Introduction

Admettre means “to admit”, and this page covers exactly one thing: admettre in the passé composé. The passé composé is the tense French speakers reach for when they talk about something that happened and is finished — yesterday, this morning, last week. On this page you will find the full passé composé table for admettre, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the imperfect, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about admettre in the passé composé. It is used every day in conversation, at work and at home. For example: “Il a admis l'erreur hier.” — “He has admitted the mistake yesterday.” Everything on this page uses the forms of admettre exactly as they are conjugated in the passé composé, so you can trust every form you see here.

Admettre in the Passé Composé (Present Perfect) — full table

Person Form
je ai admis
tu as admis
il/elle a admis
nous avons admis
vous avez admis
ils/elles ont admis
Gerund: en admettant · Past participle: admis
The gerund is en admettant, which you use after en to say what is happening at the same time as the main action: “En admettant, je commence la journée.” — “While admitting, I start the day.” The past participle is admis, which you use with avoir in the perfect tenses: ai admis is the present perfect, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the passé composé is only one part of how admettre is used.
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for admettre, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

How the passé composé of admettre is formed

The passé composé of admettre is formed with the present tense of avoir plus the past participle admis. The six forms are: j'ai admis, tu as admis, il a admis, nous avons admis, vous avez admis, ils ont admis. The participle never changes in this tense for admettre — it is admis for every person. admettre is irregular in present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative: those tenses do not follow the regular -re pattern, so learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. The other tenses follow the regular pattern. Because admettre takes avoir, the auxiliary is avoir in the present tense and the participle stays invariable here: ai admis, as admis, a admis all end in admis. Learn the auxiliary forms — ai, as, a, avons, avez, ont — once, and they work for every verb that takes avoir. The passé composé is the workhorse past tense of spoken French. It is the tense you will hear in conversation, in messages and in everyday stories, far more often than the passé simple, which belongs mainly to written and literary French. That is why this page exists on its own: the passé composé of admettre deserves a full page, not a footnote.

When to use the passé composé of admettre

The passé composé is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use admettre in the passé composé most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.

1. Completed past actions

The passé composé describes an action that happened and is finished. The action has a clear end, and the sentence looks back at it from now. Example: “J'ai admis l'erreur la semaine dernière.” — “I have admitted the mistake last week.”

2. The recent past

Use the passé composé for something that happened recently — this morning, yesterday, just now. It is the tense of news and updates. Example: “Tu as admis l'erreur ce matin.” — “You have admitted the mistake this morning.”

3. Life experience

Use the passé composé to talk about what you have done in your life, with or without a time expression. It is the tense of experience, not of habit. Example: “Il a admis l'erreur avant la fête.” — “He has admitted the mistake before the party.”

4. A sequence of past events

When you tell a story as a chain of finished events — first this happened, then that happened — each link in the chain takes the passé composé. Example: “Nous avons admis l'erreur.” — “We have admitted the mistake.”

5. With time expressions

Time expressions such as hier, ce matin, la semaine dernière and l’année dernière point to the passé composé. Those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense. Example: “Vous avez admis l'erreur hier.” — “You have admitted the mistake yesterday.”

Passé Composé vs Imperfect: how to choose

The closest tense to the passé composé is the imperfect, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the passé composé describes one finished action in the past, while the imperfect describes an ongoing or habitual past action, or the background of a story. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is the time frame — and with it, the tense. Notice how the passé composé sentences use words such as hier or soudain, while the imperfect sentences use tous les jours or avant. Those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.

  • Passé Composé: “Il a admis l'erreur la semaine dernière.” — “He has admitted the mistake last week.”
  • Imperfect: “Il admettait l'erreur à la maison.” — “He used to admit the mistake at home.”
  • The passé composé sentence is one finished event; the imperfect sentence is a habit or a background state. Hier points to the passé composé, tous les jours in the past points to the imperfect.
  • Passé Composé: “J'ai admis l'erreur ce matin.” — “I have admitted the mistake this morning.”
  • Imperfect: “J'admettais l'erreur ce matin.” — “I used to admit the mistake this morning.”
  • The passé composé sentence is one finished event; the imperfect sentence is a habit or a background state. Hier points to the passé composé, tous les jours in the past points to the imperfect.
  • Passé Composé: “Tu as admis l'erreur avant la fête.” — “You have admitted the mistake before the party.”
  • Imperfect: “Tu admettais l'erreur avec Paul.” — “You used to admit the mistake with Paul.”
  • The passé composé sentence is one finished event; the imperfect sentence is a habit or a background state. Hier points to the passé composé, tous les jours in the past points to the imperfect.

Example sentences: admettre in the passé composé

Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions and the objects — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.

  1. “J'ai admis l'erreur la semaine dernière.” — “I have admitted the mistake last week.”
  2. “Tu as admis l'erreur ce matin.” — “You have admitted the mistake this morning.”
  3. “Il a admis l'erreur avant la fête.” — “He has admitted the mistake before the party.”
  4. “Nous avons admis l'erreur.” — “We have admitted the mistake.”
  5. “Vous avez admis l'erreur hier.” — “You have admitted the mistake yesterday.”
  6. “Ils ont admis l'erreur la semaine dernière.” — “They have admitted the mistake last week.”
  7. “J'ai admis l'erreur hier.” — “I have admitted the mistake yesterday.”
  8. “Il a admis l'erreur avant la fête.” — “He has admitted the mistake before the party.”

Common mistakes

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.

  • Wrong: “Je as admis l'erreur.” Right: “J'ai admis l'erreur hier.” Why: The je form is ai admis, not as admis. as admis is the tu form. Mixing the two persons is the most common error with this verb.
  • Wrong: “Nous ai admis l'erreur.” Right: “Nous avons admis l'erreur hier.” Why: Nous needs the nous form avons admis. ai admis belongs with je only. Learn the six forms as two groups — singular and plural — and the pattern becomes automatic.
  • Wrong: “J'ai admis l'erreur tous les jours.” Right: “J'admets l'erreur tous les jours.” Why: Tous les jours describes a routine, so the passé composé is wrong here. Use the present admets for something that happens every day.
  • Wrong: “Je admettre l'erreur.” Right: “J'ai admis l'erreur hier.” Why: The infinitive admettre never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated form ai admis.

Quiz: test yourself

Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.

  1. What is the je form of admettre in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) as admis
    • B) ai admis
    • C) admette
    • D) a admis

  2. What is the tu form of admettre in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) as admis
    • B) ont admis
    • C) admettais
    • D) admis

  3. What is the il/elle form of admettre in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) a admis
    • B) admettra
    • C) admettait
    • D) admettrait

  4. What is the nous form of admettre in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) admettrons
    • B) admettions
    • C) admettons
    • D) avons admis

  5. What is the vous form of admettre in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) admissiez
    • B) avez admis
    • C) ai admis
    • D) ont admis

  6. What is the ils/elles form of admettre in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) ai admis
    • B) ont admis
    • C) admissent
    • D) as admis

  7. What is the je form of admettre in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) as admis
    • B) a admis
    • C) admette
    • D) ai admis

  8. What is the tu form of admettre in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) admettes
    • B) ont admis
    • C) as admis
    • D) avais admis

Answer key

  1. B) ai admis — the je form of admettre in the present perfect (passé composé) is ai admis. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
  2. A) as admis — the tu form of admettre in the present perfect (passé composé) is as admis. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
  3. A) a admis — the il/elle form of admettre in the present perfect (passé composé) is a admis. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
  4. D) avons admis — the nous form of admettre in the present perfect (passé composé) is avons admis. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
  5. B) avez admis — the vous form of admettre in the present perfect (passé composé) is avez admis. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
  6. B) ont admis — the ils/elles form of admettre in the present perfect (passé composé) is ont admis. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
  7. D) ai admis — the je form of admettre in the present perfect (passé composé) is ai admis. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
  8. C) as admis — the tu form of admettre in the present perfect (passé composé) is as admis. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.

Frequently asked questions

What does admettre mean in English?

admettre means “to admit”. It is a non-reflexive, irregular verb.

How is the passé composé of admettre formed?

The passé composé is formed with the present tense of avoir plus the past participle admis: j'ai admis, tu as admis, il a admis, nous avons admis, vous avez admis, ils ont admis.

When do I use the passé composé instead of the imperfect?

Use the passé composé for one finished action in the past. Use the imperfect for an ongoing or habitual past action, or for background description. Hier points to the passé composé; tous les jours in the past points to the imperfect.

What are the gerund and past participle of admettre?

The gerund is en admettant and the past participle is admis.

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