🇫🇷 French Compound Tenses

Être vs. Avoir: The Passé Composé Auxiliary Decision

In French compound past tenses, 90% of verbs use avoir, but a crucial group of motion and reflexive verbs requires être.

1. The Default: AVOIR

Over 90% of all French verbs use 'avoir' as their auxiliary.

All transitive verbs (actions that take a direct object) take avoir.

Example: J'ai mangé une pomme.
(I ate an apple.)

Used for 17 motion verbs + ALL reflexive verbs.

Critical: The past participle MUST agree in gender (add -e) and number (add -s) with the subject!

Example: Elle est allée à Paris.
(She went to Paris — note the extra 'e'.)

Must Use ÊTRE

Devenir (to become)

Revenir (to come back)

Monter (to go up)

Rester (to stay)

Sortir (to go out)

Venir (to come)

Aller (to go)

Naître (to be born)

Descendre (to go down)

Entrer (to enter)

Retourner (to return)

Tomber (to fall)

Rentrer (to go home)

Arriver (to arrive)

Mourir (to die)

Partir (to leave)