Passé Composé: Exceptions!

When learning passé composé, nearly all verbs use avoir as the connecting verb. However, there are a number of exceptions to this rule!

There are 16 main verbs which are conjugated with être instead. Most of these verbs are to do with indirect movement or  events, but I've found the easiest way to remember them, is simply to practice and practice and practice some more. 

These trickster verbs are as follows:

Naitre (Né)- to be born

Aller (Allé)- to go

Partir (Parti)- to leave

Monter (Monté)- to go up

Arriver (Arrivé)- to arrive/to happen

Entrer (Entré)- to enter/go in

Sortir (Sorti)- to exit/to go out

Descendre (Descenou)- to descend/go down

Tomber (Tombé)- to fall

Mourir (Mort)- to die

Retourner (Retourné)- to return

Venir (Venu)- to come

Passer (Passé)- to happen/pass

Deviner (Devenu)- to become

Rester (Resté)- to stay

Demeurer (Demueré)- to remain

Practice using être with the passé composé conjugation of these verbs so that you become less likely to be caught out by them!

When conjugating, it's important to realise that passé composé verbs conjugated with être are gender and plural sensitive. For example notice the different in the following endings:

Je suis tombée- I fell (as I am a girl, I've added an extra 'e')

Tu es tombé(e)- You fell (the extra 'e' can be written in brackets if you are not sure of the person's gender)

Il est tombé- He fell

Elle est tombée- She fell

Nous sommes tombé(e)s- We fell (notice the 's' because it's plural)

Vous êtes tombé(e)s- You fell

Ils sont tombés- They fell

Elles sont tombées- They fell (all female group)

Although adding all these 'e's and 's's can get very tricky when writing French, it doesn't change the pronunciation. 

Finally, as well as the sixteen verbs above, all reflexive verbs are conjugated with être for passé composé. 

Reflexive verbs are ones which contain the suffix 'se', which is used to show  that the person or object does the action themselves. 

For example, se laver- 'to wash yourself' as opposed to laver-'to wash'. Generally, if an object or person is doing an action to themselves, by themselves use the reflexive verb. For example, in French you would say il s'est reveillé-'he got himself up' whereas in English we tend to be lazier and simply say 'he got up'. 

These verbs can be very easily missed, but if you can remember to conjugate them using être, you're writing and speaking will improve dramatically and you will earn a lot more respect from teachers and the people you talk with.