être + Past Participle

Compound Past with Etre

Level 2

While most French verbs use avoir in the past, a small group of 'motion' and 'state' verbs, plus all reflexive verbs, use être.

How It Works

In French, the auxiliary verb used for the compound past depends on the verb type. While most verbs use avoir, être is required for two specific categories:

1. The 'House of être' Verbs
These are a specific group of intransitive verbs describing movement or a change of state. When these verbs are used with être, the past participle always agrees with the subject in gender and number:

  • Elle est allée (Feminine singular)
  • Ils sont partis (Masculine plural)

2. Reflexive Verbs
Every reflexive verb uses être. However, agreement rules are different here. The participle agrees with the reflexive pronoun only if it is a direct object. There is no agreement if a direct object follows the verb:

  • Elle s'est lavée (Agreement: she washed herself)
  • Elle s'est lavé les mains (No agreement: 'les mains' is the direct object)

3. The Transitive Switch
If a motion verb like sortir or monter is followed by a direct object, it switches to avoir. For example: Je suis sorti (I went out) vs. J'ai sorti la poubelle (I took out the trash).

Examples (5)

  1. Elle est née en France en 1995.

    She was born in France in 1995.

    Word by Word: She is born in France in 1995.

    The verb 'naître' (to be born) is a change of state and always takes 'être'. Note the extra 'e' on 'née' to agree with 'elle'.

  2. Ils sont partis tôt ce matin.

    They left early this morning.

    Word by Word: They are left early this morning.

    'Partir' is a verb of motion. The participle 'partis' adds an 's' because the subject 'ils' is plural.

  3. Nous nous sommes levés à six heures.

    We got up at six o'clock.

    Word by Word: We ourselves are raised at six hours.

    All reflexive verbs, like 'se lever', use 'être' in the passé composé.

  4. Je suis descendu par l'escalier.

    I went down by the stairs.

    Word by Word: I am descended by the staircase.

    Here, 'descendre' is intransitive (no direct object), so it uses 'être'.

  5. J'ai descendu la valise.

    I took the suitcase down.

    Word by Word: I have descended the suitcase.

    Because 'la valise' is a direct object, the verb switches to 'avoir' and loses subject agreement.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'avoir' for motion verbs because of English influence.

    J'ai allé au cinéma.
    Je suis allé au cinéma.

    English uses 'have' for all past actions, but French requires 'être' for verbs like 'aller'.

  • Forgetting gender and number agreement with motion verbs.

    Mes sœurs sont arrivé hier.
    Mes sœurs sont arrivées hier.

    When using 'être' with motion verbs, the participle must agree with the subject. 'Mes sœurs' is feminine plural, so we add 'es'.

  • Always adding agreement to reflexive verbs even when a direct object follows.

    Elle s'est lavée les mains.
    Elle s'est lavé les mains.

    For reflexive verbs, the participle does not agree with the subject if a direct object (like 'les mains') follows the verb.

How It Connects

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être + Past ParticipleLevel 2Compound Past with Etre

Learn This First

To learn the passe compose with etre, you first need to know how to conjugate 'etre' in the present tense, as it serves as the auxiliary. You should also be familiar with the general concept of the compound past (passe compose) and the rules of gender and number agreement, because the past participle acts like an adjective when paired with 'etre'.

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