LE PASSE COMPOSE (the sequel)

How to form the past participle

To form the past participle of ir verbs, we do this:

1) Get the infinitive. e.g. finir

2) Take off the r. e.g. fini

3) That’s it.

To form the past participle of re verbs, we do this:

1) Get the infinitive. e.g. vendre

2) Take off the re. e.g. vend

3) Add u. e.g. vendu

Complete this table.

infinitive meaningpast

participle

finir to finish  

choisirto

choose  

attendreto wait

for  

vendre to sell  

entendre to hear  

rendreto give back  

perdre to lose  

These are the answers.infinitive meaning past participle

finir to finish fini

choisir to choose choisi

attendre to wait for attendu

vendre to sell vendu

entendre to hear entendu

rendre to give back rendu

perdre to lose perdu

Some examples:

• J’ai fini = I have finished

• Tu as vendu = You have sold

• Il a choisi = He has chosen

• Elle a attendu = She has waited (for)

• Nous avons fini = We have finished

• Vous avez perdu = You have lost

• Ils ont rendu = They have given back

• Elles ont choisi= They have chosen

Maintenant, c’est à toi!

Ecris en français.

1) I have sold.

2) He has finished.

3) You have waited for the bus.

4) She has heard the noise.

5) We have chosen the sweets.

We can now make our work more exciting by adding this phrase:

c’était

“c’était” means “it was” and never takes agreement.

• Examples:

1) J’ai fini mes devoirs, c’était difficile.

I have finished my homework it was difficult.

2) Il a attendu le train, c’était en retard.

He waited for the train, it was late.

3) Nous avons entendu la chanson de Kylie Minogue, c’était nul.

We heard Kylie Minogue’s song, it was rubbish.

4) Ils ont acheté un nouveau vélo, c’était chouette.

They bought a new bike, it was brilliant.

• Now you can write a paragraph in French using the past tense.

• Your title is:

“le week-end dernier”

“Last weekend”