Breakdown of J'ai préparé le dîner et nous avons mangé.
je
I
et
and
nous
we / us (object pronoun)
avoir
to have
manger
to eat
préparer
to prepare
le dîner
the dinner
Questions & Answers about J'ai préparé le dîner et nous avons mangé.
Why are there two verbs for "prepared" (ai préparé) and "ate" (avons mangé)?
This is the passé composé, the most common past tense in French. Just like "have prepared" in English, it uses a helper verb (the present tense of avoir, meaning to have) plus the main action word, called the past participle (préparé, mangé).
How do we make the past forms préparé and mangé?
Both come from regular verbs ending in -er: préparer (to prepare) and manger (to eat). To make the past participle for these, you simply drop the -er and add an -é.
The translation says "we ate", but doesn't nous avons mangé literally mean "we have eaten"?
Yes, the literal translation is "we have eaten". However, French uses this same tense to mean both "we have eaten" and the simple past "we ate". You can translate it either way depending on what sounds best in English.
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