In the passé composé, every verb needs an auxiliary, être or avoir, and picking the wrong one is a classic learner mistake: j'ai allé instead of je suis allé. The good news is that the être list is short. Most verbs take avoir, so you only have to learn the exceptions.

Here is that list, the rule for pronominal verbs, the six verbs that switch to avoir when they take an object, and what the auxiliary changes in the spelling of the participle.

1. Être or avoir in the passé composé: avoir is the default

The vast majority of French verbs form the passé composé with avoir: j'ai mangé, tu as fini, elle a pris, nous avons vu. That includes être and avoir themselves (j'ai été, j'ai eu) and impersonal verbs like pleuvoir (il a plu).

So the useful question is never "does this verb take avoir?" but "is this verb on the être list?" If it is not, the answer is avoir.

2. The verbs that take être: DR MRS VANDERTRAMP

English-speaking teachers use the acronym DR MRS VANDERTRAMP, one letter per verb: devenir, revenir, monter, rester, sortir, venir, aller, naître, descendre, entrer, rentrer, tomber, retourner, arriver, mourir, partir. It is easier to remember them as pairs of opposites:

• aller and venir (with revenir and devenir)
• arriver and partir
• entrer and sortir (with rentrer)
• monter and descendre
• naître and mourir
• rester, tomber and retourner

Add passer, used without an object (je suis passé te voir), and you have the whole list. Most verbs built on them follow it: repartir, ressortir and parvenir take être too.

3. Passé composé with être: the pronominal verbs

Every pronominal verb takes être, whatever it means: je me suis levé, elle s'est souvenue, nous nous sommes trompés, ils se sont parlé. That covers verbs that only exist in the pronominal form (s'en aller, se souvenir, s'évanouir) and ordinary verbs used with a reflexive pronoun (laver, se laver).

The auxiliary is simple here. The agreement of the participle is not: in ils se sont parlé it does not agree, in elle s'est souvenue it does. The page on pronominal verbs and agreement sorts out the cases.

4. Être or avoir with sortir, monter and passer

Six verbs from the list switch to avoir when they have a direct object. Without an object they describe your own movement; with one, you are moving something else, or spending time.

Verb	With être, no object	With avoir, direct object
sortir	Elle est sortie à midi.	Elle a sorti la poubelle.
monter	Nous sommes montés au troisième.	Nous avons monté les valises.
descendre	Il est descendu du train.	Il a descendu l'escalier.
rentrer	Je suis rentré tard.	J'ai rentré le linge.
retourner	Elles sont retournées à Lyon.	Elles ont retourné la crêpe.
passer	Tu es passé chez moi.	Tu as passé une semaine à Rome.

5. What the auxiliary changes in the agreement

With être, the participle agrees with the subject, like an adjective: il est parti, elle est partie, ils sont partis, elles sont parties. The page on past participle agreement with être goes through every case.

With avoir, the participle never agrees with the subject. It only agrees with a direct object placed before the verb, which is why the switching verbs above change spelling depending on the auxiliary. The rule is detailed in past participle agreement with avoir.

Sentence	Auxiliary	The participle agrees with
Elles sont arrivées hier.	être	the subject, elles
Elle a monté les valises.	avoir	nothing: the object comes after
Les valises qu'elle a montées.	avoir	the object que (les valises), placed before
Elle s'est lavé les mains.	être	nothing: the direct object, les mains, comes after

6. Verbs that look like they should take être

The usual explanation, that être verbs express movement or a change of state, helps but has holes. Courir, marcher and voyager are movement and take avoir: j'ai couru, nous avons marché. Grandir and vieillir describe a change and take avoir as well: il a grandi.

Two pairs are worth learning on their own. Apparaître takes être (elle est apparue) while disparaître usually takes avoir (il a disparu). Revenir and devenir take être, but prévenir, built on the same verb, takes avoir: il m'a prévenu.

The habit to keep

Learn the être list, then treat every pronominal verb as part of it. Six verbs switch to avoir when an object follows; everything else takes avoir. Apostrophe· makes you write these sentences in dictation and explains the agreement each time you miss it.

Frequently asked questions

Is it j'ai allé or je suis allé?

Je suis allé. Aller is on the être list, so it never takes avoir in the passé composé. A woman writes je suis allée.

Does passer take être or avoir?

Both. Être when it means going by without an object: je suis passé chez toi. Avoir when it has a direct object, including an amount of time: j'ai passé une heure à attendre.

Do all pronominal verbs take être?

Yes, every one of them in the compound tenses: je me suis trompé, ils se sont écrit. What varies is the agreement of the participle, not the auxiliary.

Is disparaître conjugated with être or avoir?

With avoir in everyday French: il a disparu. Apparaître, its opposite, takes être: elle est apparue.

Which verbs take être in the passé composé?

The sixteen verbs of DR MRS VANDERTRAMP, passer when it has no object, and every pronominal verb. All other verbs take avoir.

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