The Present Perfect
The present perfect ("passé composé") is used to describe
an action that has just finished:
| J'ai lu un livre |
I have read a book (I finished
it recently) |
| |
|
| Il a acheté une maison |
He has bought a house (he
has just bought it) |
| |
|
| Il a fini ses études |
He has finished his studies
(action that has just happened) |
Its main difference with the imperfect (l'imperfait) is that the
imperfect tense describes an action that develops in the past, without
indicating if it has finished or not, whilst the present perfect indicates
that the action has concluded.
| J' écoutais la radio |
I listened to the radio
(action that develops in the past, but we don't know if it has finished) |
| |
|
| J'ai écouté la radio |
I have listened to the radio
(the action has finished recently) |
The present perfect is formed witht the auxiliary verb "avoir"
in the present simple, followed by the participle of the main verb:
| J' |
ai |
mangé |
| Tu |
as |
mangé |
| Il / elle |
a |
mangé |
| Nous |
avons |
mangé |
| Vous |
avez |
mangé |
| Ils |
ont |
mangé |
But if the main verb is a verb of movement, you use the auxiliary
verb "être", and in this case the participle and verb agree
in gender and number:
| Je |
suis |
venu(e) |
| Tu |
es |
venu(e) |
| Il / elle |
est |
venu (e) |
| Nous |
sommes |
Venus (-es) |
| Vous |
êtes |
Venus (-es) |
| Ils |
sont |
venus (-es) |
The negative form of the present perfect is constructed by placing
the auxiliary particle "ne" in front of the auxiliary verb
and the particle "pas" after the verb:
| Je n'ai pas acheté la
maison |
I have not bought the house |
| IL n'a pas fini ses études |
He has not finished his studies
|
| Vous n´êtes pas venus(es) |
You have not come |
To make a question, you start with the auxiliary verb followed by
the noun and then the participle of the main verb:
| As-tu acheté la maison
? |
Have you bought the house? |
| A-t-il fini ses études ? |
Has he finished his studies? |
| Êtes -vous venus(es) ? |
Have you come here before? |
VOCABULARY
les fournitures
| Paper |
Papier (m) |
Folder |
Sous-main (m) |
| Notebook |
Cahier (m) |
Ring binder |
Classeur (m) |
| Pen |
Stylo à bille (m) |
Staple |
Agraffe (f) |
| Pencil |
Crayon (m) |
Photocopy |
Photocopie (f) |
| Fountain pen |
Stylo (m) |
Ruler |
Règle (f) |
| Rubber |
Gomme (f) |
Envelope |
Enveloppe (f) |
| Scissors |
Ciseaux (m/pl) |
Letter |
Lettre (f) |
| Glue |
Colle (f) |
Stamp |
Timbre (m) |
| Typewriter |
Machine à écrire (f) |
Document |
Document (m) |
| Bin |
Corbeille à papier (f) |
Copy |
Copie (f) |
| Business card |
Carte de visite (f) |
Telephone |
Téléphone (m) |
| Pencil sharpener |
Taille-crayon (m) |
|
|
