How to Use French Auxiliary Verbs: Avoir vs Être

Understanding French auxiliary verbs is crucial for constructing compound tenses and expressing yourself accurately in French.

In this article, we'll break down the usage of "avoir" and "être" as auxiliary verbs, helping you grasp this essential aspect of French grammar.

What Are Auxiliary Verbs in French?

Auxiliary verbs, also known as helping verbs, are used to form compound conjugations in French. These include compound tenses like the passé composé and compound moods like the past subjunctive. In compound conjugations, there are two key components:

1. The auxiliary verb, which determines the tense or mood
2. The main verb, always in the past participle form

For example:

• J'ai mangé. (I have eaten / I ate.) - passé composé
• J'avais mangé. (I had eaten.) - pluperfect
• J'aurai mangé. (I will have eaten.) - future perfect

Avoir vs Être: When to Use Each

French has two auxiliary verbs: "avoir" (to have) and "être" (to be). While "avoir" is used with the majority of French verbs, there are important exceptions that require "être". Let's examine when to use each auxiliary verb.

When to Use Avoir

"Avoir" is the default auxiliary verb for most French verbs. If a verb isn't in the "être" category, it will use "avoir" in compound tenses.

Examples:

• J'ai parlé. (I spoke.)
• Nous avons fini. (We finished.)
• Ils ont dormi. (They slept.)

When to Use Être

"Être" is used as the auxiliary verb in two main cases:

1. All pronominal verbs
2. Intransitive verbs of movement (when used intransitively)

Pronominal Verbs

All pronominal verbs (reflexive verbs) use "être" as their auxiliary. Examples include:

• s'asseoir (to sit down)
• se coucher (to go to bed)
• s'enfuir (to run away)
• s'habiller (to get dressed)
• se méfier (to be wary of)
• se souvenir (to remember)

Intransitive Verbs of Movement

The following verbs use "être" when they're used intransitively (without a direct object):

• aller (to go)
• arriver (to arrive)
• descendre (to descend)
• entrer (to enter)
• monter (to climb)
• mourir (to die)
• naître (to be born)
• partir (to leave)
• passer (to pass)
• rester (to stay)
• retourner (to return)
• sortir (to go out)
• tomber (to fall)
• venir (to come)

And their derivatives:

• redescendre (to descend again)
• rentrer (to re-enter)
• remonter (to climb again)
• renaître (to be reborn)
• repartir (to leave again)
• repasser (to come/go back)
• ressortir (to go out again)
• retomber (to fall again)
• devenir (to become)
• parvenir (to reach, achieve)
• revenir (to come back)

Important Points to Remember

1. The choice of auxiliary verb remains consistent across all compound tenses and moods for a given verb.

2. Verbs using "être" as an auxiliary require agreement in all compound tenses. The past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject.

3. Some verbs can take either auxiliary, depending on how they're used. For instance, "descendre" uses "être" when intransitive (Elle est descendue de la montagne - She came down from the mountain) but "avoir" when transitive (Elle a descendu les valises - She brought the suitcases down).

Mnemonic Devices for Être Verbs

To help remember which verbs use "être", you can use mnemonic devices such as:

1. La Maison d'être: Draw a house and label it with être verbs.
2. DR & MRS VANDERTRAMP: Each letter represents an être verb.
3. ADVENT: Each letter stands for a verb and its opposite.

Examples in Context

Let's see how auxiliary verbs work in real sentences:

1. Avoir:

   • J'ai lu un livre intéressant. (I read an interesting book.)
   • Nous avons voyagé en France. (We traveled to France.)

2. Être with pronominal verbs:

   • Elle s'est levée tôt ce matin. (She got up early this morning.)
   • Ils se sont amusés à la fête. (They had fun at the party.)

3. Être with intransitive verbs of movement:

   • Nous sommes allés au cinéma. (We went to the cinema.)
   • Elles sont arrivées hier soir. (They arrived last night.)

Conclusion

Mastering French auxiliary verbs is key to forming correct compound tenses.

Remember, "avoir" is used with most verbs, while "être" is used with pronominal verbs and specific intransitive verbs of movement.