Tense guide

Passé composé (Compound Past)

Language: French

Tense:

Person:

Practice conjugation drills

Compound Past

AVOIR-verbs

ÊTRE-verbs

Reflexive verbs

Passé composé or Imparfait?

Introduction

This tense is used to talk about actions or events that happened in the past and are now finished. It describes a specific, completed moment. Think of it as something that happened once, or a series of events that are over.

The most common use is for a single, completed action in the past. The action had a clear beginning and end, and it is finished.

Hier, j'ai mangé une pomme.

(Yesterday, I ate an apple.)

Il a fini ses devoirs ce matin.

(He finished his homework this morning.)

La semaine dernière, nous avons visité Lyon.

(Last week, we visited Lyon.)

Elle a acheté une nouvelle robe.

(She bought a new dress.)

Vous avez vu ce film ?

(Did you see that movie?)

Ils sont arrivés à midi.

(They arrived at noon.)

Use this tense to describe a sequence of completed actions. One action happened, then the next, then the next. Each action is finished.

D'abord, je me suis levé, puis j'ai pris une douche.

(First, I got up, then I took a shower.)

Elle est entrée, a posé son sac et a dit bonjour.

(She came in, put down her bag, and said hello.)

Nous avons pris le train, nous sommes descendus à la gare et ensuite nous avons marché.

(We took the train, we got off at the station, and then we walked.)

This tense is also used for an action that happened for a specific, finished period of time. The duration is known and is now over.

J'ai habité à Paris pendant trois ans.

(I lived in Paris for three years.)

Elle a travaillé ici durant tout l'été.

(She worked here for the whole summer.)

Nous avons attendu pendant une heure.

(We waited for one hour.)

Use it to describe a sudden event or change that interrupted a background situation.

Soudain, le téléphone a sonné.

(Suddenly, the phone rang.)

Tout à coup, il a commencé à neiger.

(All of a sudden, it started to snow.)

Quand je suis entré, elle a crié.

(When I entered, she screamed.)

Be careful: this tense is for specific, completed actions. Do not use it to describe ongoing situations, background scenery, or habitual actions in the past. It focuses on what *happened*, not on what *was happening*.