The perfect tense Flashcards
What is the perfect tense used for?
To describe a single completed action in the past.
How do we form the perfect tense for ‘regular verbs’ that take ‘avoir’? Give both components.
- The present tense of avoir
2. The past participle of the verb doing the action
When conjugating the perfect tense for regular verbs that take ‘avoir’, are there gender agreements on the past participle?
No
How do you form the past participle for regular -er verbs that take ‘avoir’?
Take off -er and add é
Conjugate the following:
I spoke You (informal) spoke He spoke We (formal) spoke You (formal) spoke They (female) spoke
J'ai parlé Tu as parlé Il a parlé Nous avons parlé Vous avez parlé Elles ont parlé
How do you form the past participle for regular -ir verbs that take ‘avoir’?
Take off the -ir and add -i
Conjugate the following:
I chose You (informal) chose She chose We (formal) chose You (formal) chose They (male) chose
J'ai choisi Tu as choisi Elle a choisi Nous avons choisi Vous avez choisi Ils ont choisi
How do you form the past participle for regular -re verbs that take ‘avoir’?
Remove the -re and add -u
Conjugate the following:
I sold You (informal) sold He sold We (formal) sold You (formal) sold They (female) sold
J'ai vendu Tu us vendu Il a vendu Nous avons vendu Vous avez vendu Elles ont vendu
How do we form the perfect tense for ‘irregular verbs’ that take ‘avoir’? Give both components.
- The present tense of avoir
- The past participle of the verb doing the action, which is not formed from the root of the verb as it is with irregular verbs
Avoir means ‘to have’. It is an irregular verb that takes ‘avoir’ in the perfect tense.
What is the past participle of avoir?
Conjugate ‘I had’.
eu
J’ai eu
Boire means ‘to drink’. It is an irregular verb that takes ‘avoir’ in the perfect tense.
What is the past participle of boire?
Conjugate ‘you (informal) drank’.
bu
Tu as bu
Comprendre means ‘to understand’. It is an irregular verb that takes ‘avoir’ in the perfect tense.
What is the past participle of comprendre?
Conjugate ‘we (informal) understood’.
compris
On a compris
Connaître means ‘to know’. It is an irregular verb that takes ‘avoir’ in the perfect tense.
What is the past participle of connaître?
Conjugate ‘she knew’.
connu
Elle a connu
Croire means ‘to believe’. It is an irregular verb that takes ‘avoir’ in the perfect tense.
What is the past participle of croire?
Conjugate ‘we (formal) believed’.
cru
Nous avons cru
Devoir means ‘to have to’. It is an irregular verb that takes ‘avoir’ in the perfect tense.
What is the past participle of devoir?
Conjugate ‘you (informal) had to’.
du
Vous avez du
Dire means ‘to say’. It is an irregular verb that takes ‘avoir’ in the perfect tense.
What is the past participle of dire?
Conjugate ‘they (female) said’.
dit
Elles ont dit
écrire means ‘to write’. It is an irregular verb that takes ‘avoir’ in the perfect tense.
What is the past participle of écrire?
Conjugate ‘you (informal) wrote’.
ecrit
Tu as écrit
Faire means ‘to do / make’. It is an irregular verb that takes ‘avoir’ in the perfect tense.
What is the past participle of faire?
Conjugate ‘they (male) did’.
fait
Ils ont fait
Lire means ‘to read’. It is an irregular verb that takes ‘avoir’ in the perfect tense.
What is the past participle of read?
Conjugate ‘she read’.
lu
Ella a lu
Mettre means ‘to put’. It is an irregular verb that takes ‘avoir’ in the perfect tense.
What is the past participle of mettre?
Conjugate ‘we (informal) put’.
mis
on a mis
ouvrir means ‘to open’. It is an irregular verb that takes ‘avoir’ in the perfect tense.
What is the past participle of ouvrir?
Conjugate ‘I opened’.
ouvert
J’ai ouvert
Pouvoir means ‘to be able to’. It is an irregular verb that takes ‘avoir’ in the perfect tense.
What is the past participle of pouvoir?
Conjugate ‘we (formal) could’.
pu
Nous avons pu
Prendre means ‘to take’. It is an irregular verb that takes ‘avoir’ in the perfect tense.
What is the past participle of prendre?
Conjugate ‘she took’.
pris
Elle a pris
Savoir means ‘to know’. It is an irregular verb that takes ‘avoir’ in the perfect tense.
What is the past participle of savoir?
Conjugate ‘you (formal) knew’.
su
Vous avez su
Connaître and savoir both mean ‘to know’. What’s the difference between them?
Connaître: followed by a noun or nominal clause, e.g. I know Sarah
Savoir: followed by an infinitive verb or subordinate clause, e.g. I know how to do something
Voir means ‘to see’. It is an irregular verb that takes ‘avoir’ in the perfect tense.
What is the past participle of voir?
Conjugate ‘he saw’.
vu
Il a vu
Vouloir means ‘to want’. It is an irregular verb that takes ‘avoir’ in the perfect tense.
What is the past participle of vouloir?
Conjugate ‘I wanted’.
voulu
J’ai voulu
How do we form the perfect tense for ‘irregular verbs’ that take ‘être’? Give both components.
- The present tense of être
2. The past participle of the verb doing the action
When conjugating the perfect tense for irregular verbs that take ‘être’, are there gender agreements on the past participle?
Yes
The irregular verbs that take ‘être’ in the perfect tense are known as MRS VANDERTRAMP. What do these verbs all have in common?
They describe a state or movement.
Name all the verbs in MRS VANDERTRAMP.
Monter Retourner Sortir Venir Arriver Naître Descendre Entrer Rester Tomber Rentrer Aller Mourir Partir
Monter means ‘to go up’. It is an irregular verb that takes ‘être’ in the perfect tense.
What is the past participle of monte?
Conjugate ‘I (female) went up’.
monté
je suis montée
Retourner means ‘to return’. It is an irregular verb that takes ‘être’ in the perfect tense.
What is the past participle of retourner?
Conjugate ‘I (male) returned’.
retourné
Je suis retourné
Sortir means ‘to go out’. It is an irregular verb that takes ‘être’ in the perfect tense.
What is the past participle of sortir?
Conjugate ‘he went out’.
sorti
Il est sorti
Venir means ‘to come’. It is an irregular verb that takes ‘être’ in the perfect tense.
What is the past participle of venir?
Conjugate ‘she came’.
venu
Elle est venue
Arriver means ‘to arrive’. It is an irregular verb that takes ‘être’ in the perfect tense.
What is the past participle of arriver?
Conjugate ‘you (informal, female) arrived’.
arrive
Tu es arrivée
Naître means ‘to be born’. It is an irregular verb that takes ‘être’ in the perfect tense.
What is the past participle of naître?
Conjugate ‘you (informal, male) was born’.
né
Tu es né
Descendre means ‘to go down’. It is an irregular verb that takes ‘être’ in the perfect tense.
What is the past participle of descendre?
Conjugate ‘you (plural, mixed) went down’.
descendu
Vous êtes descendus
Entrer means ‘to enter’. It is an irregular verb that takes ‘être’ in the perfect tense.
What is the past participle of entrer?
Conjugate ‘you (plural female) entered’.
entré
Vous êtes entrées
Rester means ‘to stay’. It is an irregular verb that takes ‘être’ in the perfect tense.
What is the past participle of rester?
Conjugate ‘you (formal, singular female) stayed’.
resté
Vous êtes restée
Tomber means ‘to fall’. It is an irregular verb that takes ‘être’ in the perfect tense.
What is the past participle of tomber?
Conjugate ‘you (formal, singular male) fell’.
tombé
Vous êtes tombé
Rentrer means ‘to re-enter’. It is an irregular verb that takes ‘être’ in the perfect tense.
What is the past participle of rentrer?
Conjugate ‘we (formal, female) re-entered’.
rentré
Nous sommes rentrées
Aller means ‘to go’. It is an irregular verb that takes ‘être’ in the perfect tense.
What is the past participle of aller?
Conjugate ‘we (formal, male) went’.
allé
Nous sommes allés
Mourir means ‘to die’. It is an irregular verb that takes ‘être’ in the perfect tense.
What is the past participle of mourir?
Conjugate ‘we (formal, mixed) died’.
mort
Nous sommes morts
Partir means ‘to leave’. It is an irregular verb that takes ‘être’ in the perfect tense.
What is the past participle of parti?
Conjugate ‘they (female) left’.
parti
Elles sont parties
