Book 1 · Chapter 7
Chapitre 7 — Le passé (2)
The past, part 2
What you’ll be able to do
By the end of this chapter, you can:
- Build the past with être for the movement verbs: come, go, arrive, leave, stay
- Know which verbs take être and which take avoir
- Make the participle agree with the subject
- Put your routine verbs into the past, and tell a trip start to finish
Four new tools. This is the second half of the past tense, and the trickier half. We drill it until it sticks.
Start talking now
Read this out loud. Tap to hear it.
— Tu es partie en voyage la semaine dernière, non?
— Oui! Je suis allée à Québec avec ma sœur.
— Tu es restée combien de temps?
— Trois jours. Nous sommes arrivées vendredi et nous sommes rentrées dimanche soir.
— C’était bien?
— Super. Nous nous sommes promenées dans le Vieux-Québec tout le weekend.
English translation
— You went away on a trip last week, didn’t you?
— Yes! I went to Quebec City with my sister.
— How long did you stay?
— Three days. We got there Friday and came back Sunday evening.
— Was it good?
— Great. We walked around Old Quebec all weekend.
Now make it yours. Tell someone about a trip, real or made up. Where you went, how long you stayed. Out loud. Start with Je suis allé(e) à…. Say it even if the endings feel shaky.
Words you need
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un voyage tap to flipa trip English hidden
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les vacances (f) tap to flipvacation, holidays English hidden
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le train tap to flipthe train English hidden
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l’avion (m) tap to flipthe plane English hidden
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l’aéroport (m) tap to flipthe airport English hidden
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une valise tap to flipa suitcase English hidden
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un billet tap to flipa ticket English hidden
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une chambre tap to flipa room English hidden
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une nuit tap to flipa night English hidden
| Français | English |
|---|---|
| un voyage | a trip |
| les vacances (f) | vacation, holidays |
| le train | the train |
| l’avion (m) | the plane |
| l’aéroport (m) | the airport |
| une valise | a suitcase |
| un billet | a ticket |
| une chambre | a room |
| une nuit | a night |
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aller tap to flipto go English hidden
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venir tap to flipto come English hidden
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arriver tap to flipto arrive English hidden
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partir tap to flipto leave English hidden
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entrer tap to flipto go in English hidden
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sortir tap to flipto go out English hidden
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monter tap to flipto go up, to get on English hidden
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descendre tap to flipto go down, to get off English hidden
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rester tap to flipto stay English hidden
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rentrer tap to flipto go back home English hidden
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tomber tap to flipto fall English hidden
| Français | English |
|---|---|
| aller | to go |
| venir | to come |
| arriver | to arrive |
| partir | to leave |
| entrer | to go in |
| sortir | to go out |
| monter | to go up, to get on |
| descendre | to go down, to get off |
| rester | to stay |
| rentrer | to go back home |
| tomber | to fall |
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d’abord tap to flipfirst, to start English hidden
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ensuite tap to flipthen, next English hidden
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puis tap to flipthen English hidden
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après tap to flipafter, afterward English hidden
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enfin tap to flipfinally English hidden
| Français | English |
|---|---|
| d’abord | first, to start |
| ensuite | then, next |
| puis | then |
| après | after, afterward |
| enfin | finally |
How French works here
The passé composé with être
Last chapter you built the past with avoir, and most verbs work that way. But a small, specific group uses être instead.
The shape is the same. Only the first piece changes:
[present of être] + [past participle]
Je suis allé. (I went.)
Tu es parti. (You left.)
Elle est arrivée. (She arrived.)
You know être cold from Chapter 1 (je suis, tu es, il est…). Drop it in front of the participle, and there’s your past.
Which verbs take être
No guessing required. It’s a closed set, and they share a logic. Picture a house. You go to it, you come from it, you arrive, you leave, you go in and come out, you go up and come down, you stay inside, you fall, you’re born there, you die there. Nearly every être verb fits that one scene.
| Verbe | Participe |
|---|---|
| aller (to go) | allé |
| venir (to come) | venu |
| arriver (to arrive) | arrivé |
| partir (to leave) | parti |
| entrer (to go in) | entré |
| sortir (to go out) | sorti |
| monter (to go up) | monté |
| descendre (to go down) | descendu |
| rester (to stay) | resté |
| rentrer (to go home) | rentré |
| tomber (to fall) | tombé |
| naître (to be born) | né |
| mourir (to die) | mort |
Several come in pairs of opposites: arriver / partir, entrer / sortir, monter / descendre. Two cover the whole of a life: naître (né, born) and mourir (mort, died). Je suis né en 1998.
The new part: the participle agrees
Here’s what sets être verbs apart. With être, the participle agrees with the subject, the same way an adjective agrees with its noun back in Chapter 2. It changes for feminine and for plural.
il est allé / elle est allée (add -e for feminine)
ils sont allés / elles sont allées (add -s for plural)
So the full picture for aller:
The (e) means add it if the subject is feminine. A man writes je suis allé. A woman writes je suis allée. They sound identical out loud, but the spelling changes. The rule is short, it just asks you to keep track of who the subject is: feminine adds -e, plural adds -s, feminine plural adds -es.
Your routine verbs in the past
Remember the verbs that come with a little me / te / se from Chapter 3? se lever, se coucher, se promener (to take a walk). In the past, all of them take être too. And they agree.
The pattern is subject + reflexive pronoun + être + participle, and the participle agrees with the subject. Notice t’es and s’est: te and se shrink to t’ and s’ before est.
Je me suis couché(e) tard. (I went to bed late.)
Elle s’est préparée vite. (She got ready fast.)
Nous nous sommes promené(e)s dans le parc.
Saying no
Same as with avoir. The ne… pas wraps the être, and everything else holds its place around it.
Je suis allé. → Je ne suis pas allé.
Elle est partie. → Elle n’est pas partie.
Je me suis levé tôt. → Je ne me suis pas levé tôt.
In the pronominal one, ne goes before the reflexive pronoun and pas lands right after être: je ne me suis pas levé.
How it sounds
We keep going, on top of every sound from Chapters 3 to 6. Two points this week, both tied to the past.
1. Agreement you can’t hear.
Here’s a relief after all that agreement. Je suis allé and je suis allée sound exactly the same. So do il est parti and elle est partie, venu and venue, resté and restée. The -e and the -s that mark feminine and plural are silent. The whole agreement lives on the page, not in the air. Say each pair and you’ll hear one sound:
So when you speak, you don’t sweat it. When you write, you do. One catch: if a participle ends in a consonant, the feminine -e wakes it up, the way you saw in Chapter 2. Mort sounds like “mor,” but morte sounds the t: “mort.” Most travel participles end in a vowel, though, so they stay silent.
2. When est meets a vowel.
est normally ends in a silent t. But right before a word that starts with a vowel, that t wakes up and links across, the way liaison did last chapter. It happens constantly in the past, because so many être participles begin with a vowel.
Listen for the little t bridging the two words. That’s the sound of natural past-tense French.
What you’ll hear in Montréal
For your ears, not your mouth. Recognize these. You don’t need to produce them.
- Bienvenue, for “you’re welcome”. You learned de rien for “you’re welcome” back in Chapter 1. In Quebec, you’ll also hear bienvenue used the same way, right after someone says merci. In France, bienvenue only means “welcome,” the greeting. So when a Montréaler answers your thanks with bienvenue, they’re saying “no problem,” not greeting you.
- Tomber en amour. You just learned tomber (to fall). Quebec uses it for falling in love: tomber en amour, built straight off the English. Il est tombé en amour means “he fell in love.” Standard French would say tomber amoureux. You’ll hear the Quebec version in songs, shows, and everyday talk.
- Pantoute. A blunt little word meaning “not at all.” J’ai pas aimé ça pantoute is “I didn’t like that one bit.” It’s casual and very Québécois. You don’t need to say it. You’ll be glad you recognize it.
Practice
Exercise 1 — être or avoir?
Choose the right auxiliary, then complete the passé composé.
- Je (aller) à Québec.
- Elle (manger) au restaurant.
- Nous (partir) tôt.
- Tu (voir) un film.
- Ils (arriver) hier.
- On (prendre) le train.
Exercise 2 — Make it agree.
Complete with the right form of the participle.
- Elle est (aller) à Montréal.
- Ils sont (partir) en voyage.
- Marie est (rester) à la maison.
- Mes sœurs sont (arriver) hier.
- Il est (venir) en train.
Exercise 3 — Routine in the past.
Put each pronominal verb into the passé composé. Mind the agreement.
- Je (se lever) à six heures. (masculine speaker)
- Elle (se coucher) tard.
- Nous (se promener) dans le parc.
- Tu (se préparer) vite? (feminine speaker)
Exercise 4 — Say no.
Rewrite each in the negative.
- Je suis allé au cinéma. →
- Elle est partie. →
- Nous sommes restés. →
- Je me suis levé tôt. →
Exercise 5 — Tell a trip.
Write six to eight sentences about a trip you took, real or imagined: where you went, who with, how long you stayed, two things you did, when you got back. Use the passé composé with être and with avoir, at least two être-verbs, the agreement where it’s needed, and one sequence word.
Show a model answer
L’été dernier, je suis allé à Québec avec un ami. Nous sommes partis vendredi matin. D’abord, nous nous sommes promenés dans le Vieux-Québec. Ensuite, on a mangé dans un bon restaurant. Nous sommes restés deux nuits à l’hôtel. Enfin, je suis rentré dimanche soir. C’était super.
Answers
Show answers
Exercise 1: 1. suis allé(e) · 2. a mangé · 3. sommes partis · 4. as vu · 5. sont arrivés · 6. a pris
Exercise 2: 1. allée · 2. partis · 3. restée · 4. arrivées · 5. venu
Exercise 3: 1. me suis levé · 2. s’est couchée · 3. nous sommes promenés (or promenées) · 4. t’es préparée
Exercise 4: 1. Je ne suis pas allé au cinéma. · 2. Elle n’est pas partie. · 3. Nous ne sommes pas restés. · 4. Je ne me suis pas levé tôt.
Exercise 5 (one good version):
L’été dernier, je suis allé à Québec avec un ami. Nous sommes partis vendredi matin. D’abord, nous nous sommes promenés dans le Vieux-Québec. Ensuite, on a mangé dans un bon restaurant. Nous sommes restés deux nuits à l’hôtel. Enfin, je suis rentré dimanche soir. C’était super.
Your turn
Pick one. Both is better.
- Record yourself. Tell the story of a trip: where you went, who with, how long you stayed, two things you did, and when you got back. Six to eight sentences. Use at least one routine verb in the past. When you speak, the agreement is silent, so just talk and keep it moving.
- Write it. The same, in writing. This is where the agreement actually shows, so watch your -e and -s endings.
This week’s work
Flashcards. Add the three decks: on the move, coming and going, telling it in order. Card the être-verb list as one set, the whole “house,” so it lives together in your head. Card the aller past table and the se lever past table. Review ten minutes a day, both directions.
Listening. Find someone telling a travel story or talking about their weekend away. Listen twice before the transcript. Catch suis / es / est / sont landing in front of a participle.
Pronunciation. The silent agreement, and est linking into a vowel. Keep the earlier sounds warm. A couple of minutes a day.
Production. The trip story above.
Check yourself
Tick these off honestly.
If a box is empty, go back to that section before Chapter 8. The passé composé is now whole: avoir for most verbs, être for the movement ones, and agreement to match. That’s the full past tense, the biggest grammar in this book, behind you. Keep going.
Chapter complete. Nicely done — ready for the next one.