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Past participle with the auxiliary 'être'
être + past participle
usual verbs
With the auxiliary 'être' : the verb agrees with its subject. The past participle works the same way as an attribute adjective . To find back the subject, you must ask the following question 'Who’s achieving the action? '. Example : Elle est bien nourrie > 'qui est-ce qui est bien nourri ?' answer : elle > nourrie agrees with the subject elle, a feminine singular pronoun > the past participle 'nourrie' is then also a feminine singular.
Be careful, there are some exceptions. Some pronominal verbs agree with the direct object complement (COD), even with the auxiliary 'être' that can also mean avoir. With the reflexive and reciprocal pronominal verbs, this COD is the 'se' that refers to the subject . Yet , when 'se' is not the COD, then the past participle agrees with the COD only if it is placed before the verb in the sentence. Examples: Les ennuis qu'ils se sont attirés... (meaning : the troubles they did get). Ils se sont attiré des ennuis (meaning: ils ont attiré des ennuis à eux). In these examples , the verb exactly agrees as if it had been conjugated with the auxiliary 'avoir', consequently with its COD if it is placed before the verb.
Then, some verbs, like 'se rire', 'se plaire' and 'se jouer', and also their derived forms, remain invariable. Example : Elles se sont ri de leurs peurs passées. The verbe 'se rire' remains invariable.
Ordinary verbs | Pronominal verbs | Exceptions |
agrees with the subject | agrees with COD only if it is placed before | invariable |
'se' sometimes refers to the subject | se jouer, se plaire, se rire (and derived forms) |
Write and make the necessary agreement with the following underlined verbs.
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