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Conjugation
Objective: Recognise and produce irregular past participles for the highest-frequency verbs, and inject them into the avoir passé composé framework without defaulting to regular endings.
| Infinitive | Participle | Ending pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| avoir | eu | -u | J'ai eu un problème. |
| être | été | -é | J'ai été malade. |
| faire | fait | -it | J'ai fait mes devoirs. |
| dire | dit | -it | Il a dit la vérité. |
| écrire | écrit | -it | Elle a écrit une lettre. |
| prendre | pris | -is | Nous avons pris le train. |
| mettre | mis |
Faire has the irregular participle fait, never fais. The -s belongs to the present-tense form, not the past participle.
Prendre has the irregular participle pris, and the form prendu does not exist in French.
Faire has the irregular participle fait. The participle stays invariable even though the direct object follows.
Prendre has the participle pris. The form prendu does not exist.
Voir has the participle vu, ending in -u like the largest irregular family.
Devoir has the participle dû with a circumflex, which distinguishes it from the article du.
Recevoir has the participle reçu with a cedilla, keeping the soft c sound before u.
6 exercises · about 9 minutes
| Il a mis son manteau. |
| voir | vu | -u | J'ai vu ce film. |
| pouvoir | pu | -u | Je n'ai pas pu venir. |
| vouloir | voulu | -u | Elle a voulu partir. |
| devoir | dû | -u with circumflex | J'ai dû attendre. |
| savoir | su | -u | Nous avons su la nouvelle. |
| boire | bu | -u | Il a bu un café. |
| lire | lu | -u | J'ai lu ce livre. |
| recevoir | reçu | -çu | Elle a reçu un cadeau. |
| ouvrir | ouvert | -ert | Il a ouvert la porte. |
Devoir has the participle dû with a circumflex, which distinguishes it in writing from the article du.
The participle vu is invariable when the auxiliary is avoir and the direct object follows the verb.
Lire has the participle lu. The verb lire and its participle are pronounced differently.
Ouvrir has the participle ouvert, following the -ert pattern shared with offrir and souffrir.
Pouvoir has the participle pu. The negative bracket wraps around the auxiliary, and the participle stays outside it.