Participe composé – Free Exercise

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Exercises

Complete the gaps with the perfect participle of the verbs.

  1. attendre →  present participle of avoir: ayant
    past participle of -re verb: add -u to the stem
  2. finir →  present participle of avoir: ayant
    past participle of -ir verb: add -i to the stem
  3. monter →  monter is an être verb
    present participle of être: étant
    past participle of -er verb: add -é to the stem
  4. mettre →  present participle of avoir: ayant
    irregular past participle: mettre → mis
  5. se laver →  se laver is reflexive so takes être as its auxiliary
    present participle of être: étant
    past participle of -er verb: add -é to the stem

Complete the sentences with the perfect participle of the verbs in brackets.

  1. Jeanne (oublier)   les clefs de l’appartement, nous dormîmes à l’hôtel.present participle of avoir: ayant
    past participle of -er verb: add -é to the stem    Since Jeanne had left the keys in the apartment, we had to sleep in a hotel.
  2. La voiture (tomber)   en panne, mes parents durent appeler le service de dépannage.tomber is an être verb
    present participle of être: étant
    past participle of -er verb: add -é to the stem
    The past participle of être verbs agrees in gender and number with the subject (la voiture)
    feminine singular: tombée    Because the car had broken down, my parents had to call the breakdown service.
  3. Carine (obtenir)   le baccalauréat, elle put aller s’inscrire à l’université.present participle of avoir: ayant
    past participle of -ir verb: add -u to the stem    Once Carine had passed her A levels, she was able to enrol in university.
  4. Ses parents (partir)   faire les courses, il resta seul à la maison.partir is an être verb
    present participle of être: étant
    past participle participle of -ir verb: add -i to the stem
    The past participle of être verbs agrees in gender and number with the subject (ses parents), masculine plural: partis    Because his parents had gone shopping, he stayed at home alone.

Participle agreement: choose the correct options to complete the sentences.

  1. Mes sœurs étant tôt ce matin, j’ai pu faire la grasse matinée.The past participle of être verbs agrees in gender and number with the subject (mes sœurs)
    feminine plural: parties    Because my sisters had left early this morning, I could sleep in.
  2. Étant faire les courses hier, Martin n’a pas besoin d’acheter du pain aujourd’hui.The past participle of être verbs agrees in gender and number with the subject (Martin)
    masculine singular: the past participle stays the same    Having done his shopping yesterday, Martin doesn’t need to buy any bread today.
  3. Ayant plusieurs bougies, nous avons eu moins peur du noir causé par la coupure de courant.The past participle does not change when conjugated with of avoirWe’d lit lots of candles so we were less afraid of the dark caused by the power cut.
  4. Justine, étant au sommet de la montagne, s’accorda une pause bien méritée.The past participle of être verbs agrees in gender and number with the subject (Justine)
    feminine singular: parvenue    Justine, having reached the top of the mountain, took a well-earned rest.
  5. Les enfants étant de l’école plus tôt, ils ont maintenant plus de temps pour jouer.The past participle of être verbs agrees in gender and number with the subject (les enfants)
    masculine plural: rentrés    The kids came home early from school so they now have more time to play.