Introduction

Appartenir means “to belong to”, and this page covers exactly one thing: appartenir 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 appartenir, 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 appartenir in the passé composé. It is used every day in conversation, at work and at home. For example: “Il a appartenu à Marie hier.” — “He has belonged to Marie yesterday.” Everything on this page uses the forms of appartenir exactly as they are conjugated in the passé composé, so you can trust every form you see here.

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

Person Form
je ai appartenu
tu as appartenu
il/elle a appartenu
nous avons appartenu
vous avez appartenu
ils/elles ont appartenu
Gerund: en appartenant · Past participle: appartenu
The gerund is en appartenant, which you use after en to say what is happening at the same time as the main action: “En appartenant, je commence la journée.” — “While belonging, I start the day.” The past participle is appartenu, which you use with avoir in the perfect tenses: ai appartenu 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 appartenir is used.
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for appartenir, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

How the passé composé of appartenir is formed

The passé composé of appartenir is formed with the present tense of avoir plus the past participle appartenu. The six forms are: j'ai appartenu, tu as appartenu, il a appartenu, nous avons appartenu, vous avez appartenu, ils ont appartenu. The participle never changes in this tense for appartenir — it is appartenu for every person. appartenir is irregular in present, passe-simple, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative: those tenses do not follow the regular -ir pattern, so learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. The other tenses follow the regular pattern. Because appartenir takes avoir, the auxiliary is avoir in the present tense and the participle stays invariable here: ai appartenu, as appartenu, a appartenu all end in appartenu. 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 appartenir deserves a full page, not a footnote.

When to use the passé composé of appartenir

The passé composé is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use appartenir 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 appartenu à Marie la semaine dernière.” — “I have belonged to Marie 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 appartenu à Marie ce matin.” — “You have belonged to Marie 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 appartenu à Marie avant la fête.” — “He has belonged to Marie 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 appartenu à Marie.” — “We have belonged to Marie.”

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 appartenu à Marie hier.” — “You have belonged to Marie 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 appartenu à Marie la semaine dernière.” — “He has belonged to Marie last week.”
  • Imperfect: “Il appartenait à Marie à la maison.” — “He used to belong to Marie 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 appartenu à Marie ce matin.” — “I have belonged to Marie this morning.”
  • Imperfect: “J'appartenais à Marie ce matin.” — “I used to belong to Marie 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 appartenu à Marie avant la fête.” — “You have belonged to Marie before the party.”
  • Imperfect: “Tu appartenais à Marie avec Paul.” — “You used to belong to Marie 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: appartenir 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 appartenu à Marie la semaine dernière.” — “I have belonged to Marie last week.”
  2. “Tu as appartenu à Marie ce matin.” — “You have belonged to Marie this morning.”
  3. “Il a appartenu à Marie avant la fête.” — “He has belonged to Marie before the party.”
  4. “Nous avons appartenu à Marie.” — “We have belonged to Marie.”
  5. “Vous avez appartenu à Marie hier.” — “You have belonged to Marie yesterday.”
  6. “Ils ont appartenu à Marie la semaine dernière.” — “They have belonged to Marie last week.”
  7. “J'ai appartenu à Marie hier.” — “I have belonged to Marie yesterday.”
  8. “Il a appartenu à Marie avant la fête.” — “He has belonged to Marie 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 appartenu à Marie.” Right: “J'ai appartenu à Marie hier.” Why: The je form is ai appartenu, not as appartenu. as appartenu is the tu form. Mixing the two persons is the most common error with this verb.
  • Wrong: “Nous ai appartenu à Marie.” Right: “Nous avons appartenu à Marie hier.” Why: Nous needs the nous form avons appartenu. ai appartenu belongs with je only. Learn the six forms as two groups — singular and plural — and the pattern becomes automatic.
  • Wrong: “J'ai appartenu à Marie tous les jours.” Right: “J'appartiens à Marie tous les jours.” Why: Tous les jours describes a routine, so the passé composé is wrong here. Use the present appartiens for something that happens every day.
  • Wrong: “Je appartenir à Marie.” Right: “J'ai appartenu à Marie hier.” Why: The infinitive appartenir never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated form ai appartenu.

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 appartenir in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) appartiendrai
    • B) appartinsse
    • C) ont appartenu
    • D) ai appartenu

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

    • A) appartiendrais
    • B) as appartenu
    • C) appartenais
    • D) ai appartenu

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

    • A) a appartenu
    • B) appartiendra
    • C) ont appartenu
    • D) appartienne

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

    • A) ai appartenu
    • B) appartenions
    • C) avons appartenu
    • D) appartinssions

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

    • A) appartîntes
    • B) a appartenu
    • C) avons appartenu
    • D) avez appartenu

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

    • A) ont appartenu
    • B) a appartenu
    • C) appartiendraient
    • D) auraient appartenu

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

    • A) appartienne
    • B) ai appartenu
    • C) appartiens
    • D) aurais appartenu

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

    • A) ai appartenu
    • B) as appartenu
    • C) appartiendras
    • D) appartiens

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does appartenir mean in English?

appartenir means “to belong to”. It is a non-reflexive, irregular verb.

How is the passé composé of appartenir formed?

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

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 appartenir?

The gerund is en appartenant and the past participle is appartenu.

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