French past participle agreement occurs when the past participle changes its form to match the gender and number of a particular noun in the sentence: usually the subject, but, in some cases, the direct object. The basic form of the past participle, without any special ending, expresses agreement with a masculine, singular noun, but to form agreement with feminine nouns, you’ll need to add an -e, and to form agreement with plurals, add an -s.
You’ve likely already encountered past participles when learning the compound tenses in French. Compound tenses are composed of an auxiliary verb, avoir meaning to have or être meaning to be. Each of these auxiliary verbs possesses its own rules governing how the past participle agreement works in the sentence:
When the auxiliary verb is être meaning to be, past participles agree in gender and number with the subject.
When the auxiliary verb is avoir, there is no agreement with the subject. Occasionally, avoir will require past participle agreement with the direct object, but typically you can expect there to be no past participle agreement with this auxiliary verb.
But there is more to agreement than just these two rules, and if you want to polish your French, this article is made for you! In this post, we’ll review agreement with avoir and with être, agreement with pronominal verbs, and tricky agreements.
Feeling curious? Read further!
What are the endings for French past participle agreement?
In French past participle agreement, the participle will take on different endings depending on the gender and number of the noun it agrees with. See the agreement endings in the chart below (hint: they’re similar to most adjectives!):
| Gender/Number | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
Masculine | –
| Add -s
|
Feminine | Add -e
| Add -s
|
The rules of agreement matter not only for writing, but also when speaking, as agreement will sometimes need to be pronounced because the spelling of the past participle has changed. (If you’re already an expert at French pronunciation, this will make sense!)
But remember that, though ending will always match the gender and number of the noun the participle agrees with, which noun you need to match and whether you need agreement at all will depend on other factors, such as whether the auxiliary verb used is avoir or être. Let’s talk about some specific cases!
When and how to use past participle agreement with ‘avoir’ and ‘être’?
The past participle will agree in gender and number with the subject with the auxiliary être, and there will be no agreement with the subject when conjugated with avoir. There are some exceptions, of course, so read further!
How to form agreement with auxiliary ‘avoir’ in French?
Most French verbs are conjugated with avoir in compound past tenses, and, as we have seen above, with this auxiliary verb there is no gender or number agreement with the subject.
However, this doesn’t mean that there is no need for any agreement with the auxiliary avoir. Occasionally there is agreement with the direct object and there are some other exceptional cases. Let’s look!
When does the direct object agree with the past participle with ‘avoir’?
If there is a direct object before the verb, the past participle generally agrees in gender and number with this direct object. Note the object will be followed by que meaning that, which, in French, is not optional.
When does the direct object NOT agree with the past participle with ‘avoir’?
A past participle with the auxiliary avoir will not agree with the direct object if the direct object does not come before the auxiliary verb. Furthermore, although the past participle usually agrees with a direct object before the verb, there are some exceptions. Here are a few cases where the past participle does not agree with a direct object that comes before auxiliary avoir:
The past participle remains invariable when used with the French pronoun en and the French pronoun dont.
Des crêpes, j’en ai beaucoup mangé.Translation: I’ve eaten a lot of pancakes.C’est la boîte dont elle a parlé.Translation: This is the box she mentioned.When the past participle is followed by an infinitive, the participle will only agree if the subject of the sentence is also the subject of the infinitive verb. Otherwise it will be invariable.
La joueuse que j’ai vue marquer était phénoménale.Translation: The player who I saw score was fantastic.C’est la commode que j’ai pensé peindre.Translation: This is the chest of drawers I thought I could paint.
How to form agreement with auxiliary ‘être’ in French?
When a verb is conjugated with the auxiliary être, the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject. Recall that some verbs of motion and all pronominal verbs are conjugated with this auxiliary. Here is a full list of the verbs conjugated with être.
Of course, there are a few exceptional rules when it comes to pronominal verbs and agreement. Keep reading, it’s getting even more interesting!
What are the rules of agreement with pronominal verbs in French?
Because pronominal verbs use the auxiliary verb être, most of the time the rules of agreement with the past participle will be the same as we saw above — there is gender and number agreement with the subject. Sometimes, however, the past participle will be invariable, depending on the type of French pronominal verb used. Let’s have a look at the different cases and exceptions!
How does agreement work with reflexive verbs?
In compound past tenses, the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject of a reflexive verb. Recall that a verb is reflexive when the action is done on/to oneself.
How does agreement work with reciprocal verbs?
The past participles of reciprocal verbs sometimes agree in gender and number with the subject and are sometimes invariable. There is only agreement if the verb is a transitive-direct verb (does not need a preposition before its object). In all other cases the participle will be invariable.
Transitive-direct verb → agreement
Voir meaning to see is a transitive-direct verb, which means the object is not introduced by a preposition.
Ils se sont vus.Translation: They saw each other.Transitive-indirect verb → no agreement
Sourire à meaning to smile at is a transitive-indirect verb, where the direct object is introduced by a preposition: à meaning at.
Ils se sont souri.Translation: They smiled at each other.
Here is another example!
With reflexive verbs, the preposition is contained in the reflexive pronoun, so you need to look at the non-reflexive form of the verb to see if the verb requires a preposition:
se rencontrer → rencontrer quelqu’un = transitive-direct verb → agreement!
se promettre → promettre à = transitive-indirect verb. → no agreement.
→ Check our list of transitive-indirect verbs in French!
How to form agreement with pronominal verbs followed by an infinitive?
When the verbs se faire meaning to have something done, se laisser meaning to let oneself, and se voir meaning to see oneself are followed by an infinitive, the subject and past participle will sometimes agree, but not always. Let’s look at the rules:
The verb se faire will always be invariable when followed by an infinitive.
Elles se sont fait avoir.Translation: They’ve been had.With se voir and se laisser, there is agreement only when the subject of the sentence is also the subject of the infinitive. Let’s look at some examples:
agreement
- subject of the infinitive
no agreement
- not the subject of the infinitive
se voirTranslation: to see oneselfElle s’est vue tomber.Translation: She saw herself fall.Elle s’est vu bousculer par un passant.Translation: She saw herself being run into by a passerby.se laisserTranslation: to let oneselfElle s’est laissée s’affaler sur le canapé.Translation: She let herself fall on the couch.Elle s’est laissé regarder.Translation: She let herself be watched.
What are the other tricky past participle agreements in French?
There are also some tricky cases with past participle agreement. Now that you’ve read up to here, hats off! You are a true francophile, but keep reading to improve your skills even more!Let’s now have a look at specific situations which are thorny — even for natives.
How does agreement work when past participles are used on their own?
When used without an auxiliary, a past participle always agrees in gender and number with whatever or whoever it refers to.
How to use ‘ci-joint’ (attached)?
The past participle ci-joint meaning attached follows a few special rules. Mastering this past participle is important if, like most people, you send a lot of emails, since the equivalent of “please find attached” in French is ci-joint. With this past participle, there are two options:
Ci-joint comes before what it refers to = invariable.
Veuillez trouver ci-joint les documents signés.Translation: Please find attached the signed documents.Ci-joint goes after what it refers to = agreement.
Veuillez trouver les documents signés ci-joints.Translation: Please find attached the signed documents.
How to form agreement with adverbs of quantity and percentage?
The agreement of a past participle with French adverbs of quantity and percentage can also be tricky. We are going to focus on situations when the past participle would normally require an agreement in gender and number either with the subject or a preceding object.
Adverbs of quantity
With adverbs of quantity such as beaucoup de meaning a lot of or peu de meaning few of, the past participle most commonly agrees in gender and number with the complement, namely whatever is being quantified or measured.
Peu de personnes seraient tombées malades.Translation: Few people would have become ill.Percentage
There are two options when using percentages: either the past participle agrees with the percentage/fraction or the complement of the percentage (the thing being quantified). You can choose whichever one you want!!
✅47% du personnel ont été licenciés.
✅47% du personnel a été licencié.Translation: Forty-seven percent of the staff was fired.
How to form past participle agreement with a collective noun?
Just like with percentages and fractions, the past participle agrees with either the collective noun or the complement (the thing being collected). As a reminder, collective nouns refer to a group of things like la plupart de meaning most of, l’ensemble de meaning the whole of, un grand nombre de.
✅La plupart des habitants sont restés dans le quartier.
In brief: 4 top tips on the agreement of the past participle in French
When forming past participle agreement in French, keep the following four tips in mind:
No agreement with the subject with avoir. But when the direct object comes before the verb, the past participle agrees in gender and number with it.
The past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject when a verb is conjugated with être.
The past participle of pronominal verbs is invariable when followed by an infinitive or a direct object.
The past participle commonly agrees in gender and number with the complement of a percentage, fraction, or collective noun.
You are all set! Now, you can read our top tips and practice how to form past participle agreements in French!
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