A2BeginnerVerbs · Point 11 / 40

avoir, avoir, être, être, être + accord

To talk about something finished, French uses “avoir” or “être” in the present plus the past participle.

Auxiliary	Pattern	Meaning
avoir	—	“avoir” is used with most ordinary verbs.
avoir	—	“avoir” works for describing your own situation.
être	—	“être” goes with verbs of movement.
être	—	“être” also applies to “rester”, a change of state.
être	+ accord	with “être” the past participle agrees in gender and number.

With “être” the past participle agrees with the person: “je suis allé”, “je suis allée”, “on est allés”. With “avoir” it stays unchanged, unless the object comes before the verb.

Examples from our dialogues 5 · 4 with audio

Listen
J'ai déménagé à Laval le mois dernier.
I moved to Laval last month.
Check The Full DialogueRunning into an old friend on the street

Listen
J'ai vu qu'il y a un marché public samedi matin.
I saw there's a public market Saturday morning.
Check The Full DialoguePlanning the weekend with friends

Listen
Je viens du Maroc. Je suis arrivé à Montréal il y a deux semaines.
I'm from Morocco. I arrived in Montreal two weeks ago.
Check The Full DialogueGetting to know a new neighbour

Listen
On est allés au parc, et j'ai joué au soccer.
We went to the park, and I played soccer.
Check The Full DialogueCalling the grandparents

Elle est arrivée hier et elle a reçu sa carte ce matin.
She arrived yesterday and she received her card this morning.

Common mistakes

J'ai allé à la banque.Je suis allé à la banque.
“Aller” takes “être”, not “avoir”. Same for arriver, venir, partir, rester.
Je suis arrivé (dit par une femme).Je suis arrivée.
With “être” the participle agrees: a woman writes “arrivée”. You cannot hear it, but you can see it in writing.

Practise speaking

Les interactions socialesSocial interactions

Greeting, getting acquainted, chatting with a neighbour — the French of everyday exchanges.

These dialogues use this point. They open on the dialogue page (audio, vocabulary to save).