvenir venu to come camevoir vu to see saw

vouloir voulu to want wanted

Is the verb reflexive?(starts with “se” in the infinitive

e.g. se laver / se brosser)

Choose your infinitive

Use être

no yes

Is the verb in Mrs Van der Tramp?

no yes

Use avoir Decide who did the verb . Choose the correct part of avoir / être.

Add the past participle

Did you use être?

no yes

Finished!

Make your past participle agree with the person

doing the verb (add “e” for feminine and

“s” for plural)

allé

Is the verb reflexive?(starts with “se” in the infinitive

e.g. se laver / se brosser)

Choose your infinitive

Use être

no

Is the verb in Mrs Van der Tramp?

yes

Decide who did the verb. Choose the correct part of avoir / être.

Add the past participle

Did you use être?

yes

Finished!

Make your past participle agree with the person

doing the verb (add “e” for feminine and

“s” for plural)

Example 2 – the girls went

aller

Elles sont es

Is the verb reflexive?(starts with “se” in the infinitive

e.g. se laver / se brosser)

Choose your infinitive

Use être

yes

Decide who did the verb.Choose the correct part of avoir / être.

Add the past participle

Did you use être?

yes

Finished!

Make your past participle agree with the person

doing the verb (add “e” for feminine and

“s” for plural)

Example 3 – I got up

se lever

Je suis levé

Don ‘t forget the reflexive pronoun

(me / te / se / nous / vous / se)

me (e)

Is the verb reflexive?(starts with “se” in the infinitive

e.g. se laver / se brosser)

Choose your infinitive

Use être

yes

Decide who did the verb. Choose the correct part of avoir / être.

Add the past participle

Did you use être?

yes

Finished!

Make your past participle agree with the person

doing the verb (add “e” for feminine and

“s” for plural)

Example 4 – Jack and I woke up

se réveiller

Nous sommes réveillé

Don ‘t forget the reflexive pronoun

(me / te / se / nous / vous / se)

nous s

Now it is your turnTranslate the following sentences using the flow chart to help

you:

1. He took the cake2. I drank some champagne3. You wrote a letter (1 friend)4. We went out last night5. You played football (3 friends)6. She ate her dinner7. Sarah and Lucie went to the cinema8. Melissa stayed at home and she finished her homework.9. Pierre and Brice sold the car10.We met in front of the cinema

Une comptine dans le passé composé;

Ce petit cochon est allé au marché,Ce petit cochon à la maison est resté,

Ce petit cochon a eu du rôti,Ce petit cochon n'en a pas eu mie,

Et ce petit cochon n‘a eu plus, pette-petit,Qu'à s'en retourner chez lui.

mais comment ça traduit en anglais?

Les réponses

1. He took the cake2. I drank some champagne3. You wrote a letter (1 friend)4. We went out last night5. You played football (3 friends)6. She ate her dinner7. Sarah and Lucie went to the

cinema8. Melissa stayed at home and she

finished her homework.9. Pierre and Brice sold the car10.We met in front of the cinema

1. Il a pris le gâteau2. J’ai bu du champagne3. Tu as écrit une lettre4. Nous sommes sorti(e)s hier soir5. Vous avez joué au foot6. Elle a mangé son dîner7. Sarah et Lucie sont allées au cinéma8. Melissa est restée à la maison et

elle a fini ses devoirs.9. Pierre et Brice ont vendu la voiture10. Nous nous sommes rencontré(e)s

devant le cinéma

Worksheets online

• http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/rgshiwyc/school/curric/French/2PerfectTense/2Perfect1.htm

• http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/rgshiwyc/school/curric/French/2PerfectTense/2Perfect5.htm