The compound past tense in English uses one auxiliary: to have. I have spoken, I have eaten, I have gone, I have arrived, I have washed myself — all use have. French splits the labor between two auxiliaries: avoir (for most verbs) and être (for a closed list of motion and change-of-state verbs, plus all pronominal verbs). Choosing the wrong auxiliary is one of the most reliable markers of an English-speaking learner.
This page lays out the rule, drills the closed list, addresses the cases where the same verb switches auxiliary depending on whether it has a direct object, and gives you enough examples that the right auxiliary becomes automatic.
The default rule: avoir for everything except a small list
For the great majority of French verbs, the auxiliary in compound tenses is avoir. Parler, manger, écouter, regarder, lire, écrire, finir, choisir, vendre, prendre, faire, dire, voir, savoir, connaître — all avoir. If you don't recognize a verb as belonging to one of the two exception groups below, default to avoir.
J'ai parlé à Marie pendant deux heures hier soir.
I spoke with Marie for two hours last night.
Nous avons mangé un excellent couscous chez Hassan vendredi dernier.
We had an excellent couscous at Hassan's last Friday.
Elle a fini son livre et l'a rendu à la bibliothèque ce matin.
She finished her book and returned it to the library this morning.
Exception 1: the maison d'être verbs (use être)
A closed list of about seventeen verbs takes être as their auxiliary in compound tenses. These verbs share two semantic features: they are intransitive, and they describe motion or a change of state. The traditional mnemonic is Dr. & Mrs. Vandertramp, where each letter is the initial of one of the verbs:
| Letter | Verb | Meaning | Past participle |
|---|---|---|---|
| D | Devenir | to become | devenu(e)(s) |
| R | Revenir | to come back | revenu(e)(s) |
| M | Mourir | to die | mort(e)(s) |
| R | Retourner | to return | retourné(e)(s) |
| S | Sortir | to go out | sorti(e)(s) |
| V | Venir | to come | venu(e)(s) |
| A | Aller | to go | allé(e)(s) |
| N | Naître | to be born | né(e)(s) |
| D | Descendre | to go down | descendu(e)(s) |
| E | Entrer | to enter | entré(e)(s) |
| R | Rentrer | to come home / re-enter | rentré(e)(s) |
| T | Tomber | to fall | tombé(e)(s) |
| R | Rester | to stay | resté(e)(s) |
| A | Arriver | to arrive | arrivé(e)(s) |
| M | Monter | to go up | monté(e)(s) |
| P | Partir | to leave | parti(e)(s) |
| — | Passer | to pass by | passé(e)(s) |
Some teachers add passer to the list (with the meaning to pass by, to drop in). Some count décéder (formal: to pass away) as well.
Je suis allée au marché ce matin pour acheter des légumes.
I went to the market this morning to buy some vegetables.
Il est né en 1985 et il est mort très jeune, à seulement quarante-deux ans.
He was born in 1985 and he died very young, at only forty-two.
Mes amis sont arrivés en retard parce qu'il y avait beaucoup de circulation sur le périphérique.
My friends arrived late because there was heavy traffic on the ring road.
Elle est tombée dans l'escalier la semaine dernière, mais heureusement elle ne s'est rien cassé.
She fell on the stairs last week, but luckily she didn't break anything.
Past participle agrees with the subject (with être)
When the auxiliary is être, the past participle agrees with the subject in gender and number — exactly like an adjective. Il est parti, but elle est partie, ils sont partis, elles sont parties.
Marie est venue chez nous dimanche dernier avec ses deux enfants.
Marie came over to our place last Sunday with her two children.
Mes parents sont restés trois semaines en Italie cet été.
My parents stayed three weeks in Italy this summer.
Les filles sont sorties faire un tour pendant que les garçons regardaient le match.
The girls went out for a walk while the boys watched the game.
The agreement is mostly silent in pronunciation — parti / partie / partis / parties are all /paʁti/ — but it shows up in writing and is required.
Exception 2: pronominal (reflexive) verbs always use être
All pronominal verbs — verbs whose subject performs an action on or for itself, marked by a reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nous, vous, se) — take être as their auxiliary. Without exception. Se laver, se réveiller, se coucher, se lever, s'habiller, se brosser les dents, se dépêcher, se reposer, se promener, s'amuser, se souvenir, se rendre compte — all être.
Je me suis réveillé(e) à six heures du matin pour attraper mon avion.
I woke up at six in the morning to catch my flight.
Elle s'est lavé les mains avant de préparer le dîner.
She washed her hands before making dinner.
On s'est promené(s) dans le vieux quartier toute l'après-midi.
We took a walk through the old neighborhood all afternoon.
Mes enfants se sont couchés tôt parce qu'ils avaient école le lendemain.
My kids went to bed early because they had school the next day.
Note: agreement with pronominal verbs has its own complications (the participle agrees with the reflexive pronoun if and only if it functions as a direct object). Elle s'est lavée (she washed herself — se is direct object — agreement with elle), but elle s'est lavé les mains (she washed her hands — se is indirect, les mains is direct and follows the verb — no agreement). For now, treat all pronominal verbs as être-takers and worry about the agreement subtleties later.
The transitive switch: same verb, different auxiliary
Several verbs from the maison d'être list — monter, descendre, sortir, rentrer, retourner, passer — have a transitive use (with a direct object) in addition to their intransitive motion sense. When used transitively, they switch auxiliary from être to avoir. This is the single most counterintuitive piece of the auxiliary system.
| Intransitive (être) | Transitive (avoir) |
|---|---|
| Je suis monté(e). (I went up.) | J'ai monté la valise. (I took the suitcase up.) |
| Je suis descendu(e). (I went down.) | J'ai descendu les bagages. (I brought the luggage down.) |
| Je suis sorti(e). (I went out.) | J'ai sorti le chien. (I took the dog out.) |
| Je suis rentré(e). (I came home.) | J'ai rentré le linge. (I brought the laundry in.) |
| Je suis retourné(e). (I went back / returned.) | J'ai retourné le livre. (I returned the book / turned the book over.) |
| Je suis passé(e) chez Marie. (I dropped by Marie's.) | J'ai passé un examen. (I took an exam.) |
The rule: direct object → avoir; no direct object → être. The mnemonic some learners use: if there's something getting moved, use avoir; if you're the one moving, use être.
Je suis monté au cinquième étage en ascenseur.
I went up to the fifth floor by elevator. (intransitive — être)
J'ai monté tous les cartons au cinquième étage hier soir.
I took all the boxes up to the fifth floor last night. (transitive — avoir)
Elle est sortie vers vingt-deux heures avec ses copines.
She went out around ten P.M. with her girlfriends. (intransitive — être)
Elle a sorti la poubelle juste avant le passage des éboueurs.
She took the trash out just before the garbage collectors came by. (transitive — avoir)
Nous sommes passés devant la cathédrale en allant au musée.
We passed by the cathedral on our way to the museum. (intransitive — être)
Il a passé son permis de conduire la semaine dernière, il a réussi du premier coup.
He took his driving test last week — he passed on the first try. (transitive — avoir)
Note the false friend in that last sentence: passer un examen means to take an exam, NOT to pass. To say I passed the exam, French uses réussir un examen. J'ai passé mon bac means I sat for my high-school exam (whether I passed or failed is a separate question).
Other motion verbs are avoir-takers, not être-takers
Not every motion verb is in the maison d'être. The closed list is closed. Most motion verbs — those that describe an action without a clear change of position or state — take avoir.
| avoir-takers (motion or activity) | être-takers (motion + change of position) |
|---|---|
| marcher (walk) | aller (go) |
| courir (run) | venir (come) |
| sauter (jump) | partir (leave) |
| nager (swim) | arriver (arrive) |
| danser (dance) | entrer (enter) |
| voyager (travel) | sortir (exit) |
| conduire (drive) | monter / descendre |
| bouger (move) | tomber (fall) |
| glisser (slip / slide — usually) | rester (stay) |
J'ai marché pendant trois heures à travers les vignobles bourguignons.
I walked for three hours through the Burgundy vineyards.
Il a couru un marathon le mois dernier malgré sa blessure au genou.
He ran a marathon last month despite his knee injury.
Nous avons voyagé en Asie tout l'été dernier, c'était incroyable.
We traveled in Asia all last summer — it was amazing.
The English-speaker intuition that all motion = avoir is wrong, but the related intuition that all motion = être is also wrong. The list is genuinely closed and has to be memorized.
A summary decision tree
To determine the auxiliary for any verb in a compound tense, ask yourself in this order:
- Is the verb pronominal (reflexive, with me, te, se, nous, vous, se)? → être. Stop.
- Is the verb on the maison d'être list, and is there NO direct object? → être. Stop.
- Otherwise → avoir. (This includes maison d'être verbs used transitively.)
That's the entire rule.
Common Mistakes
❌ J'ai allé au marché ce matin.
Wrong — *aller* is on the maison d'être list
✅ Je suis allé(e) au marché ce matin.
I went to the market this morning.
❌ Elle a venue chez moi hier.
Wrong (and lacks subject agreement on the participle)
✅ Elle est venue chez moi hier.
She came to my place yesterday.
❌ Je m'ai lavé ce matin.
Wrong — pronominal verbs ALWAYS take être
✅ Je me suis lavé(e) ce matin.
I washed this morning.
❌ Je suis monté les valises au troisième étage.
Wrong — with a direct object, switch to avoir
✅ J'ai monté les valises au troisième étage.
I took the suitcases up to the third floor.
❌ J'ai sorti hier soir avec mes amis.
Wrong — without direct object, *sortir* takes être
✅ Je suis sorti(e) hier soir avec mes amis.
I went out last night with my friends.
❌ Il est marché toute la journée.
Wrong — *marcher* is NOT on the maison d'être list
✅ Il a marché toute la journée.
He walked all day.
❌ Elles sont arrivés en retard.
Wrong — agreement: feminine plural
✅ Elles sont arrivées en retard.
They (f.) arrived late.
❌ J'ai passé l'examen, j'ai eu une bonne note.
*Passer un examen* means *take* an exam — to say I passed it, use *réussir*
✅ J'ai réussi l'examen, j'ai eu une bonne note.
I passed the exam — I got a good grade.
A drill checklist
Run this list mentally and verify you produce the correct auxiliary without thinking:
- parler → avoir (j'ai parlé)
- aller → être (je suis allé(e))
- manger → avoir (j'ai mangé)
- partir → être (je suis parti(e))
- finir → avoir (j'ai fini)
- naître → être (je suis né(e))
- prendre → avoir (j'ai pris)
- tomber → être (je suis tombé(e))
- se laver → être (je me suis lavé(e))
- marcher → avoir (j'ai marché)
- monter (no object) → être (je suis monté(e))
- monter les valises (with object) → avoir (j'ai monté les valises)
If you got any of those wrong, that's the verb to drill next.
Key takeaways
French has two compound-tense auxiliaries: avoir (default) and être (for the closed maison d'être list and for all pronominal verbs). Past participles agree with the subject when the auxiliary is être. Maison d'être verbs switch to avoir when used transitively (with a direct object) — je suis monté but j'ai monté les valises. Most other motion verbs (marcher, courir, nager, voyager, conduire) take avoir. The English-speaker default of have for everything is the single biggest source of compound-past errors. Memorize the Dr. & Mrs. Vandertramp list, drill the transitive switch, and the right auxiliary will start coming out automatically.
Now practice French
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Start learning French→Related Topics
- Les Erreurs Communes pour AnglophonesB1 — An index of the systematic errors English speakers make in French — auxiliary confusion, preposition mismatches, subjunctive triggers, false friends, and a dozen more — with links to dedicated drill pages for each.
- Avoir vs Être: sensationsA1 — English speakers say *I am hungry, I am hot, I am twenty years old* — but French uses *avoir* (to have) for sensations and age, not *être* (to be). A drill for the single most embarrassing transfer error in beginner French.
- L'Accord du Participe PasséB1 — The three rules for past participle agreement — with être, with avoir, and with reflexive verbs — and the order in which native French speakers actually apply them.
- Choosing the auxiliary: avoir or êtreA2 — Almost every French compound tense uses avoir — but a small set of verbs takes être instead. The choice is determined by the verb, not the speaker, and getting it right is the foundation of every compound tense in French.
- DR & MRS VANDERTRAMP: the maison d'être mnemonicA1 — The classic memory aid for the seventeen French verbs that take être as their compound-tense auxiliary, organized as a fictional family with motion and state-change at its core.
- The transitive switch: when maison-d'être verbs take avoirB1 — A small set of French verbs — monter, descendre, sortir, rentrer, passer, retourner — flip from être to avoir whenever they take a direct object. Mastering this switch is what separates intermediate from advanced learners.