Past participles

1 Definition and formation

1.1 Definition

The past participle is a nonfinite form of a verb used in a range of different contexts to express a completed action:

J'ai beaucoup aimé son dernier film

I liked his / her last film a lot

Elle aura fini son rapport

She will have finished her report

1.2 Regular formations

For first group (-er) verbs, remove the -er ending from the infinitive and replace with -é:

aimer   →   aimé

For second group (-ir) verbs, remove the -ir ending from the infinitive and replace with -i:

finir   →   fini

1.3 Irregular formations

The third group ( irregular verbs), contains a whole range of irregular formations of the past participle. The most common are:

2 Use

Past participles are used in a range of different contexts. These include:

3 Preceding direct object rule with avoir verbs

For verbs taking avoir in a compound tense (perfect, pluperfect etc.), the past participle does not take an agreement unless there is a preceding direct object , that is to say a direct object placed before the participle. This can take several forms:

3.1 The relative pronoun que

The relative pronoun que and the noun it replaces.

Il a pris de bonnes décisions   →   Les décisions qu'il a prises étaient bonnes

He made good decisions   →   The decisions (that) he made were good

3.2 Certain question words

Lequel / laquelle / lesquels, combien + noun, quel(le)(s) + noun:

Laquelle des deux maisons as-tu préférée?

Which of the two houses did you like best?

Combien de feuilles de papier a-t-il prises?

How many sheets of paper did he take?

Quelles raisons a-t-il données?

What reasons did he give?

3.3 Personal pronouns

The personal pronoun forms le, la and les, and me, te, nous, vous where these act as a direct object :

- Avez-vous vu mes lunettes?   →   Les avez-vous vues? - Oui, je les ai vues sur la table

Have you seen my glasses?   →   Have you seen them? - Yes, I saw them on the table

4 Exceptions to p.d.o. agreement rule

Note that there are instances where a participle does not agree with a preceding direct object:

4.1 With en

The past participle never agrees with en when this is a preceding direct object :

A-t-il voulu des cigarettes?  →   En a-t-il voulu?

Did he want some / any cigarettes?   →    Did he want some / any?

4.2 With impersonal verbs

When the past participle is part of an impersonal verb :

Le ministre a pris les mesures qu'il a fallu

The minister took the necessary action

4.3 After some infinitives

When the past participle is followed by an infinitive it is important to ascertain which verb the preceding direct object relates to. If the p.d.o. is in fact the direct object of the infinitive, there is no agreement:

Nous avons entendu chanter de charmantes mélodies

We heard some charming melodies being sung

Nous les avons entendu chanter

[here les is the direct object of chanter]

We heard them being sung

Compare this with:

Nous avons entendu chanter les chanteurs

We heard the singers singing

Nous les avons entendus chanter

[here les is the direct object of entendre]

We heard them singing

4.4 Faire

When the past participle is that of faire when governing another verb, there is never any agreement:

Nous les avons fait jouer dans le jardin

We made them play in the garden

5 Verbs taking être

Some verbs generally take être as an auxiliary in a compound tense . These are:

When a compound tense is used, the past participle of these verbs always agrees with the subject .

Elle est descendue avec une valise pleine d'argent

She went down with a suitcase full of money

Elle est sortie faire des courses

She went out to do some shopping

Note, however, that some of these verbs take avoir when they are used transitively (that is, when they take a direct object ):

Elle a descendu l'escalier avec une valise

[l’escalier = direct object of descendre]

She went down the stairs with a suitcase

La valise qu'elle a descendue était pleine d'argent

[la valise = direct object of descendre]

The suitcase that she brought down was full of money

Elle a sorti un carnet pour prendre des notes

[un carnet = direct object of sortir]

She got a notebook out to make some notes

6 Pronominal verbs

6.1 Agreement with direct reflexive pronoun

All pronominal verbs (se lever, se coucher etc.) take être as an auxiliary when used in a compound tense . Note that the past participle agrees with the reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, etc.) and not the subject. In many cases the reflexive pronoun is in fact a preceding direct object and consequently there is an agreement.

Elle s'est lavée avec le gant de toilette

She washed herself with the flannel

Elle s'est coupée avec le couteau à pain

She cut herself with the bread knife

6.2 No agreement with indirect reflexive pronoun

Sometimes, however, the reflexive pronoun is an indirect object , and consequently there is no agreement. The most straightforward instance of this is where there is a clear direct object following the verb:

Elle s'est lavé le visage avec le gant de toilette

She washed her face with the flannel

Elle s'est coupé le doigt avec le couteau à pain

She cut her finger with the bread knife

Elle s'est acheté une nouvelle robe

She bought herself a new dress

6.3 Verb is followed by a clause

Where the verb is followed by a clause rather than a noun, it is important to establish whether it is the reflexive pronoun or the clause which is the direct object. In order to do this, take the verb’s non-reflexive counterpart (i.e. dire rather than se dire, promettre rather than se promettre etc.). If this takes an indirect object relating to a person (e.g. dire qch à qn, promettre qch à qn etc.) then the reflexive pronoun will also be indirect, and there will be no agreement:

Les amants se sont dit qu'ils ne se sépareraient jamais

The lovers told each other [i.e. said to each other] that they would never separate

Elle s’était promis de lui dire la vérité

She promised herself [i.e. to herself] that she would tell him the truth

6.4 Se laisser, se faire etc.

Note that there is never any p.d.o. agreement involving the constructions se laisser + infinitive , se faire + infinitive and se voir + infinitive:

Elle s’était laissé convaincre de sa mauvaise foi

She had let herself be persuaded of his insincerity

Elle s’est vu obliger de réexaminer la situation

She was forced to reconsider the situation

Elle s’est fait couper les cheveux

She got her hair cut

7 Use in the passive

In a passive construction, the past participle must always agree with its subject :

Elle n'a pas été informée du crime

She wasn’t informed of the crime

Sa lettre avait été publiée dans le journal

Her letter had been published in the newspaper

Note that a passive construction does not always directly follow the subject of the sentence, and this might cause you to forget the need for an agreement :

Elle a affirmé ne pas avoir été informée du crime

She maintained that she hadn’t been informed of the crime

Sa lettre sera bientôt prête à être envoyée

Her letter will soon be ready for sending

Remember that there must be an agreement when a past participle is used without an auxiliary :

La vaisselle finie, ils sont allés au cinéma

When they had finished the washing up, they went out to the cinema

It is particularly easy to forget this when the past participle stands before the subject :

Une fois publiée, la lettre a provoqué un scandale

Once published, the letter caused a scandal

8 Agreement with subject pronoun

Note that the subject pronouns je, tu, nous and vous may be masculine or feminine , and vous singular or plural , depending on whom they are referring to:

«Je suis levée depuis 5 heures» a-t-elle dit

"I've been up since 5 o' clock" she said

«Tu es levée?» a-t-elle demandé à sa fille

"Are you up?" she asked her daughter

«Vous êtes levé?» a-t-elle demandé au locataire

"Are you up?" she asked the lodger

«Vous êtes levés?» a-t-elle demandé à ses enfants

"Are you up?" she asked her children