SUMMARY

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You are now expert at conjugating (some) verbs in the past - at least enough to tell me a little about an outing at a restaurant. Well done! 

A few things remain to be seen with the passé-composé:

• where to place the negation

• where to place the object pronouns

• where to place adverbs

• how to write a question

With two parts of the verb, where do we place everything that is placed in relaton of the verb?

Well, mostly, the [AUXILIARY] (first part -être/avoir) is considered the true verb. So apply the usual rules with the auxiliary and ignore the past-participle part.

Negation

USUAL RULE: "ne...pas" is placed as a sandwich around a conjugated verb
and together in front of an unconjugated verb.
ex:   il ne mange pas     vs.     ne pas manger

With passé-composé, same rule applies! The verb is the auxiliary part. Therefore; the  "ne...pas" sandwich is around the être /avoir part.

ne [auxiliary] pas [past participle]

• Je n'ai pas mangé.
  I did not eat.

• Ils ne sont pas allés au restaurant.
  They didn't go to the restaurant.

Note that the usual rules apply: drop the final _e of "ne" if placed in front of a word starting with a vowel.

Adverbs

USUAL RULE: adverbs go right after the verb they relate to.
ex:   je mange beaucoup.                Le chef cuisine très bien le porc.      Il va souvent au restaurant.

EXCEPTION 1: adverbs that are a little long (starting 3 syllables) are often rejected after the verbal clause (verb + object attached).
ex:    le chef cuisine le porc rapidement.                     Les clients commandent leur repas immédiatement.

WITH NEGATION: adverbs are always after the "ne..pas" sandwich
ex: je ne mange pas beaucoup        Les clients ne commandent pas leur repas immédiatement.

With passé-composé, same rule applies! The verb is the auxiliary part. Therefore; the adverb should be placed right after the être /avoir part, but could be rejected to the end of the verbal clause if a little long.

(ne) [auxiliary] (pas) [short adverb] [past participle]

• Tu as beaucoup bu!
  You drank a lot!

• Ils ne sont pas souvent allés au restaurant.
  They didn't go to  the restaurant often.

(ne) [auxiliary] (pas) [past participle] [verbal object] [long adverb]

• lls ont lu le menu lentement.
  They read the menu slowly.

• Je n'ai pas mangé très rapidement.
  I did not eat very quickly.

Writing a question with passé-composé

No difference for "est-ce que" questions, so let's stick to them!
It gets more complicated with inversion questions, so we will keep this for 2010 when you are more at ease with passé-composé.

The "est-ce que" questions structure, if you remember, is:

(optional question word) [est-ce que] subject - verb - (rest of the sentence)
Quand est-ce que tu manges ?
Est-ce que vous buvez un soda ?
Pourquoi est-ce qu'il ne demand pas le menu ?

So with passé composé, just put your two verb parts in the place of the verb.

(optional question word) [est-ce que] subject - auxiliary + past participle - (rest of the sentence)

• Quand est-ce que tu as mangé?
  When did you eat?

• Est-ce que vous avez bu un soda?
  Did you drink a soda?

Careful, negation and adverb placement are still identical! negation goes around the auxiliary pat, and adverbs go either right after the auxiliary part or is thrown at the end of the question if too long.

• Pourquoi est-ce qu'il n'a pas demandé le menu ?
  Why didn't he ask for a menu?

• Est-ce qu'il a mangé rapidement ?
  Did he eat fast?

• Est-ce qu'il a beaucoup mangé ?
  Did he eat a lot?

• Est-ce qu'elle n'a pas assez mangé ?
  Did she not eat enough?

If you remember, there are 17 verbs that take ÊTRE in passé-composé, called the "Dr&Mrs Vandeertrampp" verbs:

• devenir = to become

• revenir = to come back

• monter = to go up

• retourner = to return

• sortir = to go out, to exit

• venir = to come

• aller = to go

• naître = to be born

• descendre = to go down

• entrer = to enter

• rentrer = to go back home

• tomber = to fall

• rester = to stay

• arriver = to arrive

• mourir = to die

• partir = to leave

• passer = to pass (movement)

As you may have noticed, I said that those verbs CAN take être in the passé-composé.

Well... the truth is some of them can take both être and avoir, but they then have a different meaning.

• In the most obvious meaning (the mouvement one, mostly), they take être. 

• However, some of them have a second less obvious use and they'll then take avoir.

• The verbs will also take avoir if they have a direct object, because it means the mouvement is no longer applied to the subject of the sentence.

For now, I ask you to only remember ONE of those verbs:

• passer= to pass (in front of something, next to something...)
  ---> ÊTRE

  • • Je suis passée devant la maison
                I passed in front of the house.

    • Elle est passée à côté de Brad Pitt!
                She passed (walked?drived?) right next to Brad Pitt!

    • Elles sont passées dans l'autre pièce
                They passed (moved?walked?) to the other room

• passer= time passing by
  ---> AVOIR

  • • J'ai passé le weekend à Nashville.
                I spent the weekend in Nashville.

    • Il a passé 4h sur son devoir de français
                He spent (wasted?) 4 hrs on his French homework

• passer quelque chose = to hand something
  ---> AVOIR 

  • • J'ai passé le devoir à mon voisin
                I passed  (handed?) the homework to my neighbour

Review: Direct Object pronouns

Previously, we have seen that pronouns are placed:

• in front the verb to which they refer

• inside the negation sandwich

Remember how to decide on LE/LA/L'/LES vs. en (+quantity)

Examples of sentences with Direct Objects and Direct Object ponouns.

• Je mange un gateau --> j’en mange un.
            I eat a cake --> I eat one.

• Il ne prend pas ce pantalon --> il ne le prend pas
            He doesn’t take this pair of trousers --> he doesnt take it

• Je vais regarder la télévision  --> je vais la regarder
            I am going to watch the television --> I am going to watch it

• Nous n’allons pas acheter de vêtements  --> nous n’allons pas en acheter.
            We are not going to buy clothes --> we are not going to buy any/some

• Est-ce que vous essayez ce pantalon ? --> Est-ce que vous l'essayez ?
            Are you tryng on those pants? --> Are you trying them on ?

• Pourquoi est-ce qu'il ne chante pas la chanson ?  --> Pourquoi est-ce qu'il ne la chante pas ?
            Why is he not singing the song ? -->Why is he not singing it ?

Review: position/destination pronoun Y

If you remember, we have also seen the pronoun "y" when we learned the verb aller in 1010 (see the page Grammar & Structures - Unit 1). This pronoun replaces a PLACE connected to a verb. (so a position = where you do an action - or a destination = where you are going.) 

Here are some examples: 

• Je vais au restaurant --> J'y vais.
            I go to the restaurant. --> I go there.

• Vous ne venez pas à la bibliothèque ? --> Vous n'y venez pas ?
            Aren't you coming to the library ? --> Aren't you coming there?

• Je mange au restaurant --> J'y mange.
            I eat at the restaurant. --> I eat there.

• Il n'est pas à l'université --> Il n'y est pas.
            He isn't at the university. --> He isn't there.

The same rules of placement apply for "y" than for the direct object pronouns, of course.
NOTE: with the verb "aller" in French, you ALWAYS need a destination, hence the usage of "y".

Placement of pronouns with the passé-composé.

As we just reviewed, destination/position pronouns and Direct Object pronouns are placed right before the verb.

The same placement rules apply to compound tenses (like passé-composé).  However, remember: the auxiliary is what is considered the “real conjugated verb”.

Therefore, the pronoun is placed right in front of the auxiliary être or avoir and still inside the negation sandwich.

• Nous avons pris le livre -->  nous l’avons pris --> nous ne l'avons pas pris
            We took the book --> We took it --> We did not take it

• Vous n'avez pas sorti le chien ?! --> vous ne l’avez pas sorti ?!
            You didn’t walk the dog ?!  -->  You didn’t walk it?

And of course, it applies to pronouns for people as well.

• Elle t'a aimé. --> Elle ne t'a jamais aimé.
            She liked you. --> She never liked you.

• Nous l'avons aidé.  --> Nous ne l'avons pas aidé.
          We helped him. --> We did not help him.

With the ÊTRE auxiliary

We have previously seen that for the passé-composé, when you use the auxiliary ÊTRE, you have to agree the participe passé in gender and number with the subject

• il est allé --> agreement with "il": masculn & singular

• elle est allée --> agreement with "elle": féminin (+E) & singular

• ils sont allés --> agreement with "ils": masculin & plural (+S)

• elles sont allées --> agreement with "elles": féminin (+E) & plural (+S)

Of course, it means you need to know the gender and number of the subject: nous is always plural (well, outside the royal "we", right?) but it could also be all girls, all boy, or a mix of boys and girls.
Therefore it could be "nous sommes allés" or "nous sommes allées".

When it comes to names and things, you have to know how those people identify or the grammatical gender of the things.

• Les pommes sont tombées (pommes: féminin singulier)

• Alex est allé au cinéma (no féminin agreement, so Alex=man)

• Alex est allée sur le campus (féminin E, so Alex= woman)

For non-binary option, things get complicated. For now, here are your options:

• you can add .e at the end of the participe passé  and then there is no way of knowing if the subject is identifying as man, woman, or else

  1. 1. • Je suis allé.e au cinéma
          I went to the movies

        • Iel est parti.e au soir
          They left in the evening.
          
          

• you can add the _ae ending at the end of every participe passé instead of the _é, _u, _i, _it, or _is  (but pronounced like the regular ending

  1. 1. • Je suis allae au cinéma  (read; je suis allé)
          I went to the movies.

        • Iel est partae au soir  (read: iel est parti)
          They left in the evening.

With the AVOIR auxiliary

As we have previously seen, you do NOT agree your participe passé with the subject when you use the avoir auxiliary.

• il a mangé (avoir: no agreement with the subject)

• elle a mangé (avoir: no agreement with the subject)

HOWEVER, here is a new rule that French native speakers HATE and yet is the word of law in grammar: with avoir, you agree the participe passé with the DIRECT OBJECT but only if it is placed before/in front of the verb (in the order of the words in the sentence).

ex: les pommes (= féminin & pluriel)

direct object placed after the verb:   j'ai mangé les pommes  
                                                                  I ate the apples

direct object placed before the verb:   les pommes que j'ai mangées.
                                                                    the apples that I ate

Ridiculous, right? So much to think about! But you'll get used to think about it, eventually.

Now, think about direct object pronouns... Where do we place them? In front of the verb! Which means when you use a direct object pronoun, you'll need to agree your participe passé!

• j'ai mangé les pommes : direct object "les pommes" placed after the verb, so there is no agreement
  I ate the apples

• Je les ai mangées: direct object "les" for "les pommes" placed before the verb, so you have to agree!
  I ate them

This agreement only works for "le / la / l' / les" pronouns.

• NO agreement EVER with "en"    

  • 1. • j'ai mangé des pommes --> j'en ai mangé

       • j'ai mangé de la pizza --> j'en ai mangé

       • j'ai mangé beaucoup de bonbons --> j'en ai mangé beaucoup

• NO agreement EVER with "y" since it's not a direct object pronoun

NOTE: this agreement thing is mostly an issue in writing, BUT.... for the few past participles that end in _it or _is, adding an _e to them would make you pronounce that final consonant !

Although you often have hints on whether the sentence/ story is set in the past or the present, there will be little hints else than the verb itself when it comes to the specific past tense. We'll see later when to use which past tense; for now, lets check that you can identify both tense orally.

How to differentiate them ?

passé-composé:

• three words: pronoun + auxiliary + past participle

•  ends in /é/, /i/ or /u/ sounds

imparfait:

• two words: pronoun + verb

•  ends in /é/, or /on/ for nous

The hardest to identify orally for learner are the "JE" forms because you tend to confuse "je" with "j'ai", and the verbs themselves can end the same orally.

To review how to create an imparfait, check Conjugations - Unit 2.
To review how to creat a passé composé, check Conjugations - Unit 4.
To  review the pronunciation differences between imparfait and passé-composé, check the grammar point right befor this one.

The general idea

As previously stated, both the passé-composé and the imparfait could be translated by a preterit or simple past (I went), a present perfect (I have gone) or even a past continuous (I was going). Therefore, you will have to rely on context in French to decide which tense to use rather than rely on the English tense you would want to use.

Here comes the explanation - hopefully it aligns with what you understood already :)

Let's look at examples!

Elle prenait son bain quand le téléphone a sonné.
She was taking a bath when the phone rang.

--> Here, you can even see the difference in English.

• The important action, the main action, is that the phone rang. If it's in a story, it could be the element that starts the story with a bad news or something like that. Therefore: passé-composé.

• The background info, the context of that main action, is that it happened while she was taking a bath. It's a long action, that gets interrupted. It's the context. It's almost narration. Therefore: imparfait

Il faisait beau et chaud. Le soleil était haut dans le ciel et il n'y avait aucun nuage. Les écureuils couraient dans les arbres pendant que les oiseaux chantaient leur joie de vivre.
It was beautiful and hot. The sun was high in the sky et there were no clouds. The squirels were running in the trees while the birds were singing their happiness to be alive.

• Those three sentences are the definition of "narration" or "setting the scene". This is not important actions for the story. Maybe it is important that the weather is hot, but it's not a main action, it's a description of scenary. Therefore: imparfait.

• It could go on for three pages  like that , or maybe the next sentence will be about the actual action  with a character coming in to do something. That action would be in passé-composé.

Quand il est arrivé au restaurant, la salle était pleine et les clients mangeaient bruyamment.
When he arrived at the restaurant, the room was full and the customers were eating loudly.

• The first part of the sentence is the main action of the story:  he arrived / has arrived and soemthing else will probably happen that wouldn't be able to happen had he not arrived. Therefore: passé-composé.

• The second part of the sentence is about what he is seeing when he arrived; it's a description, it's back to setting this new scene at the restaurant. Therefore: imparfait.

Quand j'étais petite, j'adorais jouer avec mes Barbies. Mon père m'avait construit une maison en bois, et j'inventais des scénarios loufoques pour chacunes de mes poupées.
When I was young, I loved playing with my Barbies. My father had built a wooden house for me, and I invented weird /crazy scenarios for each of my dolls.

• All the underline tenses are imparfait of past habits: action that I did repeatedly and for a very long time. I no longer play with my barbie dolls, but  used to. Im also no longer small/young, but I used to be to. Therefore: imparfait.

• Note that "avait construit" is a tense we aven't learned yet (past in the past!) but you can see that it is built like a apssé-composé, except the auxiliary is in the imparfait instead of the present.

The case of questions

The rules are the same than for regular sentences. Are you asking about context ? About a habit in the past ? About an actual action ? 

Let's look at examples of questions. Here are illustrations about Alice outing.

Here are questions about that outing.

Image 1:
Alice était seule quand elle a quitté l’appartement? Quelle heure était-il? Est-ce qu’il pleuvait? Est-ce qu’il faisait froid? Quels vêtements est-ce qu’elle portait?
Was Alice alone when she left the apartment? What time was it? Was it raining? Was it cold? What was she wearing?

--> This question is all about context of the one action: leaving the apartment. Therefore, the context is in the imparfait and the main action is in the passé composé.

Image 2:
Alice était seule au café? Elle a mangé quelque chose? Elle a bu quelque chose?
Was Alice alone in the café? Did she eat something? Did she drink something? 

--> The first part of the question is about the setting in the café. Therefore: imparfait. The other two questions are about actual actions. Therefore: passé-composé.
--> If the eating and drinking actions had been n the imparfait, then the eating and drinking would have been context to another action that is not given here. It's quite obvious in English as well :)
            Elle mangeait quelque chose ? Elle buvait quelque chose ?
            Was she eating something? Was she drinking something ?

Image 3:
Quelle heure était-il quand elle est rentrée chez elle?
What time was it when she got back home?

--> Similar to picture 1: the time is the context of the action of going home. Therefore, the time is expressed with imparfait while the main action is expressed with passé-composé.