Past participle agreement: auxiliary, object and position
CEFR B1
What you will learn
- Apply subject agreement to non-pronominal verbs built with être.
- With avoir, find a direct object before the participle and distinguish it from an indirect object.
The idea
The question is not only “which auxiliary is used?” but “what can it agree with, and where does that element appear?”
With “être”, non-pronominal movement or change-of-state verbs agree with the subject: “elle est partie”, “ils sont arrivés”, “elles sont venues”. Pronominal verbs require analysis of the pronoun’s function and lie outside this initial rule.
With “avoir”, the participle agrees only with a direct object placed before it: “les photos que j’ai prises”, “Marie ? Je l’ai vue”. If the direct object comes after, there is no agreement: “j’ai pris les photos”.
A preceding indirect object triggers no agreement: “les personnes à qui j’ai parlé”, “je leur ai écrit”. Rebuild the verb pattern: “voir quelqu’un” is direct, while “parler à quelqu’un” and “écrire à quelqu’un” are indirect.
Two useful limits: with the pronoun “en”, the participle normally stays invariable —“des pommes, j’en ai mangé”—; it is also invariable in the causative “faire + infinitive” construction —“les robes que j’ai fait retoucher”.
Working paradigm
| Construction | Preceding element | Result |
|---|---|---|
| être + partir | elles | elles sont parties |
| avoir + écrire | — | elle a écrit trois lettres |
| avoir + écrire | les lettres que | les lettres qu’elle a écrites |
| avoir + parler à | leur | elle leur a parlé |
The fourth row has no agreement: “leur” is an indirect object.
How it sounds
- Les décisions que nous avons prises hier sont définitives.The auxiliary is “avoir”. “Que” refers back to “les décisions”, a preceding direct object. Feminine plural adds “-es” to “pris”.
Your turn
Two or three, to check that the bit above landed.
Les photos que nous avons ___ hier sont très nettes.
prises — “Que” refers back to “les photos”, a feminine plural direct object before the participle.
Sophie ? Je l’ai ___ à midi devant la gare.
rencontrée — “L’” is the preceding direct object and refers to “Sophie”, feminine singular.
Nous leur avons ___ hier après la réunion.
parlé — “Parler à quelqu’un”: “leur” is an indirect object, so the participle remains unchanged.
When it doesn't hold
What breaks the rule, said out loud. Hiding it is what makes you feel cheated in the exam.
- Direct object afterJ’ai écrit trois lettres.
- Direct object beforeLes lettres que j’ai écrites.
- Indirect object beforeJe leur ai écrit.
What your own language pushes you to say
Wrong Je leur ai écrites hier.
Right Je leur ai écrit hier.
Coming before the participle is not enough: “leur” is indirect. Translation can hide that distinction, so rebuild the French pattern “écrire à quelqu’un”.
Curriculum alignment and sources
- CEFR B1 · understand the main points of clear messages on familiar matters, handle common situations and produce simple connected text. · Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Companion Volume
- El MCER sirve de referencia, pero la norma estatal no asigna B1.1/B1.2 a cursos. La secuencia del catálogo es editorial. · Real Decreto 217/2022, currículo básico de ESO
- La fuente reutilizada fija A1 al final del primer ciclo para esta materia y no acredita B1 en un curso italiano concreto. · Decreto 9 dicembre 2025, n. 221 · nuove Indicazioni nazionali
Once it makes sense
Practise this: Past participle agreementFrench subjunctive: forms, triggers and contrast with the indicativeReported speech: person, tense and viewpointSi clauses: real, imagined and past conditionsOn and the passive: choosing sentence focusSpoken and written French: adapting register