Le passé composé avec avoir et être

Question 1

What is the passé composé describing?

Answer 1

To describe past actions, the French use a past tense called the PASSÉ COMPOSÉ.

Question 2

Sentence structure for P.C with avoir as the helper verb?

Answer 2

Subject + (ne) + PRESENT of avoir + (pas) + PAST PARTICIPLE + rest of sentence

Question 3

What are the general past participle structures of -er, -ir, and -re verbs?

Answer 3

• er becomes -é
• ir becomes -i
• re becomes -u

Question 4

Where in the sentence can time indicators be placed?

Answer 4

At the beginning of the sentence, after the past participle, or after whatever noun the verb is acting upon.

J’ai fait mes devoirs AVANT le week-end. J’ai nagé PENDANT les vacances. FINALEMENT, je suis retournée à Toronto.

Question 5

How would you change a question in P.C. using inversion?

Answer 5

1. Keep the question word (aka interrogative adj.)
2. Remove “est-ce que”
3. Invert the subject and the HELPER verb (switch places)
4. Place a (-) between the subject and the HELPER verb
5. If the subject is 3rd person sing. and the HELPER verb ends in a vowel you MUST insert a [-t-] (a T bridge)
6. The past participle remains the same. Finish the question!

Question 6

What is the brain pneumonic that helps to remember which verbs conjugate with être as their helper verb in PC?

Answer 6

MRSDRVANDERTRAMP. “Verbs in the house of being” also works, because all these verbs have to do w movement except being born and dying

Question 7

What is important to remember when working with être as the helper verb?

Answer 7

You MUST make agreement between the subject pronoun and the verb (past participle). This is because the direct object is the subject pronoun.

Colin et Ashley (direct objects + subject pronouns) sont alléS à leur classe.

Question 8

How do you determine which helper verb to use when you have verbs like MRSDR that can take either etre or avoir?

Answer 8

Ask: who or what is receiving the action of the verb

If the answer is the SUBJECT PRONOUN - use étre.

• JE suis retournée à Toronto
• I(!) have returned to Toronto

If the answer is ANYTHING ELSE- use avoir

• J’ai retourné CETTE CHEMISE à Sears
• I have returned THIS SHIRT to Sears.