French conjugation explanation

Past participle agreement with "en"

<p>One of the standard rules of French grammar is that in compound tenses (like the

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

<p>However, there is a major exception to this rule: when the preceding direct object is the pronoun <strong><span style="font-style: italic;">en</span></strong>, there is <strong>no agreement</strong>. The past participle remains invariable (masculine singular), regardless of what gender or number <span style="font-style: italic;">en</span> refers to.</p>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Comparison: <span style="font-style: italic;">les</span> vs. <span style="font-style: italic;">en</span></div>

<p>Learners often confuse the rule for the direct object pronouns <span style="font-style: italic;">le/la/les</span> with the rule for <span style="font-style: italic;">en</span>.</p>

<ul>

<li>

<div><strong>les</strong> (Standard rule &#8594; Agreement):</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Ces fleurs ? Je <span class="brown_emphasis">les</span> ai <span class="green_emphasis">achetées</span>. (<span style="font-style: italic;">These flowers? I bought them.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence_note">(The direct object <span style="font-style: italic;">les</span> is feminine plural, so we add <strong>-es</strong>.)</div>

</li>

<li>

<div><strong>en</strong> (Exception &#8594; NO Agreement):</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Des fleurs ? J'<span class="brown_emphasis">en</span> ai <span class="green_emphasis">acheté</span>. (<span style="font-style: italic;">Flowers? I bought some.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence_note">(Even though it refers to flowers, <span style="font-style: italic;">en</span> blocks agreement. The participle stays singular.)</div>

</li>

</ul>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Common Examples</div>

<p>This rule applies to all verbs conjugated with

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

<ul>

<li>

<div>

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

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Il y a des pommes. Il <span class="brown_emphasis">en</span> a <span class="green_emphasis">mangé</span> trois. (<span style="font-style: italic;">There are apples. He ate three of them.</span>)</div>

</li>

<li>

<div>

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

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Des photos ? Nous <span class="brown_emphasis">en</span> avons <span class="green_emphasis">pris</span> beaucoup. (<span style="font-style: italic;">Photos? We took a lot of them.</span>)</div>

</li>

<li>

<div>

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

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Des solutions ? On <span class="brown_emphasis">en</span> a <span class="green_emphasis">trouvé</span>. (<span style="font-style: italic;">Solutions? We found some.</span>)</div>

</li>

<li>

<div>

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

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">De belles couleurs ? Elle <span class="brown_emphasis">en</span> a <span class="green_emphasis">choisi</span>. (<span style="font-style: italic;">Beautiful colors? She chose some.</span>)</div>

</li>

</ul>

<p>For more details on the general rule that this exception contradicts, see

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