Conjugate mettre and derivatives (+avoir) in the compound past in French (Le Passé Composé)

Written by Qualified French Expert Aurélie Drouard HKH, Licence d'anglais LLCE

Last updated: 2022-06-20

In Le Passé Composé (Indicatif), the verb mettre (to put / to put on) has an irregular past participle: mis, and uses avoir as an auxiliary.

Learn how to conjugate METTRE (to put/to put on) in Le Passé Composé (Indicatif) in French

j'	ai mis
tu	as mis
il / elle / on	a mis
nous	avons mis
vous	avez mis
ils/elles	ont mis

Have a listen to these examples:

J'ai mis ma plus belle robe pour ce rendez-vous.I put my most beautiful dress on for this date.

Est-ce que tu as mis la table comme je te l'ai demandé ?Have you set the table as I asked?

Martin a mis un manteau car il faisait froid.Martin put a coat on as it was cold.

Nous avons mis la pendule à l'heure d'été.We set the clock to summer time.

Où est-ce que vous avez mis mon sac ?Where did you put my bag?

Ils ont vraiment mis les petits plats dans les grands.They really put on a big spread.
(literally: They really put the small dishes in the big ones.)

Other derivative verbs ending in -mettre follow the same conjugation:

promettre (to promise) -> promis
remettre (to put back (on) / to give) -> remis
compromettre (to compromise) -> compromis
permettre (to allow / to enable) -> permis

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Examples and resources

Il lui a mis un pain en pleine figure !He punched him right in the face!