Learn French: Ces femmes ne sont pas satisfaites, alors le responsable les a contactées. - These women are not satisfied, so the manager contacted them.

Ces femmes ne sont pas satisfaites, alors le responsable les a contactées.

These women are not satisfied, so the manager contacted them.

Breakdown of Ces femmes ne sont pas satisfaites, alors le responsable les a contactées.

not (used before the verb)

Questions & Answers about Ces femmes ne sont pas satisfaites, alors le responsable les a contactées.

Why is there an -es at the end of contactées? I thought past participles with avoir don't change.

Normally they don't! But there is a special rule: if the direct object comes before the verb, the past participle must agree with it. Here, the direct object is the pronoun les (referring to the women). Since les replaces a feminine plural noun, we add -es to contacté.

Where exactly do we put les when using the passé composé?

In the passé composé, direct object pronouns like les must go right before the helping verb (avoir or être). That is why 'the manager contacted them' is translated as les a contactées and not a les contactées.

Why does satisfaites also end in -es? Is it the same rule?

Not quite! In the first part of the sentence, satisfaites acts as an adjective describing Ces femmes. Because it follows the verb sont (from être, meaning to be), it follows the standard rule of agreeing with the subject. Ces femmes is feminine plural, so we add -es.

I thought responsable meant responsible. Can it also mean manager?