Breakdown of La flamme que j'ai vue briller a accompagné la pirouette et le tambour.
je
I
et
and
avoir
to have
voir
to see
le
him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)
que
that (introducing a clause)
briller
to shine
accompagner
to accompany / to take someone
le tambour
the drum
la flamme
the flame
la pirouette
the pirouette
Questions & Answers about La flamme que j'ai vue briller a accompagné la pirouette et le tambour.
Why does vue have an e at the end even though there is an infinitive after it?
In French, when a verb of perception like voir (to see) is followed by an infinitive like briller (to shine), the past participle agrees with the preceding direct object only if that object is performing the action of the infinitive. Here, the preceding direct object is que (representing the feminine singular La flamme). Since the flame is the thing doing the shining, vu agrees with it and becomes vue.
What if I had seen someone lighting the flame? Would it still be vue?
No, it would be the default masculine singular vu. If you said La flamme que j'ai vu allumer (The flame that I saw being lit), the flame is not doing the lighting; someone else is. Because the preceding direct object isn't doing the action of the infinitive, the past participle doesn't agree.
Why is briller in the infinitive here when the English translation says shining?
In French, verbs of perception (like seeing, hearing, or feeling) are followed directly by the infinitive of the action being performed. While English often uses an -ing word (I saw it shining), French simply uses the infinitive (j'ai vue briller).
Why doesn't accompagné have an e at the end, since its subject is the feminine La flamme?
Because accompagner uses avoir as its auxiliary verb (a accompagné), and past participles conjugated with avoir never agree with the subject. They only agree with a preceding direct object. The direct objects for this verb are la pirouette et le tambour, and they come after the verb, so there is no agreement on accompagné.
Learn La flamme que j'ai vue briller a accompagné la pirouette et le tambour and more in French
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free