I need help with my French : )?

Question

Um... I don't get Passe Compose : (

All I know is that it has something to do with an acronym MRSVANDERTRAMP and the verb etre and avoir...

So..What is the passe compose of these verbs:

je decide...
nous restons...
nous commencons...
notre projet devient...
on vend...
nous gagnons...
les membres du club encouragment...


Thanks to all those who help!=D

Answer 1

The passé composé is basically formed by using the present tense of "avoir" (to have) (or "être" (to be) in the case of the MRSVANDERTRAMP verbs) and the past particple. So "I ate" is "je" + the 'je' form of 'avoir' + the p.p. of manger, which is mangé. Which when added together gives us "j'ai mangé". Now, when we use a MRSVANDERTRAMP verb such as "aller", we use the present tense of "être", and we get "je suis allé".

Oh! And if you use "être", you've got to add an extra é at the end of the past particple if the person is feminine, or an s if it's plural, or both if it's both.

The past participle is usually got by replacing the -er at theend of a verb with -é, or -ir with -i, or -re with -u. Some verbs misbehave however and don't do this. So while "vendre" behaves and becomes "vendu" (like the above rule said), "apprendre" instead becomes "appris".

So what's this MRSVANDERTRAMP business? Each letter in this acronym stans for a verb that uses être instead of avoir to form thre passé compose. I can't remember what weach letter stands for but I'll give it a go.

Mourir (to die)
Retourner (to return)
Sortir (to go out)
Venir (to come)
Aller (to go)
Naître (to be born)
Devenir (to become)
Entrer (to enter)
Rester (to stay)
Tomber (to fall)
Revenir (to come back)
Arriver (to arrive)
Monter (to climb)
Partir (to go away, to leave, to depart)

Right, that's as far as I got. But you'll notice that most of the verbs in the complete list are verbs that indicate changes on place (to go, to come) or state (to become, to be born, to die). German does something similar. English does in the verb "to go" - you can have either "I have gone" or "I am gone" - and back in Shakespeare's day there was the occasional "I am come" instead of "I have come".

I -> Je
am -> suis
gone -> allé


Anyway, here's your homework answered:

je decide... --> j'ai decidé
nous restons... nous sommes restés
nous commençons... ..> nous avons commencé
notre projet devient... --> notre projet est devenu
on vend... --> on a vendu
nous gagnons... --> nous avons gagné
les membres du club encouragment... --> les membres du club ont encouragmé (I don't recognise this verb at all, sorry!)

Answer 2

Hmmmm, is this for a homework?

je decide...
- j'ai décidé
nous restons...
- Nous sommes restés
nous commencons...
- Nous avons commencé
notre projet devient...
- Notre projet est devenu
on vend...
- On a vendu
nous gagnons...
- Nous avons gagné

les membres du club encouragent... (typo!)
- les membres du club ont encouragé

To me, the way to remember is that action verbs are usually with "avoir". State verbs are usually with "être".

Never heard of MRSVANDERTRAMP (because I learned French in a 100% French school), but I did a search and found it for you (see source below). Basically those are verbs that conjugate with être.

Answer 3

J'ai décidé
Nous sommes restés
Nous avons commencé
Notre projet est devenu
On a vendu
Nous avons gagné
Les membres du club ont encouragé (encourager=to encourage, to cheer on)

Dennis' and Derek's answers were pretty complete, just remember that the auxiliary ''avoir'' will only agree with the subject if the complement is placed BEFORE the auxiliary. The auxiliary ''être'' agrees ALL THE TIME.

Answer 4

Je decide===J'ai decide (accents over both e)

sorry English key board

nous restons=== nous sommes restes(accent over 2nd e)

nous commencons===nous avons commence (accent over last e)

notre projet devient=== notre projet est devenue

(on vend===this should be .. nous vendrions )===nous aurions vendu

nous gagnons===nous avons gagne.. (accent last e)

les membres du club encouragment??
Should this not read.. Les membres du club encourageons?
Then it would be===Les membres du club nous avons encourage (accent on the last e)

Hope this helps......sorry about the accents..

Answer 5

J'ai decidé, nous avons resté, nous avons commencé, notre projet est devenu, on a vendu, nous avons gagné, les membres du club sont encouragé

Answer 6

lettuce = la salade milk = le lait ice cream = la glace bread = le discomfort banana = la banane orange = l'orange apple = le pomme carrot = le carrot cake = le gateau egg = l'oeuf cheese = le fromage ear = ? eye = ? purple = violet pink = rose orange = orange yellow = jaune black = noir pen = le stylo pencil = le crayon table = le bureau frog = ? horse = le cheveau gown = ? shirt = ? pants = pantalon headscarf = ? prepare = gare female = ? female = ? toddler = ? guy = ? Boy = le garcon plate = plat cup = le verre soz if incorrect spelling

Answer 7

Rester and devenir are two of the Vandertramp words, so use "etre" with them. Encourager is the verb, encouragement is a noun.

Answer 8

J'ai decid(e) with the Accent Grave over the E
Nous avons rest(e)
Nous avons commenc(e)

Nous avons gagn(e)

Answer 9

Uh, sorry. Thought you needed help with kissing.
I don't speak the language.