Lesson 38: Passé composé with être
Je suis allé — the passé composé with être · A1 → A2 · A2 · Part 1 — Talking About the Past
A small group of French verbs builds the past with être, not avoir. You will learn the whole group, make the past participle agree with the person (allé / allée / allés / allées), and use it to say where you went and where you came from.
In this lesson
- être as helper
- movement verbs
- participle agreement
- aller / venir / rester
Vocabulary
| French | Meaning | Say it | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| je suis allé | I went | zhuh swee-za-lay ژُ سوئيزالے | Liaison is compulsory: 'suis' + 'allé' sounds like 'swee-za-lay'. |
| je suis venu | I came | zhuh swee-vuh-nü ژُ سوئوُونُو | venir → venu. Same helper, different participle. |
| je suis arrivé | I arrived | zhuh swee-za-ree-vay ژُ سوئيزاريوے | arriver → arrivé. Used for people and for trains and buses. |
| je suis parti | I left | zhuh swee-par-tee ژُ سوئيپارتي | partir → parti. The opposite of arriver. |
| je suis sorti | I went out | zhuh swee-sor-tee ژُ سوئيسورتي | sortir → sorti. Also used for going out in the evening. |
| je suis resté | I stayed | zhuh swee-res-tay ژُ سوئيريستے | rester → resté. 'Je suis resté à la maison' = I stayed at home. |
| je suis rentré | I came back home | zhuh swee-ron-tray ژُ سوئيرونتے | rentrer → rentré. Very common — it means going back to where you belong. |
| je suis né | I was born | zhuh swee-nay ژُ سوئينے | naître → né. Careful: née for a woman. |
| je suis tombé | I fell | zhuh swee-ton-bay ژُ سوئيتونبے | tomber → tombé. Also used for 'I fell in love': je suis tombé amoureux. |
| je suis monté | I went up | zhuh swee-mon-tay ژُ سوئيمونٹے | monter → monté. Its opposite is descendre → descendu. |
| l'accord | agreement (of the participle) | la-kor لاکور | With être, the participle behaves like an adjective — it changes with the subject. |
| ce week-end | this weekend | suh wee-kend سُو ویک اینڈ | Borrowed straight from English. Say it the French way: 'wee-kend'. |
Pronunciation
| Word | Sounds like | Slowly | How to make the sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| allé | a-lay | a ... lay | Two clean syllables. Both forms — allé and allée — sound identical. |
| venu | vuh-nü | vuh ... nü | Lips rounded forward for the ü. Not 'noo'. |
| je suis allé | zhuh-swee-za-lay | zhuh ... swee ... za ... lay | The liaison is compulsory: 'swee-za-lay', never 'swee. a-lay'. |
| nous sommes partis | noo-som-par-tee | noo ... som ... par ... tee | 'sommes' is a nasal 'som'. Do not pronounce the final s. |
| elle est arrivée | el-ay-ta-ree-vay | el ... ay ... ta ... ree ... vay | 'est' plus a vowel = compulsory liaison: 'ay-ta'. |
| elles sont allées | el-son-ta-lay | el ... son ... ta ... lay | Sounds exactly like 'ils sont allés'. Only the spelling tells you it is all women. |
The hardest sound here is the final -u of venu, descendu and revenu. English has no such sound: it is a tight 'ü' with rounded lips, not 'oo'. Say 'ee' first, then push your lips forward without moving your tongue — that is the shape you want.
Grammar
The être group — a short, closed list
Most verbs use avoir. A small, fixed group uses être. Almost all of them describe movement or a change of state: going, coming, arriving, leaving, entering, going out, going up, going down, staying, falling, being born, dying, becoming, returning.
With être, the participle must agree
With avoir, the participle never changes. With être, it acts like an adjective and changes with the subject: add -e for a woman, -s for plural, -es for a group of women only.
Examples
| French | English | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| Hier, je suis allé au marché. | Yesterday I went to the market. | ee-yair, zhuh swee-za-lay o mar-shay |
| Elle est arrivée à midi. | She arrived at noon. | el ay-ta-ree-vay a mee-dee |
| Nous sommes partis tôt. | We left early. | noo som par-tee to |
| Il est né en mille neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix. | He was born in 1990. | eel ay nay on meel nuf son katr-van-dees |
| Je suis resté à la maison tout le week-end. | I stayed at home all weekend. | zhuh swee-res-tay a la may-zon too luh wee-kend |
| Mes parents sont venus hier. | My parents came yesterday. | may pa-ron son vuh-nü ee-yair |
| Elle est sortie avec ses amies. | She went out with her friends. | el ay sor-tee a-vek say-za-mee |
| Je suis tombé dans l'escalier. | I fell on the stairs. | zhuh swee-ton-bay don les-ka-lyay |
| Nous sommes rentrés très tard. | We came home very late. | noo som ron-tray tray tar |
| Comment est-ce que tu es venu ? | How did you come? | ko-mon es-kuh tü ay vuh-nü ↗ |
Dialogue: Two colleagues on Monday: how was your weekend?
You are colleagues, so you use vous. Notice the agreement: Amel is a woman, so every participle ends in -e when she talks about herself. Read it aloud and mark each agreement with your finger.
| French | English | Say it | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Bonjour Amel ! Vous êtes allée quelque part ce week-end ? | Hello Amel! Did you go somewhere this weekend? | bon-zhoor a-mel, voo zet-ta-lay kel-kuh par suh wee-kend ↗ |
| B | Oui, je suis allée à Lyon voir ma sœur. Je suis partie vendredi soir. | Yes, I went to Lyon to see my sister. I left on Friday evening. | wee, zhuh swee-za-lay a lyon vwar ma sur. zhuh swee-par-tee von-druh-dee swar |
| A | Et vous êtes rentrée quand ? | And when did you come home? | ay voo zet ron-tray kon ↗ |
| B | Dimanche soir, très tard. Le train est arrivé à minuit. | Sunday evening, very late. The train arrived at midnight. | dee-monsh swar, tray tar. luh tran ay-ta-ree-vay a mee-nwee |
| A | Et votre frère ? Il est venu avec vous ? | And your brother? Did he come with you? | ay votr frehr ↗ eel ay vuh-nü a-vek voo |
| B | Non, il est resté à Paris. Il est tombé malade jeudi. | No, he stayed in Paris. He fell ill on Thursday. | non, eel ay res-tay a pa-ree. eel ay ton-bay ma-lad zhuh-dee |
| A | Ah, je suis désolé. Moi aussi, je suis resté ici — mais je suis sorti samedi soir. | Oh, I am sorry. Me too, I stayed here — but I did go out on Saturday evening. | a, zhuh swee day-zo-lay. mwa o-see, zhuh swee-res-tay ee-see, may zhuh swee-sor-tee sam-dee swar |
Say it out loud
- Je suis allé au marché. — I went to the market. Compulsory liaison: swee-za-lay. One smooth block.
- Je suis allée au marché. — I went to the market. (woman speaking) The extra -e changes the spelling, not the sound.
- Elle est arrivée. — She arrived. Liaison: est + arrivée = ay-ta-ree-vay.
- Ils sont partis. — They left. 'sont' is nasal 'son'. Do not say the final t.
- Nous sommes restés à la maison. — We stayed at home. som + restés links to 'som-res-tay'.
- Je suis né en mille neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix. — I was born in 1990. Dates run together with no pauses. Practise slowly first.
Listening practice: Nadia's trip to Marseille
Salut ! Je suis rentrée hier de Marseille. Je suis partie vendredi matin avec ma cousine. Nous sommes arrivées à midi. Nous sommes montées à Notre-Dame de la Garde — quelle vue ! Samedi, nous sommes sorties le soir et nous sommes rentrées très tard. Dimanche, je suis restée à l'hôtel. Le train est parti à six heures et je suis arrivée chez moi à neuf heures.
Hi! I came home yesterday from Marseille. I left on Friday morning with my cousin. We arrived at noon. We went up to Notre-Dame de la Garde — what a view! On Saturday we went out in the evening and came home very late. On Sunday I stayed at the hotel. The train left at six o'clock and I got home at nine.
Questions
- Where did Nadia go? Lyon / Marseille / Paris → Marseille
- Who did she travel with? Her sister / Her cousin / Her brother → Her cousin
- When did they arrive? At noon / In the evening / At six o'clock → At noon
- What did she do on Sunday? She went out / She stayed at the hotel / She went up the hill → She stayed at the hotel
- What time did she get home? Six o'clock / Nine o'clock / Midnight → Nine o'clock
Remember this
- Two helpers exist: avoir (most verbs) and être (movement verbs).
- être in the present: je suis, tu es, il/elle est, nous sommes, vous êtes, ils/elles sont.
- The être group: aller, venir, revenir, arriver, partir, entrer, sortir, monter, descendre, rester, rentrer, retourner, tomber, naître, mourir, devenir.
- The être group is closed — no new verbs join it.
- With être the participle agrees: -e (woman), -s (plural), -es (women only).
- All four forms of allé sound the same: 'a-lay'. Only spelling differs.
- Liaison is compulsory: je suis allé = 'zhuh-swee-za-lay'.
- Negation still wraps the helper: je ne suis pas allé.
- manger, travailler, regarder are NOT movement verbs — they take avoir.
Common mistakes
| Instead of | Say | Why |
|---|---|---|
| J'ai allé au marché. | Je suis allé au marché. | aller belongs to the être group. This is the single most common A2 mistake. |
| Elle est allé. | Elle est allée. | With être the participle agrees: a woman adds -e. |
| Je suis aller. | Je suis allé. | The participle keeps its -é ending. 'aller' is the infinitive, not the participle. |
| Nous avons restés. | Nous sommes restés. | rester takes être. With être the -s is added, as you did — but the helper must change too. |
Practice questions
- Which helper does 'aller' use in the passé composé? avoir / être / both / neither — être
- Complete: 'Elle ___ allée à Lyon.' a / est / sont / es — est
- Complete: 'Nous ___ partis tôt.' avons / sommes / sont / êtes — sommes
- A woman says 'I went'. Which is correct? Je suis allé. / Je suis allée. / J'ai allée. / Je suis allés. — Je suis allée.
- Complete: 'Ils sont ___ .' (they arrived, mixed group) arrivé / arrivée / arrivés / arrivées — arrivés
- 'Elles sont allées' — who is this about? Men only / Women only / A mixed group / One person — Women only
- Which verb does NOT take être? rester / tomber / manger / partir — manger
- How do the four forms allé / allée / allés / allées sound? All different / Two sounds / All identical / Only allé is silent — All identical
Homework (30 minutes)
1) Write the full être group from memory, then check. 2) Write eight true past sentences about last week — four with avoir, four with être — and underline every helper. 3) Describe a short trip out loud in 90 seconds, using at least four être verbs. 4) Check every participle agreement: are you writing -e if you are a woman?
Lesson 38 of 45 · A2 · Part 1 — Talking About the Past · See the full A0 → A2 roadmap · Français A0 → A2