avoir v. etre monté

Question

Why is my answer J'ai monté wrong? Isn't au grenier a Direct Object? and I thought être is used to go inside, to get on to embark, and avoir is used to walk up. So isn't "I went up" "walking up" ? Thanks  Ce matin, ________ monté au grenier pour ranger un peu.This morning, I went up in the attic to clean up a bit.je suisj'ai

Céline Pickard · Accepted Answer

Bonjour Laura,
Here "au grenier" is what we call an "adverbial phrase of place" (i.e un complément circonstanciel de lieu). It represents a place/location and is introduced by a preposition (sur/dans/sous/devant/à etc. + [location]).

Je suis à la maison = I am at home
Je vais au marché = I am going to the market
Les enfants sont dans la classe = The kids are in the classroom
La voiture est devant le garage = The car is in front of the garage
Je reviens du travail = I am coming back from work

If we go back to the lesson, it mentions that:
"être is the auxilliary used when the verb monter is followed by a preposition (en, sur, dans, à, ...)."
Therefore, monter + à -> être must be used (not avoir)
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !

Jim Jones · Answer

Bonjour Laura,"Isn't au grenier a Direct Object?"The verb monter with avoir must be used transitively, i.e., with a direct object.Your answer involves "au", which is the preposition à followed by the definite article le.Therefore, your answer is indirect for this reason.I hope this helps to explain.Bonne journéeJim