CONTENT
Several French tenses are formed using the past participle and an auxiliary verb - for example, passé composé. Let's learn how to create and use the past participle.
French
English
Il est entré dans la pièce.
He entered the room.
Forming the Past Participle
Rule 1: For verbs that end with -er, the past participle is formed by replacing the ending -er with -é.
- Manger: mangé (to eat).
Rule 2: Most verbs that end with -ir replace it with -i.
- Finir: fini (to end).
Exception: However, there are many irregular forms of the past participle:
- Avoir: eu (to have)
- Être: été (to be)
- Faire: fait (to do)
- Prendre: pris (to take)
- Ouvrir: ouvert (to open)
- Devoir: dû (to have to)
It's better to memorize these forms when you come across them for the first time.
Agreement of the Past Participle
To check how the past participle agrees with the subject, go to this grammar point.
Past Participle Functioning as an Adjective
Rule 3: The past participle is not only used to form compound tenses. It can also be used as an adjective to modify the noun. Of course, in this case, it has to agree in gender and number with the noun.
French
English
Ma couleur préférée.
My favourite colour.
Quiz
1/4
Elle est _.
0
correct answers.