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Le passé composé
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Le passé composé
The passé composé (the compound past tense) is used to describe past events or actions.
La semaine dernière, j’ai commencé à apprendre le français. commencer, passé composé
Last week, I started to learn French.
Last week, I started to learn French.
The passé composé is formed using the present tense form of être and avoir + past participle of the main verb:
manger j’ai mangé manger, passé composé to eat I ate
dormir tu as dormi dormir, passé composé to sleep you slept
tomber nous sommes tombés tomber, passé composé to fall we fell
dormir tu as dormi dormir, passé composé to sleep you slept
tomber nous sommes tombés tomber, passé composé to fall we fell
Here are some examples of how to form the past participle:
| -é | -u |
|---|---|
| aller il est allé he went, he has gone | vouloir il a voulu he wanted |
| tuer il a tué he killed, he has killed | pouvoir il a pu he was able to |
| voir il a vu he saw, he has seen | |
| venir il est venu he came, he has come |
| -i | others |
|---|---|
| finir il a fini he (has) finished | avoir il a eu he had |
| sortir il est sorti he went out | dire il a dit he said |
| dormir il a dormi he slept | faire il a fait he did, he made |
| être il a été he was, he has been |
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