French auxiliary verbs (avoir, être)
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The auxiliary verbs ( les auxiliaires ) être and avoir are important verbs in the French language. They are used to form the compound times.
The past participle can agree but it depends on the auxiliary: with the auxiliary 'avoir', the past participle agrees with the direct object complement only if it is placed before the verb in the sentence and with the auxiliary ' être', the past participle agrees with the subject.
The auxiliary verb 'avoir' is always conjuguated with transitive verbs (those that can have a direct object complement or indirect). Transitive verbs possess an object complement on which the action designated by the verb takes place. It can be a direct object (COD) or an indirect object (COI). among those verbs you can find:
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avoir + transitive verbs | direct or indirect objet | translation | |
---|---|---|---|
Tu | as construit | cette maison | you built this house |
Il | as connu | Samantha à l'école | he met you Samantha at school |
nous | avions découvert | une jolie grotte | we discovered a beautiful cave |
ils | ont parlé | à leur père | they talked to their father |
elle | a souri | au bel homme | she smiled to the beautiful man |
The verb avoir is completely irregular and is formed in different times as follows:
present | imperfect | future simple | past simple | subjunctive |
---|---|---|---|---|
j'ai | j'avais | j'aurai | j'eus | que j'aie |
tu as | tu avais | tu auras | tu eus | que tu ais |
il/elle/on a | il/elle/on avait | il/elle/on aura | il/elle/on eut | qu'il/elle/on ait |
nous avons | nous avions | nous aurons | nous eumes | que nous ayons |
vous avez | vous aviez | vous aurez | vous eûtes | que vous ayez |
ils/elles ont | ils/elles avaient | ils/elles auront | ils/elles eurent | qu'ils/elles aient |
The conditional of avoir is the future simple stem + imperfect endings.
All pronominal verbs always conjugate with the auxiliary 'être'. Some intransitive verbs (those who never have an indirect or direct object) conjugate with the auxiliary 'être'.
Among intrasitive verbs you find:
Examples | Translation |
---|---|
Je suis restée jusqu'au soir | I stayed until the night |
Je me suis lavé ce matin | I took a shower this morning |
Tu es passé pour le faible | You looked like the weak. |
The verb être is completely irregular and is formed in different times as follows:
Present | Imperfect | Future simple | Past simple | Subjunctive |
---|---|---|---|---|
je suis | j'étais | je serai | je fus | que je sois |
tu es | tu étais | tu seras | tu fus | que tu sois |
il/elle/on est | il/elle/on était | il/elle/on sera | il/elle/on fut | qu'il/elle/on soit |
nous sommes | nous étions | nous serons | nous fumes | que nous soyons |
vous étiez | vous étiez | vous serez | vous futes | que vous soyez |
ils/elles sont | ils/elles étaient | ils/elles seront | ils/elles furent | qu'ils/elles soient |
The conditional of être uses the future simple stem + imperfect endings.
In general, some verbs of movement are conjugated with the auxiliary 'avoir' in a transitive clause, or with the auxiliary ' être' in an intransitive clause.
Some verbs of change normally are combined with the auxiliary 'avoir' to emphasize change, but can also be combined with the auxiliary 'etre' to emphasize the result of the change.
In the passive form, you always use the auxiliary être but you use the auxiliary 'avoir' in the active form.
Test your knowledge of the auxiliary verbs être and avoir by solving our online exercises!
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I learned French at an early age in immersion in a French-speaking region and I studied French formally for 11 years, obtaining a native level.
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Hello,
My name is Tiska. I am a French Teacher with experiences with adults and teenagers in Public Education (USA) and Language Schools. I am holding a Master Degree in FLE (Teaching French as a Foreign Language).
Join a small group of learners of 2 or 3 for conversation lessons with me. An article or video to watch before the lesson and a conversation with personalized corrections during the lesson. This option saves you at least 10 euros per lesson on Colanguage.
Group opening:
Monday and/or Wednesday from 17:30 to 18:30 (French time).
Level: intermediate (B1)
Also, standard French lessons
- level A2 (low intermediate)
- 2 hours a week
- ask for schedule
Don’t know your level? Ask for a free level test.
I give Skype lessons to people who need or want to improve their French language. I like to use material from the internet (videos, article etc.) to introduce a theme which leads to a lesson and a conversation.
I like to create engaging learning with my students. I will give as homework a document to watch or to read with comprehension exercises so the time we have on skype is only speaking practice and explanation if needed.
I can help you prepare DELF-DALF Exams or work on specific needs (as professional French).
Really like to speak about all the subjects with the student especially those the student like so it gives the motivation to speak in the foreign language.
The free first lesson is organize to know your tastes, your level and your needs so we can plan the next lessons about the objectives you fixed.
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1 Conjugation of avoir (to have) in French | Get an overview of the conjugation of avoir in French and study the topic online |
2 Conjugation of être (to be) in French | Get an overview of the conjuguation of the verb être in French and study the topic online |
3 Conjugation of être (to be) in French | Get an overview of the conjuguation of the verb être in French and study the topic online |