Tag: grammar

Passé composé

Ruthran
passé composé

Passé composé is one of the most frequently used tenses in French, and its formation serves as the basis for many other tenses in the language. Therefore, understanding passé composé is crucial in comprehending the deeper and more complex structures of French grammar.

Passé composé is used to express an action that was completed at some time in the past or at the time of speech. It is the equivalent of the present perfect tense and past tense in English. Let’s delve into the learning process by examining “Les trois règles d’or du Passé Composé” or “The 3 Golden Rules of Passé Composé.”

Golden Rule 1: Formation

Passe compose is formed by placing the subject + auxiliary verb + past participle + object. The auxiliary verbs used are être and avoir, which are also known as helping verbs. As the name suggests (passé composé), it is a composite of avoir or être, the auxiliary verb followed by the past participle – participe passé. Assuming that you know the conjugation of the verbs avoir and être in the present tense, let’s move onto the formation.

Avoir

J’ai

Tu as

Il/Elle a

Nous avons

Vous avez

Ils/Elles ont

Être

Je suis

Tu es

Il/Elle est

Nous sommes

Vous êtes

Ils/Elles sont

Note that if you are a beginner, you may encounter difficulties in conjugating verbs and past participles in French. To overcome this, I recommend watching videos on French conjugation and past participle in French.

Formula for sentence structure in French is subject + verb + object. It is no different for passé composé; however, we need two verbs to form the sentence. Subject, verb 1 (auxiliary verb/supporting verb), verb 2 (action verb), and object.

Examples:

  • J’ai parlé à Jean.
  • Tu as fini ton projet.
  • Il est allé au bureau.
  • Elle est partie pour le Canada.
  • Nous avons travaillé ensemble.
  • Vous êtes devenu célèbre.
  • Ils ont commencé à travailler.
  • Elles sont nées le même jour.

From these examples, you can see that either avoir or être as auxiliary verbs along with past participle are used to form passé composé. However, the question arises as to where to use avoir and where to use être. Certain action verbs need être, and others require avoir.

Golden Rule 2: The V16 Rule

The V16 rule helps us understand which auxiliary verb (avoir or être) to use. There are 16 verbs that require être as their auxiliary verb to form passé composé:

  • Naître (to be born)
  • Mourir (to die)
  • Aller (to go)
  • Venir (to come)
  • Revenir (to come back)
  • Retourner (to return)
  • Rentrer (to return)
  • Entrer (to enter)
  • Sortir (to go out)
  • Arriver (to arrive)
  • Partir (to leave)
  • Monter (to climb up)
  • Descendre (to climb down)
  • Rester (to stay)
  • Tomber (to fall)
  • Devenir (to become)

The rest of the verbs require avoir as their auxiliary verb.

How to remember these 16 verbs? There are three methods:

Method 1: If you observe the verbs and ponder over their meaning.

You may notice that they fall under two categories: verbs that denote a change in state (naître, mourir, and devenir) or the second category would be the verbs which express movement (arriver, venir, partir, sortir, descendre, monter, etc). And the only exception is Rester – to stay.

Method Nº2: La maison d’être (I am going to narrate a story about a very well known superhero. Do you know who it is? The most loved The IRON MAN)

Il est né, il est venu, il est arrivé, il est monté, il est entré, il est resté, il est sorti, il est descendu, il est tombé, il est parti, il est allé, il est retourné, il est rentré, il est revenu, il est mort et il est devenu. 

Naître

Venir 

Arriver

Monter

Entrer

Rester

Sortir

Descendre

Tomber

Partir

Aller

Retourner/ Rentrer / Revenir

Mourir

Devenir

Method Nº3: Dr & Mrs Van Der Tramps

This is a popular mnemonic that will help you remember the verbs that require être as their auxiliary verb in passé composé.

Dr & Mrs Van Der Trampp is a helpful acronym, where each letter represents a verb that needs être as the auxiliary verb in passé composé.

D – Devenir (to become)

R – Revenir (to come back)

M – Monter (to climb up)

R – Rester (to stay)

S – Sortir (to go out)

V – Venir (to come)

A – Aller (to go)

N – Naître (to be born)

D – Descendre (to go down)

E – Entrer (to enter)

R – Retourner (to return)

T – Tomber (to fall)

R – Rentrer (to return)

A – Arriver

M – Mourir

P – Partir / Passer

S – (all pronominal verbs like : se revéiller, se lever, se laver, etc…)

Golden Rule Nº3: Agreement of past participle

When using avoir as the auxiliary verb, the past participle agrees in gender and number with the direct object, if it is placed before the verb.

For example:

  • J’ai mangé une pomme. (I ate an apple.)

In the first sentence, une pomme (an apple) is the direct object and is feminine, singular. Hence, the past participle mangé agrees with it and takes the feminine singular form.

  • Elle a acheté des chaussures. (She bought shoes.)

In the second sentence, des chaussures (shoes) is the direct object and is feminine, plural. Hence, the past participle acheté agrees with it and takes the feminine plural form.

When using “être” as the auxiliary verb, the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject.

For example:

  • Je suis allé(e) au marché. (I went to the market.)

In the first sentence, the subject je (I) is masculine, singular. Hence, the past participle allé agrees with it and takes the masculine singular form.

  • Nous sommes sorti(e)s ensemble. (We went out together.)

In the second sentence, the subject nous (we) is feminine, plural. Hence, the past participle sorti agrees with it and takes the feminine plural form.

In conclusion, passé composé is a very important tense in French and its formation serves as the basis for many other tenses. By following the three Golden Rules of Passé Composé, you will be able to form and use this tense correctly. Remember to practice and review regularly to improve your understanding and mastery of the language.

For more grammar points, you can go to

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9waIUP8o6NA&t=168shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9waIUP8o6NA&t=168s

French pronouns : COD and COI pronouns

Ruthran
french pronouns

Pronouns are a class of words that are used to replace a noun phrase that has already been mentioned or is about to be mentioned in a sentence or context. In simpler words, french pronouns are used to replace nouns. There are two types of pronouns, indefinite pronouns, and personal pronouns.

Types of Pronouns: Indefinite and Personal

Indefinite pronouns are those that have no specific referent, such as “quelqu’un,” “n’importe qui,” or “personne.” On the other hand, personal pronouns have a definite person or thing as an antecedent and function grammatically in the same way as the noun they replace. We can divide personal pronouns into subject pronouns and object pronouns.

Personal Pronouns in French

In French, personal pronouns include “je,” “tu,” “il,” and so on, which are subject pronouns used to replace a subject. Here, we will focus on personal pronouns that uniquely replace an object.

Personal Pronouns for Objects: Direct and Indirect

Objects are of two types, direct and indirect. We replace direct objects by pronouns such as “le,” “la,” “l’,” and “les,” while indirect objects are replaced by pronouns like “lui” and “leur.”

For example, when asking if Jean is trying to contact Sophie over the phone, the direct object is Sophie. In response to this question, we use the personal pronoun “l’,” and the answer would be “Jean l’appelle,” which means “Jean calls her.” On the other hand, when asking if Sophie is giving something to Jean, the indirect object is Jean, and the response would be “Sophie lui donne,” which means “Sophie gives it to him.”

Objet direct (COD – Complément d’objet  direct)Object indirect (COI – Complément d’objet indirect)
Direct objects are replaced by pronouns – le, la, l’ et lesIndirect objects are replaced by pronouns – lui, leur
Est-ce que Jean appelle Sophie?
Oui, Jean l’appelle.		Est-ce que Jean téléphone à Sophie?
Oui, Jean lui téléphone.

The ground rule is that when we have a repetition of direct objects, we replace them by “le,” “la,” “l’,” or “les,” depending on the gender and number. And when we have repetition of indirect objects, we replace them by “lui” or “leur.” It is important to note that personal pronouns agree in gender and number with the noun they replace.

In conclusion, personal pronouns are an essential part of the French language, and mastering them is crucial for effective communication. Learning how to use personal pronouns correctly will not only improve your communication skills but also enhance your understanding of the language. Stay tuned for more content on learning French, and feel free to comment below if you have any specific topics you would like us to discuss.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7WBc3w_TNQ&t=3s

COD and COI : Definition

Ruthran
cod and coi

The DIRECT and INDIRECT OBJECT, also known as COD and COI in French, are two important parts of a sentence. In a sentence, the object is the part that completes the meaning of the sentence, in addition to the subject and the verb.

The difference in between COD and COI

A reminder of the sentence structure is necessary. A sentence is composed of three elements: the subject, the verb, and the object. For example, in the sentence “Je parle français.”, “français” is the object.

In French, there are two types of objects: the Complément d’Objet Direct (COD) and the Complément d’Objet Indirect (COI). To understand both of them, let’s examine the following examples:

Direct Object(Complément d’objet direct)Indirect Object(Complément d’objet indirect)
Jean appelle Sophie Jean téléphone à Sophie

These two sentences have the same meaning, which is that Jean is trying to contact Sophie by phone. In the first sentence, “Sophie” is a direct object complement, while in the second sentence, “Sophie” is an indirect object complement.

A simple rule

The basic rule is simple: if there is a preposition “à” between the verb and the object, then the object is called an indirect object complement (COI). If there is no preposition between the verb and the object, then the object is a direct object complement (COD).

Let’s take some additional examples to better understand:

Sophie donne le cadeau. (Sophie gives the gift.)Sophie donne à Jean. (Sophie gives to Jean)
Vous connaissez Charlotte Lebon ? (Do you know Charlotte Lebon ?)Vous parlez à Charlotte Lebon ? (Do you speak to Charlotte Lebon ?)

In the first two examples, “le cadeau” is the object, but it is a COD in the first sentence and a COI in the second sentence. In the last two examples, “Charlotte Lebon” is the object, but it is a COD in the first sentence and a COI in the second sentence.

So, indirect object complements are always followed by a preposition, while there is no preposition for direct object complements.

Now that you understand the difference between COD and COI, you may be wondering how it works with pronouns. Don’t worry, our next article will cover personal pronouns COD and COI such as le, la, l’ & les & lui leur. Stay tuned!