French conjugation explanation

Past participle agreement with indirect objects

<p>In compound tenses like the

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/81/" target="_blank">Passé composé</a>

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/fra/%C3%AAtre/" title="Click to see conjugations for être" target="_blank">être</a>

<p>This distinction generally depends on the presence and position of a direct object in the sentence.</p>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">1. Direct object placed after the verb</div>

<p>When a body part or object specifically named in the sentence acts as the <strong>direct object</strong> (answering "what?"), the reflexive pronoun becomes the <strong>indirect object</strong> (answering "to whom?"). In this case, the past participle remains unchanged.</p>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Elle s'est <span class="green_emphasis">lavée</span>. (<span style="font-style: italic;">She washed herself.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence_note">(Direct object is <span style="font-style: italic;">se</span> [herself]. Agreement with subject <span style="font-style: italic;">elle</span>.)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Elle s'est <span class="green_emphasis">lavé</span> <span class="brown_emphasis">les mains</span>. (<span style="font-style: italic;">She washed her hands.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence_note">(Direct object is <span class="brown_emphasis" style="font-style: italic;">les mains</span> [after verb]. Indirect object is <span style="font-style: italic;">se</span> [to herself]. <strong>No agreement</strong>.)</div>

<p>More examples:</p>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Nous nous sommes <span class="green_emphasis">fait</span> <span class="brown_emphasis">une promesse</span>. (<span style="font-style: italic;">We made a promise to each other.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Elle s'est <span class="green_emphasis">rasé</span> <span class="brown_emphasis">les aisselles</span>. (<span style="font-style: italic;">She shaved her armpits.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">2. Direct object placed before the verb</div>

<p>If the direct object mentioned above is replaced by a pronoun or moved <strong>before</strong> the verb, the past participle must agree with that <strong>preceding direct object</strong> (following the standard rule for

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/conjugationExplanation/french_preceding_direct_object_agreement/" target="_blank">direct object agreement</a>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Elle se <span class="brown_emphasis">les</span> est <span class="green_emphasis">rasées</span>. (<span style="font-style: italic;">She shaved them.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence_note">(The direct object <span class="brown_emphasis" style="font-style: italic;">les</span> refers to <span style="font-style: italic;">les aisselles</span> [feminine, plural] and precedes the verb. Agreement: <span style="font-style: italic;">-es</span>.)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Voici les mains qu'elle s'est <span class="green_emphasis">lavées</span>. (<span style="font-style: italic;">Here are the hands she washed.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">3. Inherently indirect verbs</div>

<p>Some verbs are inherently indirect in their reflexive form because the action is always performed <strong>to</strong> someone. Since <span style="font-style: italic;">se</span> is always an indirect object for these verbs, there is <strong>never</strong> any agreement.</p>

<p>Common verbs in this category include:</p>

<ul>

<li><strong style="font-style: italic;">se parler</strong> (parler à / <span style="font-style: italic;">to speak to</span>)</li>

<li><strong style="font-style: italic;">se téléphoner</strong> (téléphoner à / <span style="font-style: italic;">to call</span>)</li>

<li><strong style="font-style: italic;">se ressembler</strong> (ressembler à / <span style="font-style: italic;">to resemble</span>)</li>

<li><strong style="font-style: italic;">se mentir</strong> (mentir à / <span style="font-style: italic;">to lie to</span>)</li>

<li><strong style="font-style: italic;">se plaire</strong> (plaire à / <span style="font-style: italic;">to appeal to</span>)</li>

<li><strong style="font-style: italic;">se sourire</strong> (sourire à / <span style="font-style: italic;">to smile at</span>)</li>

</ul>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Elles se sont <span class="green_emphasis">parlé</span>. (<span style="font-style: italic;">They spoke to each other.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence_note">(No agreement, even though the subject is feminine plural nouns.)</div>