Passé composé

Compound past tense

French has several different past tenses, but the most important one is the passé composé. Just to make things interesting, it has three possible English equivalents:

1.	j’ai mangé		I ate		simple past
2.	j’ai mangé		I have eaten		present perfect
3.	j’ai mangé		I did eat		past emphatic

The passé composé is used when talking about

Completed actions

Oui, j’ai mangé à 8h.

Yes, I did eat at 8am.

Repeated actions

J’y ai mangé 3 fois.

I’ve eaten there 3 times.

Series of actions

J’ai mangé et puis je suis sorti avec Paul.

I ate, then I went out with Paul.

Condition in likely situations (si clauses)

Si tu as perdu, tu dois féliciter le gagnant.

If you lost, you have to congratulate the winner.

  The passé composé is often used alongside the imperfect, which can be very confusing for French students. For detailed info, see passé composé vs imparfait.

 Passé composé quizzes

Think you’ve got it? Test yourself on the passé composé with these fill-in-the-blank exercises:

• Anniversaire de mariage
• Le weekend de Paul
• Un bébé remuant

Note: You must be logged into your Progress with Lawless French account to take these tests. If you don’t have one, sign up – it’s free!

 Related lessons

• Using the passé composé – PwLF super list
• Passé composé conjugations
• Avoir vs être
• Passé composé vs imparfait
• Passé récent
• Passé simple
• Introduction to verbs

 French lesson plans

• Avoir, Être et le Passé composé (Lesson, 6th-8th grade)
• En vacances (Lesson, 9th-12th grade)
• Hobbies (Worksheet, 8th-9th grade)
• Passé composé (Lesson, 6th-8th grade)
• Passé composé (Powerpoint, 6th-9th grade)
• Passé composé (Worksheet, 6th-12th grade)
• Passé composé (verbes avec auxiliaire avoir) (Worksheet, 9th-12th grade)
• Qui veut jouer avec moi ? (Lesson, 7th grade)

 Share / Tweet / Pin Me!