A2 · Past
The passé composé: talking about what happened
The passé composé is the past of events: I spoke, I went, I sent the email. It is a helper verb plus a past participle — English “I have spoken” in shape, English “I spoke” in meaning. Once you can say what happened this week, French starts to feel like a life, not a drill.
The shape
Most verbs: present of avoir + past participle. A closed list of movement and “state” verbs: present of être + past participle. Reflexive verbs (je me suis levé) also take être.
J’ai parlé à mon chef.
I spoke to my boss. / I have spoken to my boss. Elle a fini.
She finished. Nous avons décidé.
We decided.
Past participles you will actually use
| Infinitive | Participle | Example |
|---|---|---|
| parler | parlé | j’ai parlé |
| finir | fini | j’ai fini |
| attendre | attendu | j’ai attendu |
| faire | fait | j’ai fait |
| prendre | pris | j’ai pris |
| voir | vu | j’ai vu |
| dire | dit | j’ai dit |
| écrire | écrit | j’ai écrit |
The être list
A small group of verbs — mostly coming, going, staying, being born, dying — take être. The participle then agrees with the subject: elle est allée, ils sont arrivés.
Je suis allé. / Je suis allée.
I went. — match the ending to who you are Elle est arrivée trop tard.
She arrived too late. On est resté une heure.
We stayed an hour.
Negation hugs the helper
Je n’ai pas compris.
I didn’t understand. Elle n’est pas venue.
She didn’t come. Je n’ai rien dit.
I didn’t say anything.
Try this out loud
Tell yesterday in three hits. Events only — not the weather of your childhood.
J’ai envoyé un mail.
I sent an email.
Je suis rentré(e) tard.
I got home late.
On a mangé dehors.
We ate out.
Questions this page usually raises
Keep going
Next grammar pages — same English, next rule.
A2–B1 · Past
Imparfait vs passé composé
The difference between imparfait and passé composé: background versus event, with paired examples in English and French.
Read this resourceA1 · Verbs
Être, avoir, aller, faire
The four French verbs you cannot skip: to be, to have, to go, and to do — with full present forms and when to use each.
Read this resourceA1 · Sentences
French negation: ne…pas and what people actually say
How to make French sentences negative with ne…pas, never, nothing — and why spoken French often drops the ne.
Read this resource
If you want a lesson around this
On the call
A page is a map. Speaking is the walk.
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