The Use of Être as an Auxiliary in the Passé Composé
7.9.1. The Main Idea
In the passé composé, most verbs use avoir as the auxiliary verb. However, some common verbs use être.
avoir auxiliary | J’ai étudié. |
être auxiliary | Je suis allé. |
With être, the past participle agrees with the subject.
Je suis allé. | I went. masculine speaker |
Je suis allée. | I went. feminine speaker |
7.9.2. Common Verbs with Être
aller | allé | to go |
venir | venu | to come |
revenir | revenu | to come back |
arriver | arrivé | to arrive |
partir | parti | to leave |
sortir | sorti | to go out |
rentrer | rentré | to return home |
entrer | entré | to enter |
monter | monté | to go up |
descendre | descendu | to go down |
tomber | tombé | to fall |
rester | resté | to stay |
naître | né | to be born |
mourir | mort | to die |
7.9.3. Conjugating with Être
Je suis allé. | I went. masculine speaker |
Je suis allée. | I went. feminine speaker |
Tu es allé. | You went. masculine |
Tu es allée. | You went. feminine |
Il est allé. | He went. |
Elle est allée. | She went. |
Nous sommes allés. | We went. masculine or mixed |
Nous sommes allées. | We went. feminine |
Vous êtes allé. | You went. formal masculine |
Vous êtes allée. | You went. formal feminine |
Vous êtes allés. | You went. plural masculine or mixed |
Vous êtes allées. | You went. plural feminine |
Ils sont allés. | They went. masculine or mixed |
Elles sont allées. | They went. feminine |
7.9.4. Agreement with Être
With être, the past participle changes to match the subject.
masculine singular | allé |
feminine singular | allée |
masculine plural / mixed plural | allés |
feminine plural | allées |
Examples:
Il est allé au café. | He went to the café. |
Elle est allée au café. | She went to the café. |
Ils sont allés au café. | They went to the café. masculine or mixed |
Elles sont allées au café. | They went to the café. feminine |
7.9.5. Examples with Other Être Verbs
Je suis arrivé à midi. | I arrived at noon. masculine speaker |
Je suis arrivée à midi. | I arrived at noon. feminine speaker |
Il est parti ce matin. | He left this morning. |
Elle est partie ce matin. | She left this morning. |
Nous sommes sortis hier soir. | We went out last night. masculine or mixed |
Nous sommes sorties hier soir. | We went out last night. feminine |
Ils sont revenus du café. | They came back from the café. |
Elles sont revenues du café. | They came back from the café. |
7.9.6. Negative Sentences
In the passé composé, ne… pas goes around the auxiliary verb.
Je ne suis pas allé au cinéma. | I did not go to the movie theater. masculine speaker |
Je ne suis pas allée au cinéma. | I did not go to the movie theater. feminine speaker |
Il n’est pas parti. | He did not leave. |
Elle n’est pas sortie. | She did not go out. |
Nous ne sommes pas restés. | We did not stay. masculine or mixed |
Elles ne sont pas revenues. | They did not come back. feminine |
7.9.7. Questions
Tu es allé au café ? | Did you go to the café? masculine |
Tu es allée au café ? | Did you go to the café? feminine |
Vous êtes allé au restaurant ? | Did you go to the restaurant? formal masculine |
Vous êtes allée au restaurant ? | Did you go to the restaurant? formal feminine |
Elle est sortie hier soir ? | Did she go out last night? |
Ils sont revenus ? | Did they come back? |
7.9.8. Important Note: Meaning Can Change
Some verbs can use être or avoir, depending on how they are used.
Je suis sorti. | I went out. |
J’ai sorti mon téléphone. | I took out my phone. |
Je suis monté. | I went up. |
J’ai monté la valise. | I carried the suitcase up. |
For beginner French, first learn the common movement meaning with être.
7.9.9. Core Patterns
être + past participle | passé composé with être |
Je suis allé(e). | I went. |
Il est parti. | He left. |
Elle est sortie. | She went out. |
Nous sommes arrivé(e)s. | We arrived. |
ne + être + pas + past participle | negative form |
Je ne suis pas allé(e). | I did not go. |
7.9.10. Practice
I went to Paris. masculine speaker |
I went to Paris. feminine speaker |
She arrived at noon. |
He left this morning. |
We went out last night. masculine or mixed |
They came back from the café. feminine |
I did not go to the cinema. masculine speaker |
Did you go to the café? informal feminine |
7.9.11. Answers
I went to Paris. masculine speaker | Je suis allé à Paris. |
I went to Paris. feminine speaker | Je suis allée à Paris. |
She arrived at noon. | Elle est arrivée à midi. |
He left this morning. | Il est parti ce matin. |
We went out last night. masculine or mixed | Nous sommes sortis hier soir. |
They came back from the café. feminine | Elles sont revenues du café. |
I did not go to the cinema. masculine speaker | Je ne suis pas allé au cinéma. |
Did you go to the café? informal feminine | Tu es allée au café ? |
7.9.12. Short Dialogue
A : Tu es allé au cinéma hier soir ? | A: Did you go to the movie theater last night? masculine |
B : Non, je ne suis pas allé au cinéma. Je suis resté à la maison. | B: No, I did not go to the movie theater. I stayed home. |
A : Et Marie ? | A: And Marie? |
B : Elle est sortie avec des amis. | B: She went out with friends. |
7.9.13. Checkpoint
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to recognize common verbs that use être in the passé composé, form sentences such as je suis allé(e) and elle est sortie, make the past participle agree with the subject, and use negative sentences and questions with être as the auxiliary.
7.9.14. Try It Out
Try saying this in French:
I went to the café.
I did not go out yesterday.
Possible answer:
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