Introduction

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

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

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

How the passé composé of convaincre is formed

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

When to use the passé composé of convaincre

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

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 convaincre in the Present perfect (passé composé)?

    • A) ai convaincu
    • B) avais convaincu
    • C) aurais convaincu
    • D) aurai convaincu

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

    • A) as convaincu
    • B) a convaincu
    • C) convainquais
    • D) convainquisses

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

    • A) avait convaincu
    • B) convainque
    • C) avons convaincu
    • D) a convaincu

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

    • A) ai convaincu
    • B) avons convaincu
    • C) ont convaincu
    • D) a convaincu

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

    • A) convainquîtes
    • B) convainquez
    • C) ai convaincu
    • D) avez convaincu

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

    • A) convaincraient
    • B) convainquissent
    • C) ont convaincu
    • D) auraient convaincu

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

    • A) aurais convaincu
    • B) convainque
    • C) ont convaincu
    • D) ai convaincu

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

    • A) as convaincu
    • B) convainquais
    • C) ai convaincu
    • D) avons convaincu

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

What does convaincre mean in English?

convaincre means “to convince”. It is a non-reflexive, irregular verb.

How is the passé composé of convaincre formed?

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

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 convaincre?

The gerund is en convainquant and the past participle is convaincu.

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