Lesson 37: Passé composé with avoir
J'ai parlé — the passé composé with avoir · A1 → A2 · A2 · Part 1 — Talking About the Past
You will talk about things that already happened. You will build the passé composé with avoir, turn any regular verb into its past participle, and say clearly what you did yesterday, this morning or last week.
In this lesson
- passé composé
- avoir + past participle
- -er / -ir / -re verbs
- saying what you did
Vocabulary
| French | Meaning | Say it | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| hier | yesterday | ee-yair ایئیر | Not 'demain'. 'Hier' looks back; 'demain' looks forward. France also says 'hier soir' = last night. |
| j'ai parlé | I spoke / I talked | zhay par-lay ژے پارلے | The whole past tense in one shape: avoir (j'ai) + past participle (parlé). |
| j'ai mangé | I ate / I have eaten | zhay mon-zhay ژے مونژے | French does not separate 'I ate' from 'I have eaten'. One form does both jobs. |
| j'ai travaillé | I worked | zhay tra-va-yay ژے تراویے | The ending -é is said 'ay', short and clean — never 'ee'. |
| j'ai regardé | I watched / I looked at | zhay ruh-gar-day ژے رہگاردے | regarder = to watch. 'J'ai regardé un film' = I watched a film. |
| j'ai écouté | I listened | zhay ay-koo-tay ژے اے کوتے | écouter = to listen. Do not confuse with 'entendre' = to hear. |
| j'ai fini | I finished | zhay fee-nee ژے فینی | -ir verbs take -i, not -é. fini, choisi, réussi. |
| j'ai attendu | I waited | zhay a-ton-dü ژے اتوندو | -re verbs take -u. attendre → attendu, vendre → vendu, répondre → répondu. |
| j'ai acheté | I bought | zhay ash-tay ژے اشتے | acheter is a regular -er verb, but the p is silent: a-sh(ə)-tay. |
| le passé composé | the past tense (lit. 'composed past') | luh pa-say kon-po-zay لُو پاسے کونپوزے | 'Composé' means composed — it is always made of two pieces: a helper verb + a participle. |
| le participe passé | the past participle | luh par-tee-seep pa-say لُو پارتیسیپ پاسے | The second half of the tense: parlé, fini, attendu, fait, vu. |
| ce matin | this morning | suh ma-tan سُو ماتاں | The final -in is nasal: 'tan', with no n sound at the end. |
Pronunciation
| Word | Sounds like | Slowly | How to make the sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| parlé | par-lay | par ... lay | Short, flat 'ay'. Stop immediately after. |
| mangé | mon-zhay | mon ... zhay | The g becomes 'zh' before é. Not 'gan'. |
| fini | fee-nee | fee ... nee | Two clean 'ee' sounds. No 'd' at the end. |
| attendu | a-ton-dü | a ... ton ... dü | The final u is rounded — lips forward, no 'oo' from the throat. |
| j'ai eu | zhay ü | zhay ... ü | Liaison: the j'ai runs straight into eu. Sounds like one word. |
| j'ai attendu | zhay-a-ton-dü | zhay ... a ... ton ... dü | Liaison again — 'zhay-a', never 'zhay. a'. |
The past participle ending -é is the sound that makes French sound French. It is a clean, short 'ay' — like the start of 'eight', with no glide into 'ee'. English speakers say 'par-lay-ee'; French says 'par-lay'. Cut the tail off.
Grammar
The passé composé is built from two pieces
French past tense is not one word — it is a helper verb plus a past participle. For most verbs the helper is avoir in the present tense: j'ai, tu as, il a, nous avons, vous avez, ils ont. Then you add the past participle of the verb you mean.
How to make the past participle
Regular verbs follow three simple patterns. Learn the pattern, not the individual word.
Examples
| French | English | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| Hier, j'ai travaillé toute la journée. | Yesterday I worked all day. | ee-yair, zhay tra-va-yay toot la zhur-nay |
| J'ai mangé un sandwich au bureau. | I ate a sandwich at the office. | zhay mon-zhay un san-dweesh o bü-ro |
| Ce matin, j'ai écouté la radio. | This morning I listened to the radio. | suh ma-tan, zhay ay-koo-tay la ra-dyo |
| Nous avons regardé un film hier soir. | We watched a film last night. | noo-za-von ruh-gar-day un feelm ee-yair swar |
| J'ai acheté du pain et du lait. | I bought some bread and some milk. | zhay ash-tay dü pan ay dü lay |
| Elle a fini ses devoirs à sept heures. | She finished her homework at seven o'clock. | el a fee-nee say duh-vwar a set ur |
| J'ai attendu le bus pendant vingt minutes. | I waited for the bus for twenty minutes. | zhay a-ton-dü luh büs pon-don van mee-nüt |
| Tu as déjà mangé ? | Have you eaten already? | tü a day-zha mon-zhay ↗ |
| Je n'ai pas compris. Vous pouvez répéter ? | I did not understand. Can you repeat? | zhuh nay pa kon-pree. voo poo-vay ray-pay-tay ↗ |
| Qu'est-ce que tu as fait hier ? | What did you do yesterday? | kes-kuh tü a fay ee-yair ↗ |
Dialogue: Monday morning: what did you do at the weekend?
Both people are friends, so they use tu. Watch how every answer is built from avoir + a participle. Read it aloud twice: once slowly, once at natural speed.
| French | English | Say it | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Salut Amel ! Qu'est-ce que tu as fait ce week-end ? | Hi Amel! What did you do at the weekend? | sa-lü a-mel, kes-kuh tü a fay suh wee-kend |
| B | J'ai travaillé samedi. Et dimanche, j'ai vu ma famille. | I worked on Saturday. And on Sunday I saw my family. | zhay tra-va-yay sam-dee. ay dee-monsh, zhay vü ma fa-mee-y |
| A | Nous, nous avons mangé au restaurant dimanche soir. | We ate at a restaurant on Sunday evening. | noo, noo-za-von mon-zhay o res-to-ron dee-monsh swar |
| B | Tu as aimé ? | Did you like it? | tü a ay-may ↗ |
| A | Oui, beaucoup ! J'ai acheté un livre après. | Yes, very much! I bought a book afterwards. | wee, bo-koo. zhay ash-tay un leevr a-pray |
| B | Moi, j'ai attendu le bus pendant une heure. C'était long. | Me, I waited for the bus for an hour. It was long. | mwa, zhay a-ton-dü luh büs pon-don ün ur. say-tay lon |
| A | Ah non ! Bon, et lundi ? Tu as déjà fini ton travail ? | Oh no! So, and Monday? Have you finished your work already? | a non. bon, ay lun-dee ? tü a day-zha fee-nee ton tra-vai ↗ |
Say it out loud
- Hier, j'ai travaillé. — Yesterday I worked. Keep 'tra-va-yay' short — no extra syllable at the end.
- J'ai mangé au restaurant. — I ate at a restaurant. 'au' is a round 'o'. Lips forward.
- Ce matin, j'ai écouté la radio. — This morning I listened to the radio. 'matin' ends in a nasal 'tan' — no hard n.
- J'ai attendu le bus. — I waited for the bus. Liaison: zhay-a. Then round the final u.
- Qu'est-ce que tu as fait hier ? — What did you do yesterday? Rise at the end — it is a question.
- Je n'ai pas compris. — I did not understand. The ne…pas wraps around the helper: n'ai pas compris.
Listening practice: Karim tells his sister about his week
Salut Nadia ! Ça va ? Moi, j'ai eu une semaine très chargée. Lundi, j'ai travaillé jusqu'à huit heures. Mardi, j'ai attendu un client pendant une heure. Mercredi, j'ai fini un gros projet. Jeudi, j'ai mangé avec mes collègues. Et vendredi, j'ai enfin dormi !
Hi Nadia! How are you? Me, I had a very busy week. On Monday I worked until eight o'clock. On Tuesday I waited for a client for an hour. On Wednesday I finished a big project. On Thursday I ate with my colleagues. And on Friday I finally slept!
Questions
- How does Karim describe his week? Very easy / Very busy / Very short → Very busy
- On Monday, until what time did he work? Six o'clock / Seven o'clock / Eight o'clock → Eight o'clock
- What did he wait for on Tuesday? A bus / A client / A train → A client
- What did he finish on Wednesday? A big project / A book / His homework → A big project
- What did he do on Friday? He worked late / He slept / He travelled → He slept
Remember this
- Passé composé = helper verb (avoir) + past participle.
- avoir in the present: j'ai, tu as, il/elle a, nous avons, vous avez, ils/elles ont.
- Regular -er verbs → -é: parler → parlé, manger → mangé, travailler → travaillé.
- Regular -ir verbs → -i: finir → fini, choisir → choisi, réussir → réussi.
- Regular -re verbs → -u: attendre → attendu, vendre → vendu, répondre → répondu.
- Negation wraps the helper: je n'ai pas compris.
- Word order: subject + avoir + (ne…pas) + past participle.
- French uses one past form for both 'I ate' and 'I have eaten' — j'ai mangé.
- Time words go at the start or the end: Hier, j'ai travaillé. / J'ai travaillé hier.
Common mistakes
| Instead of | Say | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Je ai mangé. | J'ai mangé. | Before a vowel, 'je' shortens to 'j''. It is never written as two words. |
| J'ai parlé-ee. | J'ai parlé. | The -é ending is one short 'ay'. English speakers add an extra syllable that is not there. |
| Je ne ai pas compris. | Je n'ai pas compris. | Same shortening inside ne…pas: ne + ai = n'ai. |
| J'ai allé. | Je suis allé. | 'Aller' is one of the movement verbs that takes être, not avoir. You will fix this properly in the next lesson. |
Practice questions
- Which helper verb do most French verbs use in the passé composé? être / avoir / aller / faire — avoir
- What is the past participle of 'parler'? parlé / parli / parlu / parlait — parlé
- What is the past participle of 'finir'? finé / fini / finu / finit — fini
- What is the past participle of 'attendre'? attendé / attendi / attendu / attendait — attendu
- Complete: 'Nous ___ mangé au restaurant.' avons / avez / ont / sommes — avons
- Complete: 'Ils ___ fini.' a / as / ont / avez — ont
- How do you say 'I did not understand'? Je ne comprends pas. / Je n'ai pas compris. / Je n'ai compris pas. / Je pas compris. — Je n'ai pas compris.
- Which sentence is correct? J'ai parlé. / Je ai parlé. / J'ai parle. / J'ai parler. — J'ai parlé.
Homework (30 minutes)
1) Write ten true sentences about yesterday using j'ai + a past participle. 2) Say each of the six avoir forms out loud until they are automatic: j'ai, tu as, il a, nous avons, vous avez, ils ont. 3) Record a 60-second voice note describing your last weekend. 4) Come back tomorrow and re-read this lesson's warm-up words out loud before you start anything new.
Lesson 37 of 45 · A2 · Part 1 — Talking About the Past · See the full A0 → A2 roadmap · Français A0 → A2