Agreements for the past participle: AVOIR

“Preceding direct object”

Does this leave you wondering what you missed in life? Where you went wrong with French grammar?

Don’t worry - you could argue it’s not the most important thing in the French language. 

But if you want to sound French, this is a common detail that will help, made very simple. 

Check out the mini lesson and discover . . . 

• Just what a preceding direct objet is

• How it influences the past participle

• The sound changes you might hear with certain phrases

 

What are the basic elements of a sentence?

First, don’t worry if you don’t know anything about grammar. French children spend hours studying syntax at school and know the grammatical terms very well.

I’m going to simplify things for you. 

In French, a typical French sentence (like English) is:

• subject + verb + object

What does it mean? In other words:

• who  + is doing + what

Indeed, the subject is a person or an object. The verb is the action and the object is the person or the object “receiving” the action.

Let’s have a real example:

• Je mange un cookie. >>> I am eating a cookie. 

 

• subject / Who >>> je
• verb / is doing >>> mange
• object / what >>> cookie

 

 

When is the object direct or indirect?

Now, let’s focus on the object. There’s another piece of information you need to know about it. 

Always ask yourself: “Is it direct or indirect?” Because there will have consequences!

How do you know this? It’s super easy! Check if there’s a word (a preposition to be exact) after the verb.

In our example, there’s nothing:

• Je mange un cookie. >>> I am eating a cookie.

Therefore, it’s direct.

Let’s have a look at a sentence with an indirect object:

• Je mange un cookie à mon amie. >>> I am giving a cookie to my friend.

Can you spot this extra word after the verb? The preposition à is necessary with the verb donner. Here, it’s the translation of “to”.

Note that amie (friend) is pronounce like ami but since it’s feminine we add an e.

The verb AVOIR in the perfect tense and a direct object.  

Now that you know the structure of a sentence, let’s put it in the perfect tense, the passé composé. 

• J’ai mangé un cookie. >>> I ate a cookie.

Let’s ask ourselves the basic questions:

What has been eaten? The answer is a cookie.

What is being eaten? Again, it’s the cookie.  As a result, thre’s no doubt: our object is the cookie.

 

 

The usual construction of the perfect tense with AVOIR as an auxiliary.  

There are 2 ways to use the perfect tense: the usual and the other one.

To find it more easily, ask yourself: “Is the object BEFORE or AFTER the verb?

The usual construction is with the object after the verb like our example:

• J’ai mangé un cookie. >>> I have eaten a cookie.

Here is how to conjugate or to play with our example:

• J’ai mangé un cookie. >>> I have eaten a cookie. 
• Tu as mangé un cookie. >>> You have eaten a cookie.
• Il / elle a mangé un cookie. >>> S/he have eaten a cookie.
• Nous avons mangé un cookie. >>> I have eaten a cookie.
• Vous avez mangé un cookie. >>> You have eaten a cookie.
• Ils / elles ont mangé un cookie. >>> They have eaten a cookie.

 

 

How to replace a direct object with a pronoun in a sentence with AVOIR in the perfect tense ?

Let’s go deeper a little bit. Now, imagine we want to substitute teh cookie with a pronoun because we don’t want to repeat it or because we know what we are talking about. 

• un cookie. >>> It

In English, an object can be replaced by it. In French, we have something else.

Another big difference between French and English is the syntax or construction of the sentence.

Indeed, the pronoun “it” comes straight after the verb.

However, in French, the equivalent of “it” goes BEFORE the verb! 

In other words, you need to anticipate and put it before your verb.

Let’s see how it works…

First, you should translate “it” in French. Since, the word cookie is masculine, the answer is LE.

• a cookie. >>> It (English)
• un cookie. >>> le (French)

Your first job is to keep the same structure but change the object with a pronoun:

• J’ai mangé un cookie. >>> I have eaten a cookie.
• J’ai mangé le. >>> I have eaten it.

Time to put the words in the right order for the French sentence.

Because there are several changes, we are doing it slowly but surely.

To begin with, there’s the verb: 

• J’ai mangé.  >>> I have eaten.

Then, we add the pronoun before the verb:

• Je le ai mangé. >>> I have eaten it.

Finally, we adjust with the apostrophe because you CAN’T have 2 vowels like these. 

• Je l'ai mangé. >>> I have eaten it.

 

 

What is the agreement rule with the Perfect tense and AVOIR ?

Let’s summarise. Here’s an agreement everyone (French included) should know:

When the object comes before the past participle (meaning the verb is direct), you need to match the past participle to the object.

So far, simply remember that the past participle is going to change if the object is feminine and / or plural.

 

Let’s review the past participle together. In your perfect tense, there are 2 parts: the auxiliary (avoir or être) and the past participle.

• J’ai mangé.  >>> I have eaten. 

In our example, mangé is the past participle.

• Je l'ai mangé. >>> I have eaten it.

Here, you can clearly see that the object (l´) is placed before the past participle.

In other words, if the thing is before the action, there will be some changes because it triggers some agreements.

The gender and number agreement rule with the Perfect tense and AVOIR.

As I have mentioned, there will be an influence of the “it” on the past participle.

Actually, there are only 2 agreements: the gender and the number.

If your “it” is feminine, add an “e” to your past participle.

If it’s a “them”, add an “s” to your past participle.

In the next sections, you are going to play with this agreement.

Agreement for the past participle AVOIR and a masculine object.

This one is the easiest one because there’s no agreement! Youpiiiiiii!

Simply, remember to put l’ at the right place in the sentence:

• Je l'ai mangé. >>> I have eaten it.

 

Agreement for the past participle AVOIR and a feminine object. 

Easy too. Just add an e to your past participle.

• J’ai mangé une pomme.  >>> I have eaten an apple.

Put l’ at the right place in the sentence:

• Je l'ai mangé. >>> I have eaten it. 

Then, make the agreement:

• Je l'ai mangée. >>> I have eaten it.

 

Agreement for the past participle AVOIR and the plural.

Super easy because whether it’s masculine or feminine, it’s the same pronoun: les. Then, you add an s to your past participle. However, don’t forget your e for the feminine in the first place!

• J’ai mangé les cookies.  >>> I have eaten the cookies.
• J’ai mangé les pommes.  >>> I have eaten an apple.

Put les at the right place in the sentence:

• Je les ai mangé. >>> I have eaten them.

Then, make the agreement.

• Je les ai mangés. >>> I have eaten them. (cookies)

• Je les ai mangées. >>> I have eaten them. (apples)

 

Here’s way to remember all the agreements: 

• Masculine singular >>> no change

• Feminine singular >>> + e

• Masculine plural >>> + s

• Feminine plural >>> + es

 

With our examples:

• Masculine singular >>> Je l’ai mangé. >>> I have eaten it. (cookie)

• Feminine singular >>> Je l’ai mangée. >>> I have eaten it. (apple)

• Masculine plural >>> Je les ai mangés. >>> I have eaten them. (cookies)

• Feminine plural >>> Je les ai mangées. >>> I have eaten them. (apples)

  

Also, if you have both masculine and feminine things, it’s masculine plural by default!

Here’s an illustration:

• Je les ai tous mangés. >>> I have eaten them all. (cookies and apples)

 

 

The unusual construction of the perfect tense with AVOIR as an auxiliary. 

Time to play with the sneaky one. Remember that there are 2 ways to use the perfect tense?

The unusual construction is with the object before the verb like our example:

• Les cookies que j’ai mangés. >>> The cookies I have eaten.

Here, the object is the first element of your sentence, then we have the verb. By the way, you HAVE TO connect everything with “que”. If not, it doesn’t work…

You’ll do exactly the same. In other words, you apply the agreement rules:

• Masculine singular >>> no change

• Feminine singular >>> + e

• Masculine plural >>> + s

• Feminine plural >>> + es

 

Because the verb manger is direct (no preposition envolved), the agreement rules are required.

Therefore, double check if the object is feminine and plural. A tip: have a closer look at the article!

Let’s see what happens by changing the gender and number:

• Les photos que j’ai prises. >>> The photos (that) I have taken. 

Simply follow this method step by step until it becomes natural:

• J’ai payé les cafés.  >>> I have paid for the coffees.

Put l’ at the right place in the sentence:

• Je les ai payé. >>> I have paid for them. 

Then, make the agreement:

• Je les ai payés. >>> I have paid for them.

Switch to the unusual version:

• Les cafés que j’ai payés. >>> The coffees (that) I have paid for.

 

 

Let’s do the same with the feminine singular 

• On a livré la brouette.  >>> The wheelbarrow was delivered.

Put l’ at the right place in the sentence:

• On l’a livré. >>> It was delivered.

Then, make the agreement:

• On l’a livrée. >>> It was delivered.

Switch to the unusual version:

• La brouette qu’on a livrée. >>> The wheelbarrow  that was delivered.

 

 

Tips to recall in conversation.

When we talk, we normally produce a natural flow of the conversation and we shouldn’t take a lot of time to think before speaking. In other words, you should talk fluently. But, how can you remember about the agreements?

First, don’t worry because even the French forget it! Why? Because it’s more noticeable when you write and not when you talk.

Then, spot the agreements in text.

Another idea is to create your examples and play with the gender and number. Take the same sentence and change the object.

Finally, always focus on one thing at a time. Don’t try to learn everything. 

To summarise, you need to concentrate on several things when you use the perfect tense and the auxiliary AVOIR.

To start with, find out the gender and the number of the object. Then, out at the right place before the verb. And finally, make the necessary agreements.

This method applies for the usual construction and the unusual one which starts with the object followed by “que” then by the passé composé.

If you want to consolidate the perfect tense, here's a mini-lesson about it:

Speak and understand French better with 5 past participles

The following FREE masterclass is available to you to guide you through being able to speak French with confidence.  And if you speak with more confidence, you also hear more easily - really.  Take a peek . . .  https://www.simplyfrenchonline.com head for LEARN and then Masterclass. 

Did you know about these agreement rules with AVOIR before this mini-lesson?