Key points about using the perfect tense with 'avoir' in French
The The perfect tense is used to talk about an action or a state that has finished, and that is in the past. in French is used to say what you did or what you have done in the past.
To form the perfect tense you need a The person or thing in the sentence that is doing the action. , an Auxiliary verbs support the main verb you want to write in a past tense. The auxiliary verbs in French are ‘avoir’ (to have) and ‘être’ (to be). and a Words that express a completed action. They usually end in '-ed' in English, eg watched, danced, visited. .
Avoir is an auxiliary verb in French.
Many past participles are A regular verb follows a set pattern., but there are some important An irregular verb does not follow a set pattern. ones.
What is the perfect tense?
The perfect tense is used to talk about something that happened in the past and that is completely finished. For example:
J’ai regardé la télévision. – I watched the television.
Nous avons joué au rugby. – We played rugby.
It can also be used to express the English present perfect tense. For example:
Il a fini ses devoirs. – He has finished his homework.
Elles ont quitté le collège. – They have left the school.
Forming the perfect tense with 'avoir'
There are three key elements needed to form the perfect tense with avoir:
The subject: This could be a pronoun like je, tu or il, or a name, a person or a thing, such as Sarah, ma mère or le livre.
The present tense of avoir. This is known as the auxiliary verb and it helps to form the perfect tense.
| j’ai | I have |
| tu as | you have (singular, informal) |
| il a | he has |
| elle a | she has |
| on a | ones has / we have |
| nous avons | we have |
| vous avez | you have (singular formal or plural) |
| ils ont | they have (masculine or mixed) |
| elles ont | they have (feminine) |
- The past participle of the verb.
- To form the past participle of regular verbs, remove the -er, -ir or -re and add these endings:
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (to speak) → Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (spoken)
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (to choose) → Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (chosen)
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (to hear) → Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (heard)
- Some of the most commonly used verbs have irregular past participles:
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (to be) → Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (been)
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (to have) → Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (had)
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (to do/make) → Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (done/made)
- Some other important verbs have irregular past participles:
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (to open) → Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (opened)
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (to take) → Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (taken)
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (to translate) → Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (translated)
For example:
Elle a parlé. – She spoke./She has spoken.
Ils ont choisi. – They chose./They have chosen.
Nous avons entendu. – We heard./We have heard.
What is the perfect tense? - Mini quiz
What is the past participle of the verb demander (to ask)?
Demandé. It is a regular –er verb.
Offrir (to offer) follows the same pattern as ouvrir (to open). What is the past participle of offrir?
Offert.
This is an irregular past participle.
Quiz - The perfect tense with 'avoir'
Practise what you've learned about using the perfect tense with avoir with this quiz.
Higher Tier - Important irregular past participles
Some other important verbs which have irregular past participles are all modal verbs:
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (to be able) → Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (been able)
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (to have to) → Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (had to)
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (to want) → Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (wanted)
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (to know how to) → Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (known how to)
For example:
J’ai pu lire le livre hier soir. – I was able to read the book yesterday evening.
Le weekend dernier, Sofiane a dû rester à la maison. – Last weekend, Sofiane had to stay in the house.
On a voulu essayer le gâteau hier. – We wanted to try the cake yesterday.
Vous avez su faire les devoirs ? – Did you know how to do the homework?
Irregular past participles - Mini quiz
Complete the following sentence with the correct form of the verb.
___ ___ aller au collège. – I had to go to school.
J’ai dû aller au collège.
Complete the following sentence with the correct form of the verb.
On ___ ___ visiter le château. – We were able to visit the castle.
On a pu visiter le château.
Higher Tier - Quiz - The perfect tense with 'avoir'
Practise what you've learned about using the perfect tense with avoir with this Higher Tier quiz.
Video: How to talk about the past in French
Watch the video for further information on how to use the perfect tense in French.
To talk about something you did in the past, you're going to need the perfect tense.
The perfect tense is made up of two parts. The first part is often the verb avoir - to have and the second part is the past participle.
For example, j'ai mangé un sandwich - I have eaten a sandwich.
You take the form of avoir you need - j'ai and add it to the past participle of the verb you need.
in this case, the past participle of manger is mangé.
J'ai mangé.
For -er verbs the past participle ends in -é.
Other verbs follow different patterns.
For lots of verbs ending in -ir like finir to finish the past participle ends in -i:
J'ai fini - I have finished.
prendre - to take - the ending of the past participle is -is:
Elle a pris le bus - She took the bus.
Normally ones to do with movement that work in a different way.
Instead of avoir they take être and the past participle.
Je suis allé à la plage - I went to the beach.
Il est rentré à la maison - He came home.
So that's the perfect tense: J'ai fini - I have finished.
Now you’ve learned about using the perfect tense with avoir, why not explore the perfect tense with être?
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