| The past participle of
a verb conjugated with AVOIR
does not change form unless
it has a preceding direct object. In that case, the past participle
agrees with the preceding direct object in gender
and number. Instances
follow:
Note that in the case of direct objects,
we are looking at objects which directly receive the
action of the verb, this is why the question (QUOI?
or QUI?) has to be asked AFTER
the verb and not BEFORE.
J'ai regardé
la télé. J'ai regardé QUOI?
la télé (direct object).
Note that it is direct
because there is no preposition between the verb and the complement.
'La télé' follows the verb, so in this case, the past
participle does not change: REGARDÉ .
Elle a vu Jeanne au cinéma. Elle
a vu QUI? Jeanne (direct
object). 'Jeanne' is placed after the verb, so in this case, the
past participle does not change: VU.
Let's turn now to examples where the direct
object (DO) precedes the verb.
1) The DO can take the form of a
pronoun such as: le,
la, les, l' .
-Où as-tu mis mes lettres?
-Je les ai mis es sur ton bureau
dans ta chambre.
Note that in the first sentence, when we
ask the question: Tu as mis QUOI?
MES LETTRES , the direct object is placed
after the verb , so no
agreement is needed.
On the other hand, in the second sentence,
J'ai mis QUOI?
LES. This pronoum which replaces TES LETTRES is a direct
object and is placed before
the verb, therefore, the past participle must agree
in gender and number with the noun LETTRES (FÉM. PLUR.).
-As-tu fini la vaisselle? -Oui, je l'ai fini e
.
In the first sentence, the direct object
follows the verb: Tu as fini QUOI?
LA VAISSELLE , so no agreement
takes place.
However, in the second
sentence, the direct object precedes the verb
: Tu as fini QUOI? L'
(a pronoun which replaces 'la vaisselle'), so the past participle
must agree in gender and number with the
preceding direct object (FÉM. SING.).
2) It can take the form of the direct
relative pronoun QUE :
-Les fleurs qu'il
a offert es à sa petite amie sont très belles.
Il a offert QUOI?
QUE (QU'). This relative
pronoun which is a DO pronoun replaces LES
FLEURS , and, most importantly, precedes
the verb . Therefore, the past participle must agree
with the preceding direct object in gender and number (FÉM.
PLUR.)
3) It can take the form of the interrogative
adjective QUEL (quelle, quels, quelles)
followed by a noun.
- Quelles villes avez-vous visité
es en France?
Vous avez visité QUOI?
LES VILLES. The DO
is QUELLES VILLES and precedes the verb
, therefore, the past participle must agree
with VILLES (FÉM. PLUR.).
- Quels romans de Victor Hugo as-tu lu s
?
Tu as lu QUOI?
LES ROMANS. The DO
is QUELS ROMANS and precedes the verb
, therefore, the past participle must agree
with ROMANS (MASC. PLUR.).
4) It can take the form of an interrogative
pronoun such as Lequel, Laquelle,
Lesquels, Lesquelles, etc.:
- J'ai acheté des fleurs pour
la fête des mères. -Lesquelles as-tu acheté
es?
In the first sentence, the direct
object is placed after the
verb : Tu as acheté QUOI?
DES FLEURS , so no agreement
takes place.
However, in the second sentence, the direct
object precedes the verb : Tu as acheté QUOI?
LESQUELLES (a relative pronoun which replaces 'quelles fleurs'),
so the past participle must agree with
the preceding direct object (FÉM. PLUR.).
- J'ai vu
plusieurs tableaux de peintres célèbres au Louvre.
-Lesquels as-tu vu s?
In the first sentence, the direct
object is placed after the verb
: Tu as vu QUOI? DES TABLEAUX,
so no agreement takes place.
However, in the second sentence, the direct
object precedes the verb : Tu as vu QUOI?
LESQUELS (a relative pronoun which replaces 'quels tableaux'), so
the past participle must agree with
the preceding direct object (MASC. PLUR.).
5) Note that there is NO
agreement with a preceding indirect
object or with the pronoun EN.
- Les amies à qui j'ai téléphoné..
ont accepté mon invitation.
J'ai téléphoné QUI?
There is no answer to that question, therefore there is no
direct object , and consequently there
is NO agreement. However
we can ask the question: j'ai téléphoné
À QUI ? À
mes amies. In French , we phone
TO someone . What we have here
is a preceding indirect object
given that there is the preposition À involved,
and therefore there is NO agreement.
- Quand ses parents ont
laissé .. Jeanne à la résidence, elle leur
a dit.. à la semaine prochaine.
In the first clause, there is NO agreement because the
DO is placed after the verb.
In the second clause, there is NO
agreement with LEUR , because
it is a preceding indirect object
given that ' WE SAY something
TO someone'.
- J'ai acheté..
des poires. -Combien en as-tu acheté..?
In the first sentence, there is NO
agreement because the DO is
placed after the verb.
In the second one, if we ask the question: Tu as acheté QUOI?
The answer is the pronoun EN
, which replaces DES (partitive article)
POIRES, therefore, there is NO agreement.
- As-tu vu..
des copains au cinéma? -Oui, j'en ai vu..
deux, Louis et Georges.
In the first sentence, there is NO
agreement because the DO
is placed after the verb.
In the second one, if we ask the question: Tu as vu QUOI?
The answer is the pronoun EN,
which replaces DES (partitive article)
COPAINS , therefore, there is NO
agreement. |
