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TIP: Remember that because of the auxiliary être, the past participle must agree with the subject of the verb.

FardinC1Kwiziq community member

TIP: Remember that because of the auxiliary être, the past participle must agree with the subject of the verb.

Bonjour,

According to the following cases, there are some cases in which there is "no agreement with the subject" (either the agreement is with the object or there is no agreement at all):

- If no direct object complement (DOC), then agreement with subject (elle s'est brûlée);

- If DOC before verb, then agreement with DOC (les doigts qu'elle s'est brûlés);

- If DOC after verb, then no agreement (elle s'est brûlé les doigts);

- If body parts are with à, then no DOC, then agreement with subject (il s'est brûlé aux doigts; elle s'est brûlée aux doigts; ils se sont brûlés aux doigts; elles se sont brûlées aux doigts)

Am I correct or I am missing sth? Thank you very much.

Fardin (French language learner)

Asked 6 months ago
CélineKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Bonjour Fardin,

That's an excellent question! Yes, there are cases where there is no agreement with être as the auxiliary. This happens with "reflexive verbs", like "se brûler". A lesson featuring this particularity is on our to-do-list.

Take a look here for more: agreement of reflexive verbs

I hope this is helpful.

Bonne journée !

FardinC1Kwiziq community member

Bonjour Céline,

Thank you for the explanation and the link. So helpful.

Bonne journée,

Fardin

TIP: Remember that because of the auxiliary être, the past participle must agree with the subject of the verb.

Bonjour,

According to the following cases, there are some cases in which there is "no agreement with the subject" (either the agreement is with the object or there is no agreement at all):

- If no direct object complement (DOC), then agreement with subject (elle s'est brûlée);

- If DOC before verb, then agreement with DOC (les doigts qu'elle s'est brûlés);

- If DOC after verb, then no agreement (elle s'est brûlé les doigts);

- If body parts are with à, then no DOC, then agreement with subject (il s'est brûlé aux doigts; elle s'est brûlée aux doigts; ils se sont brûlés aux doigts; elles se sont brûlées aux doigts)

Am I correct or I am missing sth? Thank you very much.

Fardin (French language learner)

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