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### Perception Verbs and the Passé Composé

You already know that in the passé composé, the past participle agrees with a preceding direct object. However, there is a special exception for verbs of perception—like **voir** (to see), **entendre** (to hear), and **regarder** (to watch)—when they are followed by an infinitive. 

To decide if the past participle should agree, you must ask one question: **Is the preceding direct object performing the action of the infinitive, or receiving it?**

### When the Object Performs the Action (Agreement)

If the preceding direct object is the one *doing* the action of the infinitive, the standard rule applies: the past participle of the perception verb agrees in gender and number with that object.

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In these examples, the mimes are walking, the boys are juggling, and the puppets are dancing. Because the objects are performing the infinitives (*marcher*, *jongler*, *danser*), the past participles (*vus*, *vues*) agree with them.

### When the Object Receives the Action (No Agreement)

If the preceding direct object is *receiving* the action of the infinitive (giving it a passive meaning), the past participle is **invariable**. It stays in its default, masculine singular form, no matter the gender or number of the object.

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Look closely at the logic here. The melody is being played, the drums are being beaten, and the flame is being lit. Because the objects are not performing the infinitives (*jouer*, *battre*, *allumer*), the past participles (*entendu*, *vu*) do not agree.

### Putting It All Together

When describing a busy scene with street performers, you might use both rules in the same breath. Just check whether the noun placed before the verb is doing the action or receiving the action!

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Past participle agreement with perception verbs

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular 'to be' and indefinite articles (je suis un...)

Singular definite articles (le, la, l')

Identifying vs. describing (c'est vs. il est)

Feminine adjective agreement (+e)

Plural pronouns and 'to be' (nous sommes, vous êtes)

Formal and informal you (tu vs. vous)

Plural nouns and indefinite articles (des... -s)

Plural definite articles (les)

Plural adjective agreement (+s)

Stressed pronouns (moi, toi, lui)

The verb "to have" singular (j'ai, tu as, il a)

The verb "to have" plural (nous avons, vous avez, ils ont)

There is / there are (il y a)

Basic verbal negation (ne... pas)

Negating "there is" (il n'y a pas de)

Regular -er verbs singular (je parle, tu parles, il parle)

Regular -er verbs plural (nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent)

The verb "to be called" (s'appeler)

Yes/no questions with intonation (Tu parles ?)

Yes/no questions with "Est-ce que" (Est-ce que tu parles ?)

Informal questions (qui, que, quoi)

Standard questions (est-ce que)

Singular possessives (mon, ton, son)

Plural possessives (notre, votre, leur)

Demonstrative adjectives (ce, cet, cette, ces)

Adjective placement

Numbers 1 to 20

Numbers 21 to 100

Age and physical states (avoir)

The verb to go (aller)

The preposition to/at (à, au, aux)

Question word for location (où)

Prepositions for cities and countries (à, en, au, aux)

The verb to come (venir)

The preposition from/of (de, du, des)

Question word for origin (d'où)

The verb to do/make (faire)

Days of the week (lundi, mardi)

Telling time (il est... heure)

Question words for time (quand, à quelle heure)

The verb to take or have (prendre)

The verb to drink (boire)

Partitive articles (du, de la, de l')

Zero quantity (pas de)

Expressions of quantity (un peu de, beaucoup de)

Asking how much or how many (combien, combien de)

Very vs. a lot (très, beaucoup)

The verb to want (vouloir)

Polite requests (je voudrais)

The verb to be able to (pouvoir)

Obligation (devoir)

General obligation (il faut)

Why and because (pourquoi, parce que)

Expressing purpose (pour)

Reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nous, vous)

Daily routine verbs (se lever, s'habiller)

Adverbs of frequency (parfois, rarement)

Never (ne... jamais)

Regular -ir verbs (choisir, finir)

Regular -re verbs (attendre, répondre)

Irregular -ir verbs (sortir, partir, dormir)

Informal 'we' (on)

The imperative mood

Direct object pronouns (le, la, les, l')

The near future (aller + infinitive)

The recent past (venir de + infinitive)

The passé composé with avoir

Irregular past participles (eu, été, fait, pris, vu)

The passé composé with être

The negative passé composé (ne ... pas)

Saying goodbye

Please, sorry and thank you

Which / what (quel)

The indefinite adjective (tout, tous)

Irregular feminine adjectives (-euse, -ve)

Double consonant adjectives (-enne, -ette)

Feminine adjective endings (-ère, -trice)

Irregular plurals (-x)

Plurals ending in -al (-aux)

Present tense stem changes (e to è)

Accent stem changes (é to è)

Double consonant verbs (appeler, jeter)

Verbs ending in -yer (payer, envoyer)

Irregular communication verbs (dire, lire)

Irregular action verbs (écrire, mettre)

Question	Answer
the mime	le mime
The mimes I saw walk here are very funny.	Les mimes que j'ai vus marcher ici sont très drôles.
the melody	la mélodie
the violinist (m)	le violoniste
The melody I heard played by this violinist is famous.	La mélodie que j'ai entendu jouer par ce violoniste est célèbre.
The violinists you studied with, I heard them play.	Les violonistes avec qui tu as étudié, je les ai entendus jouer.
the drum	le tambour
All the drums we heard being beaten were enormous.	Tous les tambours que nous avons entendu battre étaient énormes.
to juggle	jongler
The boys I saw juggle with swords are brave.	Les garçons que j'ai vus jongler avec des épées sont courageux.
the flame	la flamme
The flame I saw lit was shining in the night.	La flamme que j'ai vu allumer brillait dans la nuit.
the puppet	la marionnette
the spectator	le spectateur
All the puppets I saw dance pleased the spectators.	Toutes les marionnettes que j'ai vues danser ont plu aux spectateurs.
the pirouette	la pirouette
The pirouettes I saw performed were magnificent.	Les pirouettes que j'ai vu faire étaient magnifiques.
the hoop	le cerceau
The acrobats we watched jump through the hoop are great.	Les acrobates que nous avons regardés sauter dans le cerceau sont géniaux.
This is the stage I saw cleaned by the mime.	C'est la scène que j'ai vu nettoyer par le mime.
The clowns I saw juggle were hilarious.	Les clowns que j'ai vus jongler étaient hilarants.
The puppets I saw sing are funny.	Les marionnettes que j'ai vues chanter sont drôles.
The hoops I saw thrown fell into the water.	Les cerceaux que j'ai vu lancer sont tombés dans l'eau.
The spectators that I saw dancing liked the melody that I heard being sung.	Les spectateurs que j'ai vus danser ont aimé la mélodie que j'ai entendu chanter.
The flame that I saw shining accompanied the pirouette and the drum.	La flamme que j'ai vue briller a accompagné la pirouette et le tambour.