Être Passé Composé Conjugation

Use the chart, examples, and video below to learn how to conjugate être in the passé composé. You can also click here to see the verbs that are conjugated with être (instead of avoir) in the passé composé.

Être: Passé Composé Conjugation Chart

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Examples: how to conjugate être in passé composé

Here are some examples of conjugating être in passé composé form:

Désolée, j'ai été retenue.

Sorry, I was held up.

Je crois que nous avons été équitables.

I believe we have been fair.

Vous avez été exceptionnels en tant qu'équipe.

You were exceptional as a team.

Tips:

• Être is an irregular verb.
• Don’t worry about memorising all the conjugations perfectly. Through speaking and listening on a regular basis, you’ll develop an intuitive feel for the rules and exceptions when conjugating verbs.
• If you want help with grammar, or you just want to become fluent in French, you may want to take personalised 1-on-1 lessons. At LanguaTalk, we make an effort to find the very best online tutors, and many of them offer lower rates than you’d find in your area. You can check tutors’ reviews and videos, and consider booking a free trial session (no card required).

Reminder of what the French personal pronouns mean:

• je = I
• tu = you (singular informal)
• il/elle = he/she
• on = we (formal)
• nous = we (informal)
• vous= you (singular formal OR plural (both formal and informal))
• ils/elles = they

How to conjugate être in the passé composé - recommended video:

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See how to conjugate être in other tenses:

Conjugate être in the present

Conjugate être in the imperfect

Conjugate être in the subjunctive

Conjugate être in the future

Dr Mrs Vandertramp

In case you found this page because you were actually searching for the verbs that go with être (instead of avoir) in the passé composé, you can see these below, together with examples.

Note that the mnemonic device Dr. Mrs. Vandertramp can be used to remember them (see the first letter of each verb below).

Devenir (to become) - il est devenu
Revenir (to come back) - il est revenu

Monter (to go up) - il est monté
Retourner (to return) - il est retourné
Sortir (to go out) - il est sorti

Venir (to come) - il est venu
Aller (to go) - il est allé
Naître (to be born) - il est né
Descendre (to go down) - il est descendu
Entrer (to enter) - il est entré
Rentrer (to go home/to return) - il est rentré
Tomber (to fall) - il est tombé
Rester (to remain) - il est resté
Arriver (to arrive) - il est arrivé
Mourir (to die) - il est mort
Partir (to leave) - il est parti

Note, the endings will have have 'e' added at the end for feminine, and 's' added for plural pronouns, e.g. elles sont parties.