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Conjugate apparaître in the compound past in French (Le Passé Composé)

Written by Qualified French Expert Aurélie Drouard HKH, Licence d'anglais LLCE
Last updated: 2024-07-21
46 questions

French verb apparaître is very unusual in Le Passé Composé (Indicatif), in that it can take either avoir or être as its auxiliary.

Soudain, le fantôme est apparu au plafond.Suddenly, the ghost appeared on the ceiling.

Soudain, le fantôme a apparu au plafond.Suddenly, the ghost appeared on the ceiling.

Conjugations of APPARAÎTRE (to appear) in Le Passé Composé (Indicatif) in French

j'/je

suis apparu(e)

ai apparu

tu

 es apparu(e)

as apparu

il / elle / on     

 est apparu(e)(s)

a apparu

nous

 sommes apparu(e)s

avons apparu  

vous

 êtes apparu(e)(s)

avez apparu

ils / elles

  sont apparu(e)s

ont apparu

To conjugate apparaître in Le Passé Composé (Indicatif), both auxiliaries avoir and être are perfectly valid and interchangeable while the meaning remains the same.
In terms of usage, être is used more often than avoir in colloquial speech.

Of course, the auxiliaries behave as usual, meaning that with être, you need to agree the past participle with the subject. With avoir, there is no agreement.

Here are some more examples:

Tu aurais vu sa tête quand je suis apparu devant lui !You should have seen his face when I appeared in front of him!

Tu as apparu comme un ange tombé du ciel.You appeared like an angel fallen from the sky.

Elle est apparue de nulle part !She appeared out of nowhere!

Elle a apparu de nulle part !She appeared out of nowhere!

Nous sommes apparus dans un nuage de fumée.We appeared in a cloud of smoke.

La porte s'est ouverte et vous avez apparu.The door opened and you appeared.

À ce moment-là, les étoiles sont apparues dans le ciel nocturne.At that moment, the stars appeared in the night sky.

À ce moment-là, les étoiles ont apparu dans le ciel nocturne.At that moment, the stars appeared in the night sky.

See also Conjugate paraître/connaître and derivatives (+ avoir) - except apparaître and naître - in the compound past in French (Le Passé Composé).

 

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Examples and resources

Soudain, le fantôme a apparu au plafond.Suddenly, the ghost appeared on the ceiling.
Soudain, le fantôme est apparu au plafond.Suddenly, the ghost appeared on the ceiling.
À ce moment-là, les étoiles sont apparues dans le ciel nocturne.At that moment, the stars appeared in the night sky.
À ce moment-là, les étoiles ont apparu dans le ciel nocturne.At that moment, the stars appeared in the night sky.
Tu as apparu comme un ange tombé du ciel.You appeared like an angel fallen from the sky.
Elle est apparue de nulle part !She appeared out of nowhere!
Elle a apparu de nulle part !She appeared out of nowhere!
Nous sommes apparus dans un nuage de fumée.We appeared in a cloud of smoke.
La porte s'est ouverte et vous avez apparu.The door opened and you appeared.
Tu aurais vu sa tête quand je suis apparu devant lui !You should have seen his face when I appeared in front of him!
Let me take a look at that...