Grammar / A2 : Elementary / The passé composé with être
The passé composé with être
Movement verbs and reflexive verbs in the passé composé.
The verbs that agree with their subject
The previous lesson showed that most French verbs use avoir in the passé composé. A smaller but important group uses être instead. Most of these verbs describe movement toward or away from a place, or a fundamental change of state: birth, death, arrival, departure, going up, coming down.
What sets être verbs apart is not just the auxiliary: it is the agreement. With avoir, the past participle never agrees with the subject. With être, it always does. The past participle becomes an adjective that matches the subject in gender and number. This agreement is visible in writing and, for several participles, audible in speech. Getting it right is one of the clearest markers of A2 competence in French.
1. Structure
Subject + être (present) + past participle (agreeing with subject)
Il est parti. (He left.)
Elle est partie. (She left.) (-e added for feminine)
Ils sont partis. (They left.) (-s added for plural)
Elles sont parties. (They left.) (-es added for feminine plural)
2. The être verbs
The following verbs always use être as their auxiliary. They are best learnt as pairs of opposites: this makes them easier to recall and harder to confuse with avoir verbs.
| Verb | Meaning | Opposite | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| naître (né) | to be born | mourir (mort) | to die |
| arriver (arrivé) | to arrive | partir (parti) | to leave |
| entrer (entré) | to enter, go in | sortir (sorti) | to go out |
| monter (monté) | to go up | descendre (descendu) | to go down, come down |
| aller (allé) | to go | venir (venu) | to come |
| rentrer (rentré) | to go home, go back | repartir (reparti) | to leave again |
| naître (né) | to be born | mourir (mort) | to die |
Four more verbs that do not form natural pairs but always use être:
| Verb | Participle | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| rester | resté | to stay, remain | Il est resté à la maison. (He stayed at home.) |
| tomber | tombé | to fall | Elle est tombée dans l'escalier. (She fell on the stairs.) |
| devenir | devenu | to become | Il est devenu médecin. (He became a doctor.) |
| retourner | retourné | to go back, return | Elle est retournée au Japon. (She went back to Japan.) |
💡 Compounds follow the same auxiliary. Verbs derived from être verbs use être too: revenir (to come back), parvenir (to manage to), intervenir (to intervene) all use être like venir. ressortir uses être like sortir. redescendre uses être like descendre. Learning the base verbs gives you their compounds for free.
3. Agreement of the past participle : the essential rule
With être, the past participle behaves like an adjective. It agrees with the grammatical subject of the sentence in both gender and number. This applies to every être verb, every time, without exception.
The four agreement endings, using partir (parti) as the model:
| Subject | Auxiliary | Past participle | Ending added |
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine singular (il, un homme, Marc) | est | parti | none |
| feminine singular (elle, une femme, Marie) | est | partie | -e |
| masculine plural or mixed (ils, des hommes, Marc et Marie) | sont | partis | -s |
| feminine plural (elles, des femmes, Marie et Sophie) | sont | parties | -es |
The same rule applies when the subject is je, tu, nous, vous (the ending depends on the gender and number of the real person or group:)
| Subject | Speaker is male | Speaker is female |
|---|---|---|
| je | Je suis parti. | Je suis partie. |
| tu | Tu es allé où ? | Tu es allée où ? |
| nous (all male or mixed) | Nous sommes arrivés. | |
| nous (all female) | Nous sommes arrivées. | |
| vous (one male) | Vous êtes parti ? (polite singular, male) | |
| vous (one female) | Vous êtes partie ? (polite singular, female) | |
| vous (plural mixed) | Vous êtes partis. (plural) | |
Marc est né en 1990. (Marc was born in 1990.) (masculine singular: né)
Marie est née en 1990. (Marie was born in 1990.) (feminine singular: née)
Les enfants sont nés en décembre. (The children were born in December.) (masculine/mixed plural: nés)
Les filles sont nées en décembre. (The girls were born in December.) (feminine plural: nées)
⚠ The agreement is compulsory even when the added letter is silent. parti and partie sound the same, but in writing, partie must have its -e.
However, some past participles do produce an audible difference with agreement: mort /mɔʁ/ vs morte /mɔʁt/ (the t becomes audible in the feminine). Similarly: fait/faite, pris/prise, mis/mise. For être verbs: parti/partie sound the same, but mort/morte do not.
4. Full sentences with agreement
| Sentence | Agreement |
|---|---|
| Pierre est allé à Lyon. (Pierre went to Lyon.) | masc. sg.: allé |
| Sophie est allée à Lyon. (Sophie went to Lyon.) | fem. sg.: allée |
| Ils sont venus hier soir. (They came last night.) | masc./mixed pl.: venus |
| Elles sont venues hier soir. (They came last night.) | fem. pl.: venues |
| Elle est tombée dans la rue. (She fell in the street.) | fem. sg.: tombée |
| Il est resté deux semaines. (He stayed for two weeks.) | masc. sg.: resté |
| Nous sommes rentrés tard. (We got home late.) (male speaker or mixed group) | masc. pl.: rentrés |
| Vous êtes arrivée comment ? (How did you arrive?) (to one woman) | fem. sg.: arrivée |
5. Negation
As with avoir verbs, ne goes before the auxiliary and pas goes directly after it, before the past participle.
| Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|
| Il est parti. (He left.) | Il n'est pas parti. (He didn't leave.) |
| Elle est venue. (She came.) | Elle n'est pas venue. (She didn't come.) |
| Ils sont arrivés. (They arrived.) | Ils ne sont pas arrivés. (They didn't arrive.) |
| Tu es resté. (You stayed.) | Tu n'es pas resté. (You didn't stay.) |
6. Questions
| Form | Example |
|---|---|
| Intonation | Tu es arrivé quand ? (When did you arrive?) |
| Est-ce que | Est-ce qu'il est parti ? (Did he leave?) |
| Inversion | Est-elle venue ? (Did she come?) |
À quelle heure est-ce que tu es rentré(e) hier soir ? (What time did you get home last night?)
Elle est allée où en vacances ? (Where did she go on holiday?)
Ils ne sont pas encore arrivés ? (Haven't they arrived yet?)
7. Verbs that use either avoir or être
A small group of verbs can use either avoir or être depending on how they are used. When they describe movement or change without a direct object, they use être. When they take a direct object, they use avoir: and the meaning often shifts slightly.
| Verb | With être (intransitive) | With avoir (transitive) |
|---|---|---|
| monter | Elle est montée. (She went upstairs.) | Elle a monté les valises. (She brought the suitcases up.) |
| descendre | Il est descendu. (He came downstairs.) | Il a descendu les poubelles. (He took the bins downstairs.) |
| sortir | Elle est sortie. (She went out.) | Elle a sorti les clés. (She took out the keys.) |
| rentrer | Il est rentré tard. (He got home late.) | Il a rentré la voiture. (He put the car in the garage.) |
| retourner | Elle est retournée en Corée. (She went back to Korea.) | Il a retourné le matelas. (He turned the mattress over.) |
| passer | Elle est passée me voir. (She stopped by to see me.) | J'ai passé une heure à attendre. (I spent an hour waiting.) |
💡 The key question: does the verb have a direct object? If yes, use avoir. If no, use être. Elle est sortie (no object, use être). Elle a sorti les clés (les clés is the direct object, use avoir).
8. Reflexive verbs : a preview
All reflexive (pronominal) verbs also form their passé composé with être. They have their own agreement rules, which are covered fully in the reflexive verbs lesson. Here is a brief overview:
Je me suis levé(e). (I got up.)
Elle s'est douchée. (She had a shower.)
Ils se sont rencontrés. (They met each other.)
Nous nous sommes promenés. (We went for a walk.)
9. Avoir vs être : summary
| Avoir verbs | Être verbs | |
|---|---|---|
| Which verbs? | The majority (all transitive verbs and most intransitive ones) | About 16 specific intransitive verbs + all reflexive verbs |
| Agreement? | No agreement with the subject | Past participle agrees with the subject in gender and number |
| Example (masc.) | Il a mangé. | Il est parti. |
| Example (fem.) | Elle a mangé. (no change) | Elle est partie. (-e added) |
| Example (fem. pl.) | Elles ont mangé. (no change) | Elles sont parties. (-es added) |
10. Key points
✓ Structure: subject + être (present) + past participle (with agreement)
✓ The past participle agrees with the subject: -e (fem.), -s (masc. pl.), -es (fem. pl.)
✓ Core être verbs in pairs: naître/mourir, arriver/partir, entrer/sortir, monter/descendre, aller/venir, rentrer/repartir
✓ Standalone être verbs: rester, tomber, devenir, retourner
✓ Compounds of être verbs also use être: revenir, ressortir, redescendre
✓ Negation: ne + être + pas + participle: il n'est pas parti
✓ Some verbs use être without object, avoir with object: elle est sortie vs elle a sorti les clés
✓ All reflexive verbs also use être (covered in the reflexive verbs lesson)