The Student Room Group

FRENCH HELP merci beaucoup!

Hi i have a question about the perfect tense. When you have the past participle do you have to add plural agreements as well if you are talking about a plural noun and does this apply to irregular past participles as well such as bu?


For example I want to say "When we arrived"

Is it nous sommes arrivé?

or nous sommes arrivés?

Merci beaucoup et je voudrais quel q'un pour m'aider!
You only add agreements if you’re using être as the auxiliary. For example: “nous sommes arrivés” is correct and “nous avons bu” is correct but adding an agreement to the second sentence would be incorrect
Original post by goldilocks12
You only add agreements if you’re using être as the auxiliary. For example: “nous sommes arrivés” is correct and “nous avons bu” is correct but adding an agreement to the second sentence would be incorrect

thank you. what dyu exactly mean by second sentence?
Original post by GamerBoy123
thank you. what dyu exactly mean by second sentence?


I mean that in “nous avons bu” you can’t add agreements because that doesn’t work in French
oh so if etre is the auxiliary we have to have agreements
but if avoir is the auxiliary we just have the past participle?

Original post by goldilocks12
I mean that in “nous avons bu” you can’t add agreements because that doesn’t work in French
Original post by GamerBoy123
thank you. what dyu exactly mean by second sentence?


When you use the perfect tense with avoir, there is (usually) no agreement, so you write nous avons bu, not nous avons bus.

It gets a bit more complicated than that sometimes, but don't worry too much about that.
so lets say nous avons pris is correct?

Original post by Saracen's Fez
When you use the perfect tense with avoir, there is (usually) no agreement, so you write nous avons bu, not nous avons bus.

It gets a bit more complicated than that sometimes, but don't worry too much about that.
Original post by GamerBoy123
so lets say nous avons pris is correct?



Yeah that would be correct
Reply 8
The perfect tense with avoir only adds agreements if the verb proceeds the noun. For example la banane que j’ai mangée has another e because banane is feminine. Or les chaussures qu’elles ont achetées adds an e and s because chaussures is feminine plural. If you used j’ai vu un film or le film que j’ai vu there’s no difference. Contrarily, être always agrees in the perfect tense, eg la fête s’est déroulée chez lui (the party was at his house) nous nous sommes rendus au cinéma (we went to the cinema) etc.
(edited 4 years ago)
perfect thank you so much!

Original post by Deggs_14
The perfect tense with avoir only adds agreements if the verb proceeds the noun. For example la banane que j’ai mangée has another e because banane is feminine. Or les chaussures qu’elles ont achetées adds an e and s because chaussures is feminine plural. If you used j’ai vu un film or le film que j’ai vu there’s no difference. Contrarily, être always agrees in the perfect tense, eg la fête s’est déroulée chez lui (the party was at his house) nous nous sommes rendus au cinéma (we went to the cinema) etc.
thank you very much!

Original post by goldilocks12
Yeah that would be correct

Quick Reply

Latest