A Comprehensive guide on the passé composé for the three regular verb groups in French: -er, -ir, and -re verbs. In English and French.

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1. -ER Verbs (e.g., parler – to speak)

Formation:

• Auxiliary verb (avoir or être) in present tense + past participle of the main verb.
• For -er verbs, the past participle is formed by replacing -er with -é.

Example: Parler (to speak)

English:

• I spoke: J’ai parlé
• You spoke: Tu as parlé
• He/She/It spoke: Il/Elle/On a parlé
• We spoke: Nous avons parlé
• You (plural/formal) spoke: Vous avez parlé
• They spoke: Ils/Elles ont parlé

French:

• J’ai parlé
• Tu as parlé
• Il/Elle/On a parlé
• Nous avons parlé
• Vous avez parlé
• Ils/Elles ont parlé

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2. -IR Verbs (e.g., finir – to finish)

Formation:

• Auxiliary verb (avoir or être) in present tense + past participle of the main verb.
• For -ir verbs, the past participle is formed by replacing -ir with -i.

Example: Finir (to finish)

English:

• I finished: J’ai fini
• You finished: Tu as fini
• He/She/It finished: Il/Elle/On a fini
• We finished: Nous avons fini
• You (plural/formal) finished: Vous avez fini
• They finished: Ils/Elles ont fini

French:

• J’ai fini
• Tu as fini
• Il/Elle/On a fini
• Nous avons fini
• Vous avez fini
• Ils/Elles ont fini

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3. -RE Verbs (e.g., vendre – to sell)

Formation:

• Auxiliary verb (avoir or être) in present tense + past participle of the main verb.
• For -re verbs, the past participle is formed by replacing -re with -u.

Example: Vendre (to sell)

English:

• I sold: J’ai vendu
• You sold: Tu as vendu
• He/She/It sold: Il/Elle/On a vendu
• We sold: Nous avons vendu
• You (plural/formal) sold: Vous avez vendu
• They sold: Ils/Elles ont vendu

French:

• J’ai vendu
• Tu as vendu
• Il/Elle/On a vendu
• Nous avons vendu
• Vous avez vendu
• Ils/Elles ont vendu

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Key Points to Remember:

1. Auxiliary Verbs:
   • Most verbs use avoir as the auxiliary verb.
   • Some verbs, especially those indicating movement or change of state, use être (e.g., aller, venir, arriver, partir).
2. Agreement with Être:
   • When using être as the auxiliary verb, the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject.
   • Example: Elle est allée (She went), Ils sont partis (They left).
3. Negation:
   • To form the negative, place ne…pas around the auxiliary verb.
   • Example: Je n’ai pas parlé (I did not speak).

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I hope this guide helps you understand the passé composé for regular verbs! If you have any questions or need further examples, feel free to ask Mr. Lingua on mrlingua@misterlingua.com or follow Mr. Lingua on Tiktok and Youtube. 😊