The passé composé is a tense used to express an action or a state that happened in the past. We call it “composé” because it’s composed of two parts: An auxiliary, either the auxiliary “ être” to be or the auxiliary “avoir” to have and a past participle of a verb. In this part we will only tackle the passé composé of the verbs of the third group that require the auxiliary “ avoir” .
The verbs of the third group are called irregular because they don’t follow a specific rule when they are conjugated. Because there are so many irregular verbs, we will classify them here according to the formation of their past participle. In this lesson, we will study the verbs of the third group ending in “ir”.
Past participles of the verbs of the third group ending in “ir” vary according to the verbs.
The present participle of the verb “choisir” is “choisissant”.
For example: To find the past participle of the verb “ accueillir” to welcome, you just drop the final “r” and you obtain “accueilli”.
Les Parisiens ont accueilli leur maire avec des fleurs.
The Parisians welcomed their mayor with flowers.
Les autorités ont démenti la rumeur que des terroristes avaient été arrêtés à Londres.
The authorities denied the rumor that terrorists had been arrested in London.
For example: To find the past participle of the verb “courir”, you drop the final “ir” and you replace it by “u”, and you obtain “ couru”.
J’ai couru pendant deux heures.
I ran for two hours.
Ma famille a soutenu Melissa lorsqu’elle a perdu ses parents.
My family supported Melissa when she lost her parents.
For example: To find the past participle of the verb “ souffrir”, you drop the final “rir” and you replace it by “ert”, you obtain “souffert”.
Cet enfant a beaucoup souffert à cause de la négligence de ses parents.
This child suffered a lot because of his parents’ neglect.
Vous étiez à la maison mais vous n’avez pas ouvert la porte quand on a sonné.
You were home, but you didn’t open the door when we rang the bell.
He acquired a lot of the town properties since he became a mayor.
The verbs of the third group are called irregular because they don’t follow a specific rule when they are conjugated. Because there are so many irregular verbs, we will classify them here according to the formation of their past participle. In this lesson, we will study the verbs of the third group ending in “ir”.
Past participles of the verbs of the third group ending in “ir” vary according to the verbs.
Remember:
Don’t confuse the verbs of the third group that end in “ir” with the verbs of the second group. There is ONE important difference between the two categories of verbs: The present participle of all the verbs of the second group end in “issant” whereas the present participle of the verbs of the third group ending in “ir” end in “ant”.For example:
The present participle of the verb “dormir” is “dormant”.The present participle of the verb “choisir” is “choisissant”.
Verbs of the third group ending in “ir” that drop the “r” when forming their past participle:
accueillir, assaillir, bouillir, cueillir, démentir, dormir, endormir, faillir, mentir.For example: To find the past participle of the verb “ accueillir” to welcome, you just drop the final “r” and you obtain “accueilli”.
Les Parisiens ont accueilli leur maire avec des fleurs.
The Parisians welcomed their mayor with flowers.
Les autorités ont démenti la rumeur que des terroristes avaient été arrêtés à Londres.
The authorities denied the rumor that terrorists had been arrested in London.
Verbs of the third group ending in “ir” which past participles end in “u”
contenir, courir, entretenir, maintenir, obtenir, prévenir, soutenir, tenir.For example: To find the past participle of the verb “courir”, you drop the final “ir” and you replace it by “u”, and you obtain “ couru”.
J’ai couru pendant deux heures.
I ran for two hours.
Ma famille a soutenu Melissa lorsqu’elle a perdu ses parents.
My family supported Melissa when she lost her parents.
Verbs of the third group ending in “ir” which past participles end in “ert”
couvrir, découvrir, offrir, ouvrir, souffrirFor example: To find the past participle of the verb “ souffrir”, you drop the final “rir” and you replace it by “ert”, you obtain “souffert”.
Cet enfant a beaucoup souffert à cause de la négligence de ses parents.
This child suffered a lot because of his parents’ neglect.
Vous étiez à la maison mais vous n’avez pas ouvert la porte quand on a sonné.
You were home, but you didn’t open the door when we rang the bell.
The past participle of the verb “acquérir” is "acquis".
Il a acquis beaucoup de biens municipaux depuis qu’il est devenu maire.He acquired a lot of the town properties since he became a mayor.