This cheat sheet explains when to use avoir and when to use être as auxiliary verbs in the passé composé. Students need this reference because the choice of auxiliary changes how a past-tense sentence is formed. It also helps students remember the common être verbs and avoid agreement mistakes.
The goal is to make French past tense clearer and easier to check while writing or speaking.
Most French verbs use avoir in the passé composé, using the pattern subject + avoir + past participle. A smaller group of movement and change-of-state verbs use être, using the pattern subject + être + past participle. With être verbs, the past participle agrees with the subject in gender and number.
Reflexive verbs also usually use être and often require agreement with the subject.
Key Facts
- Most verbs form the passé composé with avoir: subject + avoir + past participle, as in J'ai parlé.
- DR/MRS VANDERTRAMPP verbs use être in the passé composé: subject + être + past participle, as in Elle est allée.
- The common être verb list is devenir, revenir, monter, rester, sortir, venir, aller, naître, descendre, entrer, rentrer, tomber, retourner, arriver, mourir, partir, passer.
- With être, the past participle agrees with the subject: add e for feminine singular, s for masculine plural, and es for feminine plural.
- With avoir, the past participle usually does not agree with the subject: Ils ont mangé and Elle a fini.
- Reflexive verbs usually use être in the passé composé: subject + reflexive pronoun + être + past participle, as in Je me suis levé.
- Some movement verbs use avoir when they take a direct object, such as J'ai monté les valises, but use être when there is no direct object, such as Je suis monté.
- The passé composé of être and avoir themselves uses avoir: J'ai été means I was or I have been, and J'ai eu means I had or I have had.
Vocabulary
- Auxiliary verb
- An auxiliary verb is a helping verb, such as avoir or être, used with a past participle to form the passé composé.
- Passé composé
- The passé composé is a French past tense formed with an auxiliary verb plus a past participle.
- Past participle
- A past participle is the verb form used after avoir or être, such as parlé, fini, vendu, allé, or fait.
- DR/MRS VANDERTRAMPP
- DR/MRS VANDERTRAMPP is a memory tool for common French verbs that use être in the passé composé.
- Agreement
- Agreement means changing the ending of a past participle to match gender and number, usually by adding e, s, or es.
- Reflexive verb
- A reflexive verb is a verb used with a reflexive pronoun, such as me, te, se, nous, or vous, and it usually uses être in the passé composé.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Using avoir with aller is wrong because aller is an être verb in the passé composé. Write Je suis allé or Je suis allée, not J'ai allé.
- Forgetting agreement with être is wrong because the past participle must match the subject. Write Elles sont parties, not Elles sont parti.
- Adding agreement to every avoir verb is wrong because avoir verbs usually do not agree with the subject. Write Elle a mangé, not Elle a mangée, unless a preceding direct object requires agreement in more advanced grammar.
- Confusing être verbs with all movement verbs is wrong because not every verb of motion uses être. For example, courir and marcher normally use avoir, as in J'ai couru and Nous avons marché.
- Using the infinitive after the auxiliary is wrong because the passé composé needs a past participle. Write Tu as fini, not Tu as finir.
Practice Questions
- 1 Choose the correct auxiliary and complete the sentence: Nous ___ arrivé___ à huit heures.
- 2 Rewrite in the passé composé: Elle va au cinéma.
- 3 Choose the correct form: Ils ont sorti or Ils sont sortis? Translate your answer into English.
- 4 Explain why Elle est montée and Elle a monté les valises use different auxiliary verbs.