The perfect tense with avoir
Forming the perfect tense with avoir
An explanation of how to conjugate the perfect tense of regular verbs in French
Most verbs use avoir as an auxiliary verbAuxiliary verbs support the main verb you want to write in a past tense. verb.
These are the key elements needed to form the perfect tense with avoir:
- The subjectThe person or thing in the sentence that is doing the action. - je, tu, il, etc. or a name or a person or thing, eg Sophie/ma mère/mon livre.
- The auxiliary verb - the present tense of avoir.
| j’ai | I have |
| tu as | you have |
| il/elle/on a | he/she/it has |
| nous avons | we have |
| vous avez | you have |
| ils/elles ont | they have |
| j’ai |
| I have |
| tu as |
| you have |
| il/elle/on a |
| he/she/it has |
| nous avons |
| we have |
| vous avez |
| you have |
| ils/elles ont |
| they have |
- The past participleWords that express a completed action. They usually end in '-ed' in English, eg watched, danced, visited. - mangé (ate), fini (finished), attendu (waited), etc.
Regular past participles are formed by removing the infinitiveThe form of the verb that has not been conjugated and is usually translated with 'to' in English, for example 'to play'. ending -er, -ir or -re and adding -é, -i or -u.
| Infinitive ending | Past participle ending | Example |
| -er | -é | manger - to eat / – j’ai mangé - I ate |
| -ir | -i | finir - to finish / nous avons fini - we finished |
| -re | -u | attendre - to wait / ils ont attendu - they waited |
| Infinitive ending | -er |
|---|---|
| Past participle ending | -é |
| Example | manger - to eat / – j’ai mangé - I ate |
| Infinitive ending | -ir |
|---|---|
| Past participle ending | -i |
| Example | finir - to finish / nous avons fini - we finished |
| Infinitive ending | -re |
|---|---|
| Past participle ending | -u |
| Example | attendre - to wait / ils ont attendu - they waited |
Some common verbs have irregularSomething that does not follow regular patterns and may have a different form. past participles:
| Infinitive | Past participle | Example |
| avoir - to have | eu - had | J’ai eu de bonnes notes. - I had good grades. |
| boire - to drink | bu - drunk | As-tu bu de l’eau ? – Have you drunk some water? |
| devoir - to have to | dû - had to | Il a dû aller au supermarché. - He had to go to the supermarket. |
| dire - to say | dit - said | Elle a dit: « Bonjour ! » - She said “Hello!” |
| être - to be | été - been | Je n’ai jamais été si content. – I have never been so happy. |
| faire - to do, to make | fait - done, made | Vous avez fait vos devoirs ? - Have you done your homework? |
| prendre - to take, have | pris - taken | Elles ont pris leur petit dejeuner. – They had their breakfast. |
| pouvoir - to be able to | pu - been able to | Ils ont pu aider leur copain. - They were able to help their friend. |
| vivre - to live | vécu -lived | Elles ont vécu en France. – They lived in France. |
| voir - to see | vu - seen | J’ai vu le voleur. – I saw the thief. |
| lire - to read | lu - read | As-tu lu ce roman ? - Have you read this novel? |
| recevoir - to receive | reçu - received | Nous avons reçu beaucoup de cadeaux. - We received lots of presents. |
| Infinitive | avoir - to have |
|---|---|
| Past participle | eu - had |
| Example | J’ai eu de bonnes notes. - I had good grades. |
| Infinitive | boire - to drink |
|---|---|
| Past participle | bu - drunk |
| Example | As-tu bu de l’eau ? – Have you drunk some water? |
| Infinitive | devoir - to have to |
|---|---|
| Past participle | dû - had to |
| Example | Il a dû aller au supermarché. - He had to go to the supermarket. |
| Infinitive | dire - to say |
|---|---|
| Past participle | dit - said |
| Example | Elle a dit: « Bonjour ! » - She said “Hello!” |
| Infinitive | être - to be |
|---|---|
| Past participle | été - been |
| Example | Je n’ai jamais été si content. – I have never been so happy. |
| Infinitive | faire - to do, to make |
|---|---|
| Past participle | fait - done, made |
| Example | Vous avez fait vos devoirs ? - Have you done your homework? |
| Infinitive | prendre - to take, have |
|---|---|
| Past participle | pris - taken |
| Example | Elles ont pris leur petit dejeuner. – They had their breakfast. |
| Infinitive | pouvoir - to be able to |
|---|---|
| Past participle | pu - been able to |
| Example | Ils ont pu aider leur copain. - They were able to help their friend. |
| Infinitive | vivre - to live |
|---|---|
| Past participle | vécu -lived |
| Example | Elles ont vécu en France. – They lived in France. |
| Infinitive | voir - to see |
|---|---|
| Past participle | vu - seen |
| Example | J’ai vu le voleur. – I saw the thief. |
| Infinitive | lire - to read |
|---|---|
| Past participle | lu - read |
| Example | As-tu lu ce roman ? - Have you read this novel? |
| Infinitive | recevoir - to receive |
|---|---|
| Past participle | reçu - received |
| Example | Nous avons reçu beaucoup de cadeaux. - We received lots of presents. |
Translate the following sentences into French.
Question
I did my homework.
J’ai fait mes devoirs.
Faire is an irregular verb, and the past participle is fait.
Question
He said “Goodbye”.
Il a dit : « Au revoir ».
Dire (to say) is an irregular verb, and the past participle is dit.
Question
They had to leave at eight o’clock.
Ils ont dû partir à huit heures.
Devoir (to have to) is an irregular verb and the past participle is dû.
Question
We ate a sandwich and we drank some milk.
Nous avons mangé un sandwich et nous avons bu du lait. / On a mangé un sandwich et on a bu du lait.
There are two possibilities as nous and on both mean ‘we’. Manger is a regular -er verb, so the past participle is mangé. Boire (to drink) is irregular and the past participle is bu.
