The Perfect Tense with Avoir
The Perfect Tense can translate into English in various ways. It is used for expressing actions of which we can see the beginning or the end.
Tu as mangé- could be translated as:
'you ate'
'you have eaten'
'you did eat'
Example: Sarah et Matthieu ont visité la Belgique l'année dernière
Sarah and Matthew visited Belgium last year
The perfect tense is usually formed with part of 'Avoir' plus a past participle
Aimer- to like |
Finir- to finish |
Vendre- to sell |
|
J'ai |
aimé |
fini |
vendu |
Tu as |
aimé |
fini |
vendu |
Il / Elle / On a |
aimé |
fini |
vendu |
Nous avons |
aimé |
fini |
vendu |
Vous avez |
aimé |
fini |
vendu |
Ils / Elles ont |
aimé |
fini |
vendu |
Translation:
I |
liked |
finished |
sold |
You |
liked |
finished |
sold |
He / She / One |
liked |
finished |
sold |
We |
liked |
finished |
sold |
You (pl) |
liked |
finished |
sold |
They |
liked |
finished |
sold |
When using the Perfect tense in the Negative, put NE before the auxiliary verb and PAS before the past participle
Example: J'ai vu- Je n'ai pas vu
