Hi Andrea,

The verb 'sortir' can be intransitive as in to go out, to leave and it then uses 'être' and the past participle will agree with the subject -

Je suis sorti/e avec mes amis hier soir = I went out with my friends last night 

Nous sommes sortis du cinéma à minuit = We left the cinema at midnight

But it can also be transitive ( has a direct object) meaning to take out /to let out something.

J'ai sorti la poubelle = I took the bin out 

Nous avons sorti le chien dans la nuit = We took the dog out in the night 

Then the rules are like all verbs which take avoir and the past participle will agree or not depending on the position of the object pronoun.

Take a look at the following Kwiziq lesson for further information -

https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/revision/grammar/special-cases-when-the-past-participle-agrees-in-number-and-gender-when-used-with-avoir-in-le-passe-compose-conversational-past

Hope this helps!

Hi Ann,

Please take a look at the answer to a similar query -

https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/questions/view/agreement-of-reflexive-verbs

Hope this helps!

Hi Phil,

Only

'Elles sont sorties avant moi'

is correct as the past participle has to agree with the subject, elles which is feminine and plural.

 

 

Hi Sam,

As Chris says the verb 'to meet' is 'se rencontrer' in French and takes être like all reflexive verbs.

The reflexive pronoun 'vous' is implied and not required as Louis and Francis are mentioned and understanding is clear -

Louis and you Francis met three years ago.

Hope this helps!

Hi Sam,

Reflexive verbs like 'se tromper' are conjugated with 'être'  without exception in the passé composé.

Here is the link to what constitutes a reflexive verb for your perusal -

https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/revision/glossary/verb-types/reflexive-verbs

Take a look also at the following Kwiziq lesson on the subject in question -

https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/revision/grammar/conjugate-reflexive-verbs-in-the-passe-compose-conversational-past

Hope this helps!

Hi Bibian,

No, you won't use the article in French with jobs as explained in the following lesson:

https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/revision/grammar/dont-use-indefinite-articles-with-professions

unless you add an adjective', 

Anthony est un excellent boulanger .

Hope this helps!

Hi Walker,

The addition of 'bien' intensifies the fun element , the difference between a good time and a great time.

Hope this helps!

Bonjour Bill,

There is agreement with reflexive verbs only when the reflexive pronoun is the direct object.

Nous nous sommes lavés. - We washed up. The reflexive pronoun nous is the direct object: we washed ourselves -  the people doing the washing and being washed are the same.

But in nous nous sommes brossé les cheveux, the reflexive pronoun is actually the indirect object, because the direct object is les cheveux. While not grammatical, you can get a better sense of this by rewording the sentence: Nous sommes brossé les cheveux à nous. Since the direct object does not precede the verb, there is no agreement.

As this is a very tricky grammar point, Aurélie is going to address it in detail, either in this lesson or a separate one, but in the meantime you might find section 3 of this lesson helpful: Agreement with pronominal verbs

Hi Gabrielle,

The agreement of past participles in the case of reflexive verbs is most interesting.

As they use the auxilliary verb 'être' in the perfect tense, they normally agree just as adjectives in gender and number.

This is always true of simple intransitive verbs like se coucher, s'appeler, se réveiller, s'arrêter, which don't have an object.

In the case of verbs like 'se casser.... quelque chose', 'se brosser...quelque chose', 'se laver ...quelque chose' etc. which in English translate literally and oddly to break /brush/wash (yourself ) something which clearly have an object  then we apply the agreement rules of verbs using 'avoir' in the perfect tense, and the past participle will agree only if the object precedes the verb.

Here are a few examples which might help to illustrate the point:

Ils se sont lavé les mains,( They washed their hands) but ils se sont lavés à l'eau froide (They washed  in cold water).

Elle s'est cassé une jambe (She broke a leg) but La jambe qu'elle s'est cassée aura du mal à guérir (The leg she broke will not heal well).

Elles se sont préparé une soupe (They have made (themselves) a soup) but la soupe qu'elles se sont préparée est délicieuse (The soup they made is delicious).

Nous nous sommes acheté une maison (We bought ourselves a house) but La maison que nous nous sommes achetée n'a pas de dépendances (The house we bought has no outbuildings)

Hope this helps!

:-)

Hi Katie, 

The French love using reflexive verbs and we are much more likely to say -

Je vais me préparer une bonne soupe 

than 

Je vais préparer une bonne soupe

Bonne continuation!

Bonjour Lynn !

Yes, and here's why:

- Il est mort = he died 
Here it's Le Passé Composé of mourir, which is one of verbs that take être as an auxiliary.

- Il est mort = he is dead
Here it's simply Le Présent of être (to be) + the adjective (derived from the past participle of mourir) mort.

I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !

Bonjour Arash ! Oui absolument ! Indeed the object of the verb here would be "les bonnes résolutions" (what did you take? -resolutions), and this object is placed before the auxiliary "avoir" in the sentence, so "pris" needs to agree with the feminine plural word "résolutions" = "prises". Bonne journée !

Bonjour Jenny, When you say "J'y suis tombé(e)", you're saying "I fell (in) there". The adverbial pronoun "y" here is used to replace a place that could have been mentioned previously. I agree that out of context, it sounds a bit weird! If you meant "I fell", you could of course say "Je suis tombé(e)". In our lesson, we're using the example "J'y suis allé(e)" (I went there). In that case, you couldn't just say "Je suis allé(e)" (I went), as in French the verb "aller" always needs a mentioned location (i.e. to go where?). I hope that's helpful! Aurélie