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The past with être — 15 verbs

a closed list, and they agree like adjectivesA2

In one line

A closed list of about 15 verbs of motion take être — and their participle agrees with the subject, like an adjective.

The forms on this page

FormMeansSound
êtreto be — here it carries no meaning, it is only the auxiliary/ɛtʁ/

The table

The full list — and they come in pairs

VerbMeaningIts pairMeaning
aller /a.le/to govenir /və.niʁ/to come
arriver /a.ʁi.ve/to arrivepartir /paʁ.tiʁ/to leave
entrer /ɑ̃.tʁe/to go insortir /sɔʁ.tiʁ/to go out
monter /mɔ̃.te/to go updescendre /dɛ.sɑ̃dʁ/to go down
naître /nɛtʁ/to be bornmourir /mu.ʁiʁ/to die
rester /ʁɛs.te/to staytomber /tɔ̃.be/to fall
retourner /ʁə.tuʁ.ne/to returnpasser /pa.se/to pass by — not a pair; both were simply added to this list
devenir /dəv.niʁ/to become—no pair; it belongs to the venir family

And their compounds: revenir · rentrer · repartir · remonter

Look at the pattern: every one of them is either movement or a change of state. Going, coming, being born, dying.

Agreement — this is the real difference from avoir

SubjectParticiplePronunciation
masculine singularallé/a.le/
feminine singularallée/a.le/
masculine pluralallés/a.le/
feminine pluralallées/a.le/

Exactly like an adjective: + e for feminine, + s for plural.

Pronunciation
Il est allé.he went/il ɛ.t‿a.le/
Elle est allée.she went/ɛl ɛ.t‿a.le/
Ils sont allés.they went/il sɔ̃.t‿a.le/
Elles sont allées.they went (all women)/ɛl sɔ̃.t‿a.le/

And none of it is audible — /a.le/ in all four. This agreement exists on paper only.

English used to do this too. "He is risen", "the guests are arrived" — until a few centuries ago English also built the past of motion verbs with "be" rather than "have". It survives now only in set phrases and hymns. French kept the system and English lost it, so what looks like an arbitrary list is really the older pattern, still running.

Exceptions

ExceptionWhat happens
monter /mɔ̃.te/ · descendre /dɛ.sɑ̃dʁ/ · passer /pa.se/ · sortir /sɔʁ.tiʁ/ · rentrer /ʁɑ̃.tʁe/ take avoir /a.vwaʁ/ when they have an objectJe suis sorti. /ʒə sɥi sɔʁ.ti/ I went out
J'ai sorti le chien. /ʒe sɔʁ.ti lə ʃjɛ̃/ I took the dog out
Reflexive verbs also take être /ɛtʁ/je me suis lavé /ʒə mə sɥi la.ve/
être /ɛtʁ/ itself takes avoir /a.vwaʁ/J'ai été malade. /ʒe e.te ma.lad/
In the negative, ne … pas /nə pa/ wraps être /ɛtʁ/Je ne suis pas allé. /ʒə nə sɥi pa.za.le/

Examples

EnglishFrenchPronunciation
I went to the parkJe suis allé au parc./ʒə sɥi.za.le o paʁk/
She cameElle est venue./ɛ.lɛ və.ny/
They arrivedIls sont arrivés./il sɔ̃.ta.ʁi.ve/
We stayed at homeNous sommes restés à la maison./nu sɔm ʁɛs.te a la mɛ.zɔ̃/
I didn't goJe ne suis pas allé./ʒə nə sɥi pa.za.le/
I took the dog outJ'ai sorti le chien./ʒe sɔʁ.ti lə ʃjɛ̃/

Common mistakes

❌✅Why
J'ai allé.Je suis allé.aller is on the être list
Elle est allé.Elle est allée.With être the agreement is compulsory
Je suis mangé.J'ai mangé.manger is not a verb of motion
Je suis sorti le chien.J'ai sorti le chien.With an object it takes avoir
Elle est venu.Elle est venue.Feminine + e

How to learn the list

learn the pairs, not the list

The French use the mnemonic DR MRS VANDERTRAMP — the first letters of the verbs. It works if you already know them and is no help at all while you are learning them.

Better: seven opposite pairs.

Pronunciation
go ↔ comealler ↔ venir/a.le/ · /və.niʁ/
arrive ↔ leavearriver ↔ partir/a.ʁi.ve/ · /paʁ.tiʁ/
go in ↔ go outentrer ↔ sortir/ɑ̃.tʁe/ · /sɔʁ.tiʁ/
up ↔ downmonter ↔ descendre/mɔ̃.te/ · /dɛ.sɑ̃dʁ/
be born ↔ dienaître ↔ mourir/nɛtʁ/ · /mu.ʁiʁ/
stay ↔ fallrester ↔ tomber/ʁɛs.te/ · /tɔ̃.be/
return ↔ passretourner ↔ passer/ʁə.tuʁ.ne/ · /pa.se/

Plus devenir, which stands alone.

And a rule of meaning that almost always works: if the verb is a change of place or a change of existence, it takes être.

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