Introduction

Construire means “to build”, and this page covers exactly one thing: construire 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 construire, 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 construire in the passé composé. It is used every day in conversation, at work and at home. For example: “Il a construit la maison hier.” — “He has built the house yesterday.” Everything on this page uses the forms of construire exactly as they are conjugated in the passé composé, so you can trust every form you see here.

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

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

How the passé composé of construire is formed

The passé composé of construire is formed with the present tense of avoir plus the past participle construit. The six forms are: j'ai construit, tu as construit, il a construit, nous avons construit, vous avez construit, ils ont construit. The participle never changes in this tense for construire — it is construit for every person. construire 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 construire takes avoir, the auxiliary is avoir in the present tense and the participle stays invariable here: ai construit, as construit, a construit all end in construit. 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 construire deserves a full page, not a footnote.

When to use the passé composé of construire

The passé composé is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use construire 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 construit la maison la semaine dernière.” — “I have built the house 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 construit la maison ce matin.” — “You have built the house 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 construit la maison avant la fête.” — “He has built the house 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 construit la maison.” — “We have built the house.”

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

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 construire in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) ai construit
    • B) ont construit
    • C) construisisse
    • D) avons construit

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

    • A) as construit
    • B) construisais
    • C) construisisses
    • D) ont construit

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

    • A) construit
    • B) a construit
    • C) construisit
    • D) avons construit

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

    • A) avons construit
    • B) a construit
    • C) aurons construit
    • D) aurions construit

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

    • A) a construit
    • B) avez construit
    • C) construisîtes
    • D) construiriez

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

    • A) ont construit
    • B) auront construit
    • C) avons construit
    • D) avaient construit

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

    • A) construisis
    • B) avez construit
    • C) ai construit
    • D) aurai construit

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

    • A) aurais construit
    • B) as construit
    • C) ai construit
    • D) construises

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does construire mean in English?

construire means “to build”. It is a non-reflexive, irregular verb.

How is the passé composé of construire formed?

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

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 construire?

The gerund is en construisant and the past participle is construit.

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