This key facts covers Key rules at a glance within The perfect tense with avoir for GCSE French. Revise The perfect tense with avoir in Time Markers and the Three Time Frames for GCSE French with 15 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. This topic shows up very often in GCSE exams, so students should be able to explain it clearly, not just recognise the term. It is section 3 of 4 in this topic. Use this key facts to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
📌 Key rules at a glance
- Two parts needed: avoir (correct form) + past participle — miss either and the tense is wrong
- -er → é: manger → mangé, jouer → joué, écouter → écouté, habiter → habité
- -ir → i: finir → fini, choisir → choisi, applaudir → applaudi
- -re → u: vendre → vendu, répondre → répondu, attendre → attendu
- Top 5 irregular to learn first: fait, pris, vu, été, eu
- No agreement with subject: elle a mangé (not elle a mangée)
- Negation: ne/n'… pas wraps avoir: je n'ai pas mangé
- Adverbs go BETWEEN avoir and participle: j'ai bien dormi, il a beaucoup mangé
Practice questions for The perfect tense with avoir
What is the correct formula for the perfect tense with avoir?
What is the past participle of manger (to eat)?
Quick recall flashcards
voir --> past participle?
vu (irregular). J'ai vu = I saw.
dire --> past participle?
dit (irregular). J'ai dit = I said.