In this sentence "Nous sommes décidés" is passé composé right?
If so, why do we use this combination of être and décider?
I don't understand how we can just use être and passé composé like this.
Look at these examples:
Ils aiment leurs parents.
They love their parents.
Nous promenons notre chien.
We walk our dog.
Vous faites vos devoirs.
You do your homework.
Pouvez-vous apporter vos chaussures, s'il-vous-plaît?
Can you bring your shoes please?
Notice that to express our, your and their, you use the possessive adjectives notre/nos, votre/vos, leur/leurs, as following:
| Singular | Plural | |
| our | notre |
nos |
| your (vous) | votre |
vos |
| their | leur |
leurs |
Note the similarity of the forms.
IMPORTANT: The first letter is determined by the owner (n =our; v =your, l =their) etc. but the rest of the adjective is related to the number of the thing that is possessed.
More Possessive Adjectives
Mon, ma, mes; ton, ta, tes; son, sa, ses = my; your; his / her (possessive adjectives)
and also the more advanced
Common mistakes with mon/ma/mes, ton/ta/tes and son/sa/ses (possessive adjectives)
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
Nous promenons notre chien.
We walk our dog.
Pouvez-vous apporter vos chaussures, s'il-vous-plaît?
Can you bring your shoes please?
Vous faites vos devoirs.
You do your homework.
Vive le vent, vive le vent,
Vive le vent d'hiver,
Qui rapporte aux vieux enfants,
Leurs souvenirs d'hier, oh !
Long live the wind, long live the wind,
Long live the winter wind,
Which brings to old kids,
Their memories of yesterday, oh!
Nous avons nos passeports.
We have our passports.
Ils aiment leurs parents.
They love their parents.
Vous avez passé votre examen.
You took your exam.
Q&A Forum 7 questions, 14 answers
SamKwiziq community member
Why use passé compose and être here?
Nous sommes décidés à tenir nos bonnes résolutions
Asked 3 weeks ago
It is the present tense, but it's not the passive voice - in this case décidés is an adjective, it means "determined".
Chris Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Yes, Alan is correct: of course it isn't passive voice (I edited my response accordingly.)
Sam asked:View original
Why use passé compose and être here?
Nous sommes décidés à tenir nos bonnes résolutions
In this sentence "Nous sommes décidés" is passé composé right?
If so, why do we use this combination of être and décider?
I don't understand how we can just use être and passé composé like this.
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Hi Helen,
Normally a collective noun is treated as singular in grammatical terms so you will say -
La police arrive avec ses renforts .
L'équipe a partagé son expérience avec nous.
La famille a dû attendre trois heures avant d'embarquer.
Hope this helps!
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OkezieKwiziq community member
Vous avez passé votre examen
"Vous avez passé votre examen" according to google translate (and my intiution) means Vous avez passé votre examen.
But here it says: "You took your exam".
Asked 10 months ago
Yes. Strictly speaking,
Vous avez passé votre examen means you took the exam, and
Vous avez eu votre examen is you passed it.
In practice, and according to two native speakers I am in touch with, that distinction is lost in practice.
CarlKwiziq community member
I am certain from several French teachers that "passer" is used to mean taking a test. I am told to pass a test in the English sense of pass is "reussir," to succeed. So the French equivalent of "You passed your test" is "Tu as reussi ton examen." (I can't type the accents on the e in reussir).
Okezie asked:View original
Vous avez passé votre examen
"Vous avez passé votre examen" according to google translate (and my intiution) means Vous avez passé votre examen.
But here it says: "You took your exam".
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LizbetyKwiziq community member
which possessive adjectives is suitable for singulier,plurier,femininmet masculin
Asked 1 year ago
Chris Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Here is the lesson for singular possessive pronouns: Mon, ma, mes; ton, ta, tes; son, sa, ses = my; your; his / her (possessive adjectives)
Lizbety asked:View original
which possessive adjectives is suitable for singulier,plurier,femininmet masculin
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AnnieKwiziq community member
Definite articles for parts of the body
Having read the lesson about using the definite article when referring to parts of the body, why does the idiom for "taking to one's heels" translate as "nous avons pris nos jambes à notre cou"? as in the practice lesson "la main dans le sac" posted on Facebook recently.
Asked 2 years ago
GruffKwiziq team member
Hi Annie - when referring to a person's own body parts in French, you would usually use the definite article but there are some exceptions: Using mon, ma, mes, etc with parts of the body (possessive adjectives)">Using mon, ma, mes, etc with parts of the body (possessive adjectives)">Using mon, ma, mes, etc with parts of the body (possessive adjectives)">Using mon, ma, mes, etc with parts of the body (possessive adjectives)
Hope that helps!
Hope that helps!
Annie asked:View original
Definite articles for parts of the body
Having read the lesson about using the definite article when referring to parts of the body, why does the idiom for "taking to one's heels" translate as "nous avons pris nos jambes à notre cou"? as in the practice lesson "la main dans le sac" posted on Facebook recently.
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Susan Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Is there a liaison, pronouncing, "ils aiment leurs parents?"
Asked 3 years ago
AurélieKwiziq team member
Bonjour Susan !
Yes, there is one liaison between "ils" and "aiment", as such: [illzM] :)
I hope that's helpful!
Susan Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
It is - and it leads to another question: are there rules or conventions? I notice differences sometimes between Kwiziq voice files and those on the videos.
AurélieKwiziq team member
Yes, we're trying really hard for our audio files pronunciation to be accurate, but sometimes it's not so.
Please let me know whenever you encounter an audio file which seems to miss liaisons etc, as we're aiming to make them as accurate as possible :)
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SueKwiziq community member
So one says
Elle aime ses parents.
Ils aiment leurs parents
Ils aiment leur père.
Asked 3 years ago
Sue asked:View original
So one says
Elle aime ses parents.
Ils aiment leurs parents
Ils aiment leur père.
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