Passé Composé — Le passé composé
The passé composé is the most common past tense in French. It is used to describe completed actions in the past. It is formed with an auxiliary verb (avoir or être) + the past participle of the main verb.
Rules
Formation: subject + auxiliary (avoir/être) + past participle
Most verbs use 'avoir' as the auxiliary (J'ai mangé = I ate)
Verbs of movement and reflexive verbs use 'être' (Je suis allé = I went)
Past participle of -er verbs: -é (parlé), -ir verbs: -i (fini), -re verbs: -u (vendu)
With être, the past participle agrees with the subject (Elle est allée = She went)
DR MRS VANDERTRAMP verbs use être: Devenir, Revenir, Monter, Rester, Sortir, Venir, Aller, Naître, Descendre, Entrer, Retourner, Tomber, Rentrer, Arriver, Mourir, Partir
Examples
J'ai mangé une pomme. — I ate an apple.
Elle a fini ses devoirs. — She finished her homework.
Nous sommes allés au cinéma. — We went to the cinema.
Il est tombé dans la rue. — He fell on the street.
Elles sont arrivées à l'heure. — They (f.) arrived on time.
Tu as compris la leçon ? — Did you understand the lesson?