French Past Participle Agreement Rules

Overview

This lecture explains the rules for agreement of the past participle in French, focusing on when and with what to make the agreement, especially with auxiliaries "avoir" and "être," direct objects, and pronominal verbs.

Agreement with "Avoir"

• The past participle with "avoir" does not agree with the subject (e.g., "ils ont mangé").
• The participle agrees with a preceding direct object (COD) (e.g., "les pâtes que j’ai mangées").
• No agreement with the pronoun "en" (e.g., "j'en ai mangé").
• If a verb is followed by an infinitive, agree only if the COD before the verb performs the action of the infinitive (e.g., "les guitaristes que j'ai entendus jouer" vs. "ces airs que j'ai entendu jouer").
• Verbs "laisser" and "faire" never agree (e.g., "les prisonniers que j'ai laissé partir").

Agreement with "Être"

• The past participle with "être" agrees with the subject (e.g., "ils sont passés").
• Pronominal verbs generally agree with the subject (e.g., "elles se sont lavées").

Special Cases with Pronominal Verbs

• Agreement with COD if it comes before the verb (e.g., "les mains qu’ils se sont lavées").
• No agreement if COD comes after the verb (e.g., "ils se sont lavé les mains").
• No agreement if the pronoun is an indirect object (e.g., "ils se sont parlé").
• If the reflexive pronoun cannot be analyzed, agree with the subject (e.g., "elle s'est échappée").
• No agreement with verbs "laisser" or "faire" followed by an infinitive (e.g., "elles se sont laissé abuser").
• The rule for "avoir" with "en" applies (e.g., "ils s'en sont donné"—no agreement).
• If the subject is performing the infinitive action, make agreement (e.g., "elle s'est sentie mourir"); otherwise, no agreement (e.g., "elle s'est senti piquer").

Key Terms & Definitions

• Past participle (participe passé) — the verb form used in compound tenses, subject to agreement rules.
• Auxiliary "avoir" — helping verb "to have" in compound tenses.
• Auxiliary "être" — helping verb "to be" in compound tenses.
• COD (Complément d’Objet Direct) — direct object of the verb.
• Pronominal verb — verb used with a reflexive pronoun (e.g., "se laver").

Action Items / Next Steps

• Review examples of agreement in compound tenses for both "avoir" and "être".
• Practice identifying COD placement and applying agreement rules in exercises.
• Memorize exceptions for verbs "faire" and "laisser".