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Past participle agreement in French: What is it and how to form it?

By: Céline Bateman-Paris Fri Aug 30 2024
French
Verbs, Sentences

French past participle agreement occurs when the past participle changes its form to match the gender and number of a particular noun in the sentence: usually the subject, but, in some cases, the direct object. The basic form of the past participle, without any special ending, expresses agreement with a masculine, singular noun, but to form agreement with feminine nouns, you’ll need to add an -e, and to form agreement with plurals, add an -s.

Elles ont voyagé.

They traveled.

auxiliary verb is avoir

Elles sont parties.

They left.

auxiliary verb is être

You’ve likely already encountered past participles when learning the compound tenses in French. Compound tenses are composed of an auxiliary verb, avoir(to have) or être(to be). Each of these auxiliary verbs possesses its own rules governing how the past participle agreement works in the sentence:

  • When the auxiliary verb is être(to be), past participles agree in gender and number with the subject.

  • When the auxiliary verb is avoir, there is no agreement with the subject. Occasionally, avoir will require past participle agreement with the direct object, but typically you can expect there to be no past participle agreement with this auxiliary verb.

But there is more to agreement than just these two rules, and if you want to polish your French, this article is made for you! In this post, we’ll review agreement with avoir and with être, agreement with pronominal verbs, and tricky agreements.

Feeling curious? Read further!

Table of Contents

    Before we start…

    What are the endings for French past participle agreement?

    In French past participle agreement, the participle will take on different endings depending on the gender and number of the noun it agrees with. See the agreement endings in the chart below (hint: they’re similar to most adjectives!):

    Gender/Number
    Singular
    Plural

    Masculine

    –

    • tombé

    Add -s

    • tombés

    Feminine

    Add -e

    • tombée

    Add -s

    • tombées

    The rules of agreement matter not only for writing, but also when speaking, as agreement will sometimes need to be pronounced because the spelling of the past participle has changed. (If you’re already an expert at French pronunciation, this will make sense!)

    Important

    The feminine form of the past participle is sometimes pronounced differently from the masculine form: when an -e is added after a consonant, the pronunciation changes:

    Elles sont inscrites ?

    Are they registered?

    The feminine form of this past participle is pronounced [u(n)skreet], instead of [u(n)skree] for the masculine form.

    La tarte qu’elle a faite était délicieuse.

    The pie she made was delicious.

    [feht] instead of [fay] for the masculine form fait.

    La porte s’est ouverte !

    The door opened by itself!

    [oovehrt] instead of [oovehr] for the masculine form ouvert.

    But remember that, though ending will always match the gender and number of the noun the participle agrees with, which noun you need to match and whether you need agreement at all will depend on other factors, such as whether the auxiliary verb used is avoir or être. Let’s talk about some specific cases!

    When and how to use past participle agreement with ‘avoir’ and ‘être’?

    The past participle will agree in gender and number with the subject with the auxiliary être, and there will be no agreement with the subject when conjugated with avoir. There are some exceptions, of course, so read further!

    How to form agreement with auxiliary ‘avoir’ in French?

    Most French verbs are conjugated with avoir in compound past tenses, and, as we have seen above, with this auxiliary verb there is no gender or number agreement with the subject.

    Elles ont regardé une série en espagnol.

    They watched a TV show in Spanish.

    However, this doesn’t mean that there is no need for any agreement with the auxiliary avoir. Occasionally there is agreement with the direct object and there are some other exceptional cases. Let’s look!

    When does the direct object agree with the past participle with ‘avoir’?

    If there is a direct object before the verb, the past participle generally agrees in gender and number with this direct object. Note the object will be followed by que(that), which, in French, is not optional.

    La série qu’elles ont regardée est en espagnol.

    The series he watched is in Spanish.

    TipHow to find the object?

    Ask yourself, what did they watch? La série.

    When does the direct object NOT agree with the past participle with ‘avoir’?

    A past participle with the auxiliary avoir will not agree with the direct object if the direct object does not come before the auxiliary verb. Furthermore, although the past participle usually agrees with a direct object before the verb, there are some exceptions. Here are a few cases where the past participle does not agree with a direct object that comes before auxiliary avoir:

    • The past participle remains invariable when used with the French pronoun en and the French pronoun dont.

      Des crêpes, j’en ai beaucoup mangé.

      I’ve eaten a lot of pancakes.

      Even though en refers to crêpes, which is before the verb, there is no agreement because the pronoun en is used.

      C’est la boîte dont elle a parlé.

      This is the box she mentioned.

      Even though dont refers to la boîte, and both of these come before the verb, there is no agreement, because dont is used.

    • When the past participle is followed by an infinitive, the participle will only agree if the subject of the sentence is also the subject of the infinitive verb. Otherwise it will be invariable.

      La joueuse que j’ai vue marquer était phénoménale.

      The player who I saw score was fantastic.

      Agreement!
      La joueuse is both the subject of the sentence and the subject of the infinitive, marquer(score).

      C’est la commode que j’ai pensé peindre.

      This is the chest of drawers I thought I could paint.

      No agreement:
      La commode is the subject of the sentence, but it is the object of the infinitive, peindre.

    How to form agreement with auxiliary ‘être’ in French?

    When a verb is conjugated with the auxiliary être, the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject. Recall that some verbs of motion and all pronominal verbs are conjugated with this auxiliary. Here is a full list of the verbs conjugated with être.

    Elle serait partie en avance.

    She would have gone early.

    Of course, there are a few exceptional rules when it comes to pronominal verbs and agreement. Keep reading, it’s getting even more interesting!

    What are the rules of agreement with pronominal verbs in French?

    Because pronominal verbs use the auxiliary verb être, most of the time the rules of agreement with the past participle will be the same as we saw above — there is gender and number agreement with the subject. Sometimes, however, the past participle will be invariable, depending on the type of French pronominal verb used. Let’s have a look at the different cases and exceptions!

    How does agreement work with reflexive verbs?

    In compound past tenses, the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject of a reflexive verb. Recall that a verb is reflexive when the action is done on/to oneself.

    Elle s’est lavée.

    She showered.

    Exception!

    The past participle of reflexive verbs is invariable when the participle is followed by a direct object.

    Elle s’est lavé les cheveux.

    She washed her hair.

    No agreement!

    When using the verb se rendre compte, the past participle is invariable because compte is technically a direct object:

    Elles se sont rendu compte de leur erreur.

    They realized their mistake.

    How does agreement work with reciprocal verbs?

    The past participles of reciprocal verbs sometimes agree in gender and number with the subject and are sometimes invariable. There is only agreement if the verb is a transitive-direct verb (does not need a preposition before its object). In all other cases the participle will be invariable.

    • Transitive-direct verb → agreement

      Voir(to see) is a transitive-direct verb, which means the object is not introduced by a preposition.

      Ils se sont vus.

      They saw each other.

    • Transitive-indirect verb → no agreement

      Sourire à(to smile at) is a transitive-indirect verb, where the direct object is introduced by a preposition: à(at).

      Ils se sont souri.

      They smiled at each other.

    Here is another example!

    Elles s’étaient rencontrées pendant leurs études.

    They had met when they were studying.

    Agreement!

    … et elles se sont promis de toujours rester amies.

    …and promised to remain friends forever.

    No agreement!

    With reflexive verbs, the preposition is contained in the reflexive pronoun, so you need to look at the non-reflexive form of the verb to see if the verb requires a preposition:

    se rencontrer → rencontrer quelqu’un = transitive-direct verb → agreement!

    se promettre → promettre à = transitive-indirect verb. → no agreement.

    → Check our list of transitive-indirect verbs in French!

    How to form agreement with pronominal verbs followed by an infinitive?

    When the verbs se faire(to have something done), se laisser(to let oneself), and se voir(to see oneself) are followed by an infinitive, the subject and past participle will sometimes agree, but not always. Let’s look at the rules:

    • The verb se faire will always be invariable when followed by an infinitive.

      Elles se sont fait avoir.

      They’ve been had.

      → Read more about se faire and causative constructions in French in our post!

    • With se voir and se laisser, there is agreement only when the subject of the sentence is also the subject of the infinitive. Let’s look at some examples:

      agreement

      • subject of the infinitive

      no agreement

      • not the subject of the infinitive

      se voir

      to see oneself

      Elle s’est vue tomber.

      She saw herself fall.

      → she falls

      Elle s’est vu bousculer par un passant.

      She saw herself being run into by a passerby.

      → the passerby runs into her

      se laisser

      to let oneself

      Elle s’est laissée s’affaler sur le canapé.

      She let herself fall on the couch.

      → she falls

      Elle s’est laissé regarder.

      She let herself be watched.

      → someone watches her
    Important

    A pronominal verb can sometimes be followed by an adjective. Because the adjective refers to the subject, the past participle would then agree in gender and number with the subject.

    Elle s’est vue tatouée.

    She saw herself tattooed.

    What are the other tricky past participle agreements in French?

    There are also some tricky cases with past participle agreement. Now that you’ve read up to here, hats off! You are a true francophile, but keep reading to improve your skills even more!Let’s now have a look at specific situations which are thorny — even for natives.

    How does agreement work when past participles are used on their own?

    When used without an auxiliary, a past participle always agrees in gender and number with whatever or whoever it refers to.

    Une fois déballés, les cadeaux ont été mis de côté.

    Once unwrapped, the gifts were put aside.

    How to use ‘ci-joint’ (attached)?

    The past participle ci-joint(attached) follows a few special rules. Mastering this past participle is important if, like most people, you send a lot of emails, since the equivalent of “please find attached” in French is ci-joint. With this past participle, there are two options:

    • Ci-joint comes before what it refers to = invariable.

      Veuillez trouver ci-joint les documents signés.

      Please find attached the signed documents.

    • Ci-joint goes after what it refers to = agreement.

      Veuillez trouver les documents signés ci-joints.

      Please find attached the signed documents.

    How to form agreement with adverbs of quantity and percentage?

    The agreement of a past participle with French adverbs of quantity and percentage can also be tricky. We are going to focus on situations when the past participle would normally require an agreement in gender and number either with the subject or a preceding object.

    • Adverbs of quantity

      With adverbs of quantity such as beaucoup de(a lot of) or peu de(few of), the past participle most commonly agrees in gender and number with the complement, namely whatever is being quantified or measured.

      Peu de personnes seraient tombées malades.

      Few people would have become ill.

      Personnes is the complement of peu de.
      Exception!

      When there is a definite article or a demonstrative pronoun before the adverb of quantity, as in le peu de (few), ce trop peu de (too few), the past participle is invariable.

      Ce peu d’exercices qu’il a fait lui a été bénéfique.

      The few exercises he’s done have done him good.

    • Percentage

      There are two options when using percentages: either the past participle agrees with the percentage/fraction or the complement of the percentage (the thing being quantified). You can choose whichever one you want!!

      ✅47% du personnel ont été licenciés.
      ✅47% du personnel a été licencié.

      Forty-seven percent of the staff was fired.

      Exception!

      If there is a definite article or demonstrative pronoun before the percentage, then the past participle always agrees with the percentage or fraction.

      Le tiers des étudiants est arrivé en retard.

      One third of the students arrived late.

      Tip

      How do you know how to form the proper past participle agreement with a percentage or fractions? Here are the rules:

      • Below two percent, or when the numerator (top number in the fraction) is below two, the verb is singular and the past participle is masculine singular:

        Un cinquième des recettes sera reversé à une association caritative.

        A fifth of the benefits will be donated to a charity.

      • Above two percent, or when the numerator is above two, the verb is plural and the past participle is masculine plural.

        Il est impossible que 80% de la classe soient arrivés en retard !

        Eighty percent of the class can’t possibly have arrived late!

    How to form past participle agreement with a collective noun?

    Just like with percentages and fractions, the past participle agrees with either the collective noun or the complement (the thing being collected). As a reminder, collective nouns refer to a group of things like la plupart de(most of), l’ensemble de(the whole of), un grand nombre de.

    ✅La plupart des habitants est restée dans le quartier.
    ✅La plupart des habitants sont restés dans le quartier.

    Most of the residents stayed in the neighborhood.

    In brief: 4 top tips on the agreement of the past participle in French

    When forming past participle agreement in French, keep the following four tips in mind:

    • No agreement with the subject with avoir. But when the direct object comes before the verb, the past participle agrees in gender and number with it.

    • The past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject when a verb is conjugated with être.

    • The past participle of pronominal verbs is invariable when followed by an infinitive or a direct object.

    • The past participle commonly agrees in gender and number with the complement of a percentage, fraction, or collective noun.

    You are all set! Now, you can read our top tips and practice how to form past participle agreements in French!

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