House illustration

Grammar: Passé Composé with être

In the French verb tense “Passé Composé,” most verbs are conjugated with “avoir.” So for example, “I have given” is “j’ai donné,” which literally translates to “I have given.”

But some intransitive verbs are conjugated with “être,” the verb “to be.”

What is an intransitive verb?

An intransitive verb is a verb without an object. Transitive verbs (the regular kind) have a direct object. The verb “to see” is a transitive verb. A transitive verb has as an object whatever it is that is being acted upon. So in the sentence “I see the beach,” the object is “the beach,” because that is what is being “seen.”

An intransitive verb has no direct object. For example, “to go” is an intransitive verb. You can’t “go the beach.” You can, however, “go TO the beach,” but the beach is not the object of the verb “to go.” The only person “going” is you, and nothing else is being “gone.” The verb “to go” doesn’t act on anything else. You (or whoever is “going”) is in charge of the process of going, but there is no object.

Which French verbs are conjugated with être in the Passé Composé?

The French verbs conjugated with être in the Passé Composé are verbs that usually have some relation to the activities commonly performed in and around a house. Some people refer to them as “house verbs” for that reason.

First letterInfinitiveMeaningPast participle
Ddevenirto becomedevenu (irregular)
Rrevenirto come backrevenu (irregular)
Mmourirto diemort (irregular)
Rretournerto returnretourné
Ssortirto go outsorti
Vvenirto comevenu (irregular)
Aarriverto arrivearrivé
Nnaîtreto be bornné (irregular)
Ddescendreto descenddescendu
Eentrerto enterentré
Rrentrerto returnrentré
Ttomberto falltombé
Rresterto stay, remainresté
Aallerto goallé
Mmonterto go upmonté
Ppartirto leaveparti
Ppasserto pass bypassé

If you think that dying and being born don’t sound like activities that normally happen at home, remember that for the majority of human history, the home is where most people where born and where many people died.

Mnemonic

If you take the first letter of each verb in the above table (eg “d” from devenir, “r” from revenir, etc), you will end up with this list of letters: DRMRSVANDERTRAMPP.

You can turn this into the name of an imaginary married couple: “Dr & Mrs Van Der Trampp.” This gives you a way to remember at least the first letter of each verb in this list of verbs conjugated with être in the Passé Composé.

How to form the Passé Composé of a verb conjugated with être

Present tense of êtrePast participleResultMeaning
je suisalléje suis alléI went, I have gone, I did go
tu esallétu es alléyou went, you have gone, you did go
il estalléil est alléhe went, he has gone, he did go
nous sommesallésnous sommes alléswe went, we have gone, we did go
vous êtesallésvous êtes allésyou went, you have gone, you did go
ils sontallésils sont allésthey went, they have gone, they did go

Number & gender agreement of Past Participle

The past participle must agree in number and gender with the subject (the person in charge of doing the verb).

MasculineFeminine
je suis alléje suis allée
tu es allé tu es allée
il est alléelle est allée
nous sommes allésnous sommes allées
vous êtes allésvous êtes allées
ils sont alléselles sont allées

Image courtesy of vecteezy.com

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