How to choose the right auxiliary in French

So you can use the past tense and say “I have eaten” or “I have been” for example. 

Then somehow it all goes haywire and you start saying “I have” instead of “I have” with your fingers crossed that you’re being understood.

Until you are using these tenses regularly, they’re naturally going to trip you up when you’re speaking because it follows quite a different logic in French. 

Let’s take the guesswork out for you and help our conversations flow more easily.

In this mini-lesson, you’ll discover: 

• The three auxiliary verb forms for the perfect tense

• The three auxiliary verb forms for the past perfect tense (the pluperfect)

• How the two (have+ had) are related to make learning easier

How do you recognise an auxiliary in French?

Auxiliaries exist in both languages and share some similarities. However, in French, it’s a bit more tricky and you will see why in this mini-lesson. 

To begin with, an auxiliary helps your verb. Indeed, thanks to him, you can identify the tense.

In English like in French, your verb can be one or 2 words. Think about it as one single verb or a the use of two verbs. The compound tense (using 2 verbs)  comprises an auxiliary which is first, and a past participle that comes next. 

As usual, let’s take a look J

e mange  >>> I eat.

Just one word for the verb and it’s the present tense.

• J’ai mangé  >>> I have eaten.

Here, 2 words form the passé composé. The first part is your auxiliary (the verb avoir - have) and the past participle is mangé (eaten).  

• J’avais mangé  >>> I had eaten.

Note the same set up: 2 parts for the verb.

This time, you have the plus-que-parfait or the pluperfect in English.

It looks like the passé composé, except for the auxiliary. Instead of having the 'présent' for your auxiliary, it’s the 'imparfait' (the imperfect tense).

Thankfully, the choice of past participle remains the same!

Now let's learn how to choose the right tense and know how to conjugate it perfectly by asking the right questions.

Which auxiliary do you need with reflexive verbs?

In case it slipped your mind, a reflexive verb is when the action refers to yourself. Basically, they are verbs whose infinitives have “se” or “s’” before them such as se réveiller (to wake up), se laver (to wash oneself), se maquiller (to put on some make-up).

If you want to review them, check this mini-lesson. 

Let’s go to our auxiliaries with reflexive verbs. You will require an auxiliary for the passé composé and the plus-que-parfait.

The good news is that for all reflexive verbs, the only option is the être auxiliary.

You will conjugate the passé composé like  this:

• Je me suis levé(e) >>> I got up
• Tu t’es levé(e) >>> you got up
• Il / elle s’est levé(e) >>> s/he got up

• Nous nous sommes levé(e)s >>> we got up
• Vous vous êtes levé(e)(s) >>> you got up
• Ils / elles se sont levé(e)s >>> they got up

Remember that the agreement is compulsory. In other words, an extra “e” is necessary for the feminine and an “s” for the plural

For the negative form, put the “ne” or “n’” and “pas” in the right place like the following:

• Je ne me suis pas levé(e) >>> I didn’t get up
• Tu ne t’es pas levé(e) >>> you didn’t get up
• Il / elle ne s’est pas levé(e) >>> s/he didn’t get up

• Nous ne nous sommes pas levé(e)s >>> we didn’t get up
• Vous ne vous êtes pas levé(e)(s) >>> you didn’t get up
• Ils / elles ne se sont pas levé(e)s >>> they didn’t get up

Let’s have a look at the pluperfect:

• Je m’étais levé(e) >>> I had got up 
• Tu t’étais levé(e) >>> you had got up
• Il / elle s’était levé(e) >>> s/he had got up

• Nous nous étions levé(e)s >>> we had got up
• Vous vous étiez levé(e)(s) >>> you had got up
• Ils / elles s’étaient levé(e)s >>> they had got up

And for the negative form, you have this:

• Je ne m’étais pas levé(e) >>> I had not got up 
• Tu ne t’étais pas levé(e) >>> you had not got up
• Il / elle ne s’était pas levé(e) >>> s/he had not got up

• Nous ne nous étions pas levé(e)s >>> we had not got up
• Vous ne vous étiez pas levé(e)(s) >>> you had not got up
• Ils / elles ne s’étaient pas levé(e)s >>> they had not got up

Which auxiliary should you use for the “être” verbs?

As the title says, you will play with the auxiliary être with these very special verbs. Are you familiar with them?

It’s a list of movement verbs you should memorise because only them trigger the auxiliary être! (And the reflexive verbs as we just saw).

In this mini-lesson, you have 4 of them and in this one, I give you the whole list. 

As long as you know them, you will ready to conjugate them with the auxiliary être.

• Je suis parti(e) >>> I left
• Tu es parti(e) >>> you left
• Il / elle est parti(e) >>> s/he left

• Nous sommes parti(e)s >>> we left
• Vous êtes parti(e)(s) >>> you left
• Ils / elles sont parti(e)s >>> they left

The negative form:

• Je ne suis pas parti(e) >>> I didn’t leave
• Tu n’es pas parti(e) >>> you didn’t leave 
• Il / elle n’est pas parti(e) >>> s/he didn’t leave

• Nous ne sommes pas parti(e)s >>> we didn’t leave
• Vous n’êtes pas parti(e)(s) >>> you didn’t leave
• Ils / elles ne sont pas parti(e)s >>> they didn’t leave

The pluperfect looks like this:

• J’étais parti(e) >>> I had left
• Tu étais parti(e) >>> you had left
• Il / elle était parti(e) >>> s/he had left

• Nous étions parti(e)s >>> we had left
• Vous étiez parti(e)(s) >>> you had left
• Ils / elles étaient parti(e)s >>> they had left

And for the negative form, you have this:

• Je n’étais pas parti(e) >>> I had not left
• Tu n’étais pas parti(e) >>> you had not left
• Il / elle n’’était pas parti(e) >>> s/he had not left

• Nous n’étions pas parti(e)s >>> we had not left
• Vous n’étiez pas parti(e)(s) >>> you had not left
• Ils / elles n’étaient pas parti(e)s >>> they had not left

The French auxiliary that works for most of the verbs.

When you have checked that it’s not a reflexive verb and that it does not belong to the list of être verbs, the option left is with avoir. 

Lucky you, it will happen with the majority of French verbs. Besides, it’s even easier since no agreement is involved.

Here is how it goes:

• J’ai travaillé >>> I worked 
• Tu as travaillé >>> you worked
• Il / elle a travaillé >>> s/he worked 

• Nous avons travaillé >>> we worked
• Vous avez travaillé >>> you worked
• Ils / elles ont travaillé >>> they worked

The negative form:

• Je n’ai pas travaillé >>> I didn’t work
• Tu n’as pas travaillé >>> you didn’t work
• Il / elle n’a pas travaillé >>> s/he didn’t work

• Nous n’avons pas travaillé >>> we didn’t work
• Vous n’avez pas travaillé >>> you didn’t work
• Ils / elles n’ont pas travaillé >>> they didn’t work

For the pluperfect, you obtain this:

• J’avais travaillé >>> I had worked
• Tu avais travaillé >>> you had worked
• Il / elle avait travaillé >>> s/he had worked

• Nous avions travaillé >>> we had worked
• Vous aviez travaillé >>> you had worked
• Ils / elles avaient travaillé >>> they had worked

And for the negative form, you have this:

• Je n’avais pas travaillé >>> I had not worked
• Tu n’avais  pas travaillé >>> you had not worked
• Il / elle n’avait pas travaillé >>> s/he had not worked

• Nous n’avions pas travaillé >>> we had not worked
• Vous n’aviez pas travaillé >>> you had not worked
• Ils / elles n’avaient pas travaillé >>> they had not worked

The two French auxiliaries for all your verbs.

To summarise, there are 3 categories of verbs:

• the reflexive verbs
• the être verbs
• the avoir verbs

With the 2 first ones, you will pick the auxiliary of être and for the last one the auxiliary avoir. With avoir, it’s easier because it’s the same past participle. On the other hand, with être you should remember to make the agreement with the feminine and the plural.

For the negative form, the word “ne” or “n’” is situated before the auxiliary and the second part “pas” after the auxiliary.

Don't hesitate to conjugate with the passé composé or the pluperfect and play with the only 2 French auxiliaries. You know how it works, right? Only practice will allow you to make it stick in your brain. So get tucked in and get speaking, even if you're not perfectly right, of choose the wrong auxiliary - it's not the most important thing at first . . . COMMUNICATING is first, and get feedback in your conversations to set you back on track! Otherwise you'll always suffer Brain Freeze as you focus on perfection, rather than CONNECTION.

As always - get in touch if you're thinking of an Immersive Homestay Experience or joining us in our weekly speaking sessions!