“j’ai encore retardé mes achats”

Question

I was expecting to see “j’ai encore retardée mes achats” because the speaker is female. Does the exercise use “retardé” because the object of this part of the sentence is “achats” (a masculine noun), and not the female speaker?

Accepted Answer

Bonjour Brian,
When 'avoir' is used as the auxiliary in Le Passé Composé, the past participle doesn't change most of the time. It does change when its direct object is placed before the verb and therefore agrees with its direct object.
J'ai regardé la télé (no agreement) -> Je l'ai regardée (agreement)
J'ai retardé mes achats (no agreement) -> Je les ai retardés (agreement)
J'ai acheté des fleurs (no agreement) -> Les fleurs que j'ai achetées... (agreement)
See link on agreement with avoir in Le Passé Composé + direct object pronoun + position of object pronouns with compound tenses
I hope this is helpful.
Bonee journée !