How do I form the past tense?

You use the past tense to describe completed actions in the past. For most verbs, you use the present tense of avoir with the past participle of the verb you want to put in the past. To form a past participle, for -ER verbs, you remove the -er and add an -é, for IR verbs you remove the -ir and add -i, and for -RE verbs, you remove the -re and add -u. eg. I played = j'ai joué, I finished = j'ai fini, I sold = j'ai vendu Some verbs use être instead of avoir and these can be remembered with the acronym MRS VAN DER TRAMP (Monter, Rester, Sortir, Venir, Aller, Naitre, Descendre, Entrer, Rentrer, Tomber, Retourner, Arriver, Mourir and Partir). Again you form the past with the present tense of être and then the past participle. The main difference here is that the past participle has to AGREE (ie adding an e if feminine and an s if plural) eg. she went = elle est allée, he left = il est parti, they went down (the stairs) = ils sont descendus