garçoncanadien
02-19-2007, 09:39 PM
PART 2: PAST TENSE VERBS
Lesson - Section 3: Composite Past Tense with être, and the Vocabulary of Public Transportation
Hello and welcome back to Composite Past Tense! Yesterday you saw the past tense being employed with avoir as the auxiliary verb. Today, this lesson is going to explain le Passé Composé using être as the auxiliary verb. Why are there two ways to form the composite past tense? For exactly the same reason as in English. Certain meanings are better conveyed with être than avoir. For example, in English what would you think if somebody told you "I have born in Corsica" or "I was bought the groceries"? This would sound bizarre.
Of course we have rules to choose between être and avoir. In lessons 1 and 2 of Past Tense Verbs, you saw how the past tense was formed. Now, this lesson simply will introduce the usage requirements of Composite Past Tense with être and the verb agreements that it needs.
So, when do you pick être, and when do you pick avoir? You can't really translate it into English, think would you say "I was" or "I have", and then pick. So, since I don't want to give you another morass of rules (cause I wouldn't want one either if I was reading this lesson :D) I will say 1 simple rule that I was taught in primary school.
If it has to do with moving your whole body somewhere, use être. In all other cases, use avoir. However, note that in some cases both auxiliary verbs are correct - and they carry different meanings. Here is an example of where both verbs are correct.
<TABLE CELLPADDING="3"><TR><TD>Je suis monté au treizième étage.</TD><TD>I went up to the 13th floor.</TD></TR><TR><TD>J'ai monté ma valise.</TD><TD>I took up my suitcase.</TD></TR></TABLE>
hear the 1st sentence spoken (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/jesuismonte.wav)
hear the 2nd sentence spoken (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/jaimontemavalise.wav)
You remember how you had to make agreement with avoir under a certain condition? Well, for être you need to do that same agreement almost all the time. Féminin Singulier, Féminin Pluriel, and Masculin Pluriel are the times when you see an agreement in the written text (which by the way is not necessarily heard in spoken French).
Here are the conditions when you need to make agreement with the subject (it is done the same way as with avoir). I list several cases just for your information - in actuality, whenever you use Passé Composé with être, you pretty much need to always do this agreement in gender and number.
1. You are using a reflexive verb in the past tense - the verb agrees in number and gender with the subject for 100% of the reflexive verbs in past tense.
2. The subject that the verb is referring to is Féminin Singulier, Féminin Pluriel, or Masculin Pluriel. The verb shall agree in gender and number with that subject.
Now, here are some examples of the usage of Passé Composé with être.
A girl says: Je suis rentrée à la maison.
I returned home. (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/jesuisrentreealamaison.wav)
A man says: Je me suis lavé le visage.
I washed my face. (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/jemesuislavelevisage.wav)
A woman says: Elle ne s'est pas endormie.
She did not go to sleep. (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/ellenesestpasendormie.wav)
A group of women say: Nous sommes arrivées à l'aérogare.
We arrived at the airport terminal. (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/noussommesarrivees.wav)
You ask a group: Vous êtes allés à Tim Hortons?
Did you go to Tim Hortons? (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/vousetesalles.wav)
Now, at this point you may be asking, how do you choose the auxiliary verb? I have to choose between avoir and être for each case, right? Yes, I could say that the politically correct answer is that you need to practice choosing :) however I wouldn't like to hear that if I were learning from this lesson myself :D so yes, there are a few rules you can follow which will allow you to net 90% of the cases.
1. If the verb is reflexive (begins with se, if found in the dictionary) it takes être without exception as the auxiliary verb.
2. If it has to do with some kind of bodily movement (descendre, aller, sortir, etc), it most likely takes être except when you are intentionally changing the meaning like in the example with the 13th floor and the suitcase.
For cases not neatly fitting into these two rules, feel free to ask which auxiliary verb is appropriate :)
and that
is all. Let's continue on to the vocabulary of Public Transportation.
Public Transportation
Hmmmm, you hate to love it or love to hate it... hahah sometimes you are waiting on the platform and... when's the train coming? I need to get home! Or, on the runway, the pilot tells you we are number 5 for takeoff, and you say arghhhh when are we going to get there.
Sometimes it's great, sometimes it's not. Sometimes you wish you drove. But, other times, it's really convenient. Well, without further ado, let's get straight to it.
The Train Station - La Gare (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/lagare.wav)
http://moi-alizee.us/forums/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=5658&g2_serialNumber=2&g2_GALLERYSID=a6b04da8ac444f50a616af3798f2d889
http://www.geocities.jp/travelog73/BilletTGV.jpg
un billet (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/unbillet.wav)
http://cr.middlebury.edu/public/french/Lexique/habitat/Images/metro/guichet_2.jpg
le guichet (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/unguichet.wav)
http://preface.povlab.org/img/member/109-5.jpg
le passage sous-terrain (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/lepassagesousterrain.wav)
Votre train part de la voie numéro neuf. (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/votretrainpart.wav)
- Your train is leaving from track 9 (platform).
entrée - entrance (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/entree.wav)
sortie - exit (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/sortie.wav)
chemin de fer (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/chemindefer.wav)
feu de signalisation (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/feudesignalisation.wav)
la locomotive (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/lalocomotive.wav)
le quai (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/lequai.wav)
The Airport - L'Aéroport (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/laeroport.wav)
http://moi-alizee.us/forums/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=5661&g2_serialNumber=1&g2_GALLERYSID=a6b04da8ac444f50a616af3798f2d889
arrivées - arrivals (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/arrivees.wav)
départs - departures (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/departs.wav)
la douane - customs (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/douane.wav)
http://www.airport-technology.com/projects/boise/images/4-boise.jpg
retrait des bagages (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/retraitdebagages.wav)
http://a1.vox.com/6a00c2251c3baa549d00c2251c93118fdb-200pi
Un siège (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/unsiege.wav)
billet électronique (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/billetelectronique.wav)
retard (nm) - late (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/retard.wav)
le vol - the flight (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/levol.wav)
un avion (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/unavion.wav)
contrôle du trafic aérien (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/controledutraficaerien.wav)
la porte (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/levol.wav)
Questions. A dictionary will be necessary for a few of these questions.
1. Please translate the following sentence: "I am going to the train station".
2. Please translate the following sentence: "I need two tickets for Paris".
3. Please translate the following sentence: "When does my flight depart"?
4. Please translate the following sentence: "I went to Alizée's concert". Use assister instead of aller.
5. Please translate the following sentence: "She would like an aisle seat". She would like = Elle voudrait.
6. Please translate the following sentence: "He brushed his teeth".
7. Which of the following choices is not correct?
A: guichet = ticket booth
B: chemin de fer = road
C: aérogare = airport gate
D: navire = boat
8. Which of the following choices is correct?
A: aiguille = track junction point, turnout
B: feu de signalisation = signalling fire
C: avion = plane
D: sous-terrain = over ground
9. Which of the following choices is correct?
A: pomme = bomb
B: cerise = cereal
C: billet aller-retour = two way ticket
D: retard = stupid
10. Which of the following choices is not correct?
A: je me suis donné = I gave myself
B: arrivées = intervals
C: sous haute tension = high voltage
D: ours = bear
Lesson - Section 3: Composite Past Tense with être, and the Vocabulary of Public Transportation
Hello and welcome back to Composite Past Tense! Yesterday you saw the past tense being employed with avoir as the auxiliary verb. Today, this lesson is going to explain le Passé Composé using être as the auxiliary verb. Why are there two ways to form the composite past tense? For exactly the same reason as in English. Certain meanings are better conveyed with être than avoir. For example, in English what would you think if somebody told you "I have born in Corsica" or "I was bought the groceries"? This would sound bizarre.
Of course we have rules to choose between être and avoir. In lessons 1 and 2 of Past Tense Verbs, you saw how the past tense was formed. Now, this lesson simply will introduce the usage requirements of Composite Past Tense with être and the verb agreements that it needs.
So, when do you pick être, and when do you pick avoir? You can't really translate it into English, think would you say "I was" or "I have", and then pick. So, since I don't want to give you another morass of rules (cause I wouldn't want one either if I was reading this lesson :D) I will say 1 simple rule that I was taught in primary school.
If it has to do with moving your whole body somewhere, use être. In all other cases, use avoir. However, note that in some cases both auxiliary verbs are correct - and they carry different meanings. Here is an example of where both verbs are correct.
<TABLE CELLPADDING="3"><TR><TD>Je suis monté au treizième étage.</TD><TD>I went up to the 13th floor.</TD></TR><TR><TD>J'ai monté ma valise.</TD><TD>I took up my suitcase.</TD></TR></TABLE>
hear the 1st sentence spoken (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/jesuismonte.wav)
hear the 2nd sentence spoken (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/jaimontemavalise.wav)
You remember how you had to make agreement with avoir under a certain condition? Well, for être you need to do that same agreement almost all the time. Féminin Singulier, Féminin Pluriel, and Masculin Pluriel are the times when you see an agreement in the written text (which by the way is not necessarily heard in spoken French).
Here are the conditions when you need to make agreement with the subject (it is done the same way as with avoir). I list several cases just for your information - in actuality, whenever you use Passé Composé with être, you pretty much need to always do this agreement in gender and number.
1. You are using a reflexive verb in the past tense - the verb agrees in number and gender with the subject for 100% of the reflexive verbs in past tense.
2. The subject that the verb is referring to is Féminin Singulier, Féminin Pluriel, or Masculin Pluriel. The verb shall agree in gender and number with that subject.
Now, here are some examples of the usage of Passé Composé with être.
A girl says: Je suis rentrée à la maison.
I returned home. (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/jesuisrentreealamaison.wav)
A man says: Je me suis lavé le visage.
I washed my face. (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/jemesuislavelevisage.wav)
A woman says: Elle ne s'est pas endormie.
She did not go to sleep. (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/ellenesestpasendormie.wav)
A group of women say: Nous sommes arrivées à l'aérogare.
We arrived at the airport terminal. (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/noussommesarrivees.wav)
You ask a group: Vous êtes allés à Tim Hortons?
Did you go to Tim Hortons? (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/vousetesalles.wav)
Now, at this point you may be asking, how do you choose the auxiliary verb? I have to choose between avoir and être for each case, right? Yes, I could say that the politically correct answer is that you need to practice choosing :) however I wouldn't like to hear that if I were learning from this lesson myself :D so yes, there are a few rules you can follow which will allow you to net 90% of the cases.
1. If the verb is reflexive (begins with se, if found in the dictionary) it takes être without exception as the auxiliary verb.
2. If it has to do with some kind of bodily movement (descendre, aller, sortir, etc), it most likely takes être except when you are intentionally changing the meaning like in the example with the 13th floor and the suitcase.
For cases not neatly fitting into these two rules, feel free to ask which auxiliary verb is appropriate :)
and that
is all. Let's continue on to the vocabulary of Public Transportation.
Public Transportation
Hmmmm, you hate to love it or love to hate it... hahah sometimes you are waiting on the platform and... when's the train coming? I need to get home! Or, on the runway, the pilot tells you we are number 5 for takeoff, and you say arghhhh when are we going to get there.
Sometimes it's great, sometimes it's not. Sometimes you wish you drove. But, other times, it's really convenient. Well, without further ado, let's get straight to it.
The Train Station - La Gare (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/lagare.wav)
http://moi-alizee.us/forums/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=5658&g2_serialNumber=2&g2_GALLERYSID=a6b04da8ac444f50a616af3798f2d889
http://www.geocities.jp/travelog73/BilletTGV.jpg
un billet (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/unbillet.wav)
http://cr.middlebury.edu/public/french/Lexique/habitat/Images/metro/guichet_2.jpg
le guichet (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/unguichet.wav)
http://preface.povlab.org/img/member/109-5.jpg
le passage sous-terrain (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/lepassagesousterrain.wav)
Votre train part de la voie numéro neuf. (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/votretrainpart.wav)
- Your train is leaving from track 9 (platform).
entrée - entrance (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/entree.wav)
sortie - exit (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/sortie.wav)
chemin de fer (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/chemindefer.wav)
feu de signalisation (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/feudesignalisation.wav)
la locomotive (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/lalocomotive.wav)
le quai (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/lequai.wav)
The Airport - L'Aéroport (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/laeroport.wav)
http://moi-alizee.us/forums/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=5661&g2_serialNumber=1&g2_GALLERYSID=a6b04da8ac444f50a616af3798f2d889
arrivées - arrivals (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/arrivees.wav)
départs - departures (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/departs.wav)
la douane - customs (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/douane.wav)
http://www.airport-technology.com/projects/boise/images/4-boise.jpg
retrait des bagages (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/retraitdebagages.wav)
http://a1.vox.com/6a00c2251c3baa549d00c2251c93118fdb-200pi
Un siège (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/unsiege.wav)
billet électronique (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/billetelectronique.wav)
retard (nm) - late (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/retard.wav)
le vol - the flight (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/levol.wav)
un avion (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/unavion.wav)
contrôle du trafic aérien (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/controledutraficaerien.wav)
la porte (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part2Lesson3passecomposeetre/levol.wav)
Questions. A dictionary will be necessary for a few of these questions.
1. Please translate the following sentence: "I am going to the train station".
2. Please translate the following sentence: "I need two tickets for Paris".
3. Please translate the following sentence: "When does my flight depart"?
4. Please translate the following sentence: "I went to Alizée's concert". Use assister instead of aller.
5. Please translate the following sentence: "She would like an aisle seat". She would like = Elle voudrait.
6. Please translate the following sentence: "He brushed his teeth".
7. Which of the following choices is not correct?
A: guichet = ticket booth
B: chemin de fer = road
C: aérogare = airport gate
D: navire = boat
8. Which of the following choices is correct?
A: aiguille = track junction point, turnout
B: feu de signalisation = signalling fire
C: avion = plane
D: sous-terrain = over ground
9. Which of the following choices is correct?
A: pomme = bomb
B: cerise = cereal
C: billet aller-retour = two way ticket
D: retard = stupid
10. Which of the following choices is not correct?
A: je me suis donné = I gave myself
B: arrivées = intervals
C: sous haute tension = high voltage
D: ours = bear