Top answers

When do I have to use être and when do I have to use avoir with the perfect tense?

Être should be used with MRS VAN DER TRAMP verbs (Monter, Retourner, Sortir, Venir, Arriver, Naître, Descendre, Entrer, Rester, Tomber, Rentrer, Aller, Mourir, Partir) and any reflexive verbs (s'habiller, se...
SB
Answered by Selin B. • French tutor
3289 Views

When do you need to make a past participle agree with a noun?

Firstly, when the past participle is used as qualifying adjective, you must make it agree it with the noun. For instance, in “les choses faites”, you turn the past participle “fait” into the feminine plural....
SM
Answered by Stanislas M. • French tutor
2532 Views

When should I choose to use the tenses of the "imparfait" or the "passé simple"?

These two tenses both express actions and states in the past. However, the imparfait should be used in cases of repetitive situations, a description or an action without a limited time frame. For instance, &...
EF
Answered by Eliot F. • French tutor
2431 Views

How can you tell whether a word is feminine or masculine?

There is no simple answer for this! In short, the gender of nouns in French must be learnt, rehearsed and repeated until you can't hear the word any other way. Although there are some shortcuts for this, for...
YG
Answered by Yemi G. • French tutor
3853 Views

How do you know whether to use a or à in a sentence?

If can replace a with 'avait' for instance they you do not need an a with apostrophe. i.e je vais à la cantine. (the sentence would not make sense if you were to replace à with avait hence you need 'à' and c...
DO
Answered by Dominique O. • French tutor
2404 Views