Create the Past tense in French - Passe Compose

Past Participles
First of all you need to change your verb into a past participle.
As a general rule:

• ER verbs change their ending from er to é. e.g. manger to mangé
• RE verbs change their ending from re to u e.g. prendre to prendu
• IR verbs change their ending from ir to i e.g choisir to choisi
• There are some exceptions to this e.g faire to fait

Perfect tense with 'avoir'

One way of creating the past tense is shown below. 

1. Take the infinitive version of the verb. 

          e.g. choisir = to choose

2. Take the verb's past participle. See below for help.

          e.g. choisir to choisi

3. Put it with the verb 'avoir' and pronoun. 

          e.g. j'ai choisi = I have chosen/ I chose

4. Voila!


Avoir: 
J'ai
Tu as
Elle a
Il a
On a 
Nous avons
Vous avez
Elles/ Ils ont


Perfect tense with 'etre'
Some verbs do not go with 'avoir' they go with 'etre'. It is the same method with the pronouns and past participles just with a different verb. It doesn't translate quite as well. Whereas avoir can translate straight to 'I have chosen etc' which makes sense, this translates to 'I am stayed etc'.

All the verbs that apply to this rule are to do with movement and are shown below. We can remember them using 'MR V DREAMPANTS' or 'DR and MRS VANDERTRAMP'

DR and MRS VANDERTRAMP verbs meanings and past participles
Devenir = to become (devenu)
Revenir = to come back (revenu)
&
Monter = to go up (monté)
Rentrer = to return (rentré)
Sortir = to exit (sorti)


Venir = to come (venu)
Arriver = to arrive (arrivé)
Naîtir = to be born (né)
Descendre = to descend (descendu)
Entrer = to enter (entré)
Retourner = to turn around (retourné)
Tomber = to fall (tombé)
Rester = to rest (resté)
Aller = to go (allé)
Mourir = to die (mort)
Partir = to leave (parti)


Etre: 
Je suis
Tu es
Il est
Elle est
On est
Nous sommes
Vous etes
Elles sont
Ils sont


There we are!