Devenir in the Passé composé Tense in French

Introduction

Devenir means “to become”, and this page covers exactly one thing: devenir in the passé composé. The passé composé is the tense French speakers reach for when they talk about completed actions in the past — what happened yesterday, last week, or a moment ago. On this page you will find the full passé composé table for devenir, 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 devenir in the passé composé. For example: “Je suis devenu professeur un jour cette semaine.” — “I have become a teacher one day this week.” Everything on this page uses the forms of devenir exactly as they are conjugated in the passé composé, so you can trust every form you see here.

Devenir in the Passé composé Tense — full table

Person Form
je suis devenu
tu es devenu
il/elle est devenu
nous sommes devenu
vous êtes devenu
ils/elles sont devenu

Gerund: devenant · Past participle: devenu

The gerund is devenant, which you use after en for an action happening at the same time as another action. The past participle is devenu, which you use with être in the perfect tenses: the je form of the present perfect is suis devenu, 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 devenir is used.

How the passé composé of devenir is formed

The passé composé of devenir is formed with the auxiliary être in the present plus the past participle devenu: the auxiliary forms are je suis, tu es, il/elle est, nous sommes, vous êtes, ils/elles sont. Put the two parts together and you get the table above — for example, the je form is suis devenu and the ils form is sont devenu. The participle devenu never changes its spelling in this table: the verified dump gives the participle in the masculine singular form throughout, and agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence.

Because devenir takes être as its auxiliary, it belongs to the group of verbs of movement and change of state that form their perfect tenses with être. That is the first thing to check whenever you build a perfect tense with this verb: reach for être, not avoir, and then add devenu.

The same participle devenu appears in the pluperfect, the future perfect and the conditional perfect — only the auxiliary changes tense. Learn the pair “être + devenu” once and you have the key to all four perfect tenses of devenir.

When to use the passé composé of devenir

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

1. Becoming a teacher one day — finished

When the action of becoming a teacher one day is finished, the passé composé is the tense to use. It presents the action as complete, with a clear end. Example: “Je suis devenu professeur un jour cette semaine.” — “I have become a teacher one day this week.”

2. Becoming famous in Paris — finished

The same rule applies to becoming famous in Paris: once the action is done, the passé composé reports it as a completed fact. Example: “Tu es devenu célèbre à Paris cette semaine.” — “You have become famous in Paris this week.”

3. Becoming big and strong — finished

A third everyday situation is becoming big and strong, and again the passé composé is right when the action is finished. Example: “Il est devenu grand et fort cette semaine.” — “He has become big and strong this week.”

4. A sequence of completed actions

The passé composé is the tense of the story told step by step: first this happened, then that happened. When you tell someone what you did yesterday, you chain passé composé forms together, one per finished action. Example: “Nous sommes devenu professeur un jour cette semaine.” — “We have become a teacher one day this week.”

5. Recent past and life experience

The passé composé also covers the recent past and things that have happened at some point in your life. With time words such as hier, la semaine dernière or ce matin, the passé composé is the natural choice. Example: “Vous êtes devenu célèbre à Paris cette semaine.” — “You have become famous in Paris this week.”

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 imperfect describes an ongoing or habitual past action, while the passé composé describes one finished action. 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 tous les jours or hier, while the imperfect sentences use autrefois or quand. Those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense.

  • Passé composé: “Je suis devenu professeur un jour cette semaine.” — “I have become a teacher one day this week.”

  • Imperfect: “Je devenais professeur un jour autrefois.” — “I used to become a teacher one day in the past.”

  • The passé composé sentence is about the present moment or one finished action; the imperfect sentence is about the past as it used to be. That difference — now or finished versus ongoing in the past — is the whole decision.

  • Passé composé: “Tu es devenu célèbre à Paris cette semaine.” — “You have become famous in Paris this week.”

  • Imperfect: “Tu devenais célèbre à Paris autrefois.” — “You used to become famous in Paris in the past.”

  • The passé composé sentence is about the present moment or one finished action; the imperfect sentence is about the past as it used to be. That difference — now or finished versus ongoing in the past — is the whole decision.

  • Passé composé: “Nous sommes devenu grand et fort cette semaine.” — “We have become big and strong this week.”

  • Imperfect: “Nous devenions grand et fort autrefois.” — “We used to become big and strong in the past.”

  • The passé composé sentence is about the present moment or one finished action; the imperfect sentence is about the past as it used to be. That difference — now or finished versus ongoing in the past — is the whole decision.

Example sentences: devenir 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, the objects, the other words — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.

  1. “Je suis devenu célèbre à Paris cette semaine.” — “I have become famous in Paris this week.”

  2. “Tu es devenu grand et fort cette semaine.” — “You have become big and strong this week.”

  3. “Il est devenu professeur un jour cette semaine.” — “He has become a teacher one day this week.”

  4. “Nous sommes devenu célèbre à Paris cette semaine.” — “We have become famous in Paris this week.”

  5. “Vous êtes devenu grand et fort cette semaine.” — “You have become big and strong this week.”

  6. “Ils sont devenu professeur un jour cette semaine.” — “They have become a teacher one day this week.”

  7. “Je suis devenu célèbre à Paris cette semaine.” — “I have become famous in Paris this week.”

  8. “Tu es devenu grand et fort cette semaine.” — “You have become big and strong this week.”

Common mistakes with devenir in the passé composé

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 deviens professeur un jour hier.” Right: “Je suis devenu professeur un jour hier.” Why: For one finished action yesterday, use the passé composé suis devenu, not the present deviens. The time word hier points to the past.

  • Wrong: “Je suis devenu professeur un jour tous les jours.” (said of a daily habit) Right: “Je deviens professeur un jour tous les jours.” Why: The passé composé suis devenu describes one finished action. For something you do every day, use the present deviens.

  • Wrong: “Je être professeur un jour.” — leaving out the participle Right: “Je suis devenu professeur un jour.” Why: The passé composé needs both parts: the auxiliary être and the participle devenu. The auxiliary alone is not a complete passé composé.

  • Wrong: “Je devenais professeur un jour hier.” (said of one finished action) Right: “Je suis devenu professeur un jour hier.” Why: The imperfect devenais describes an ongoing past situation. For one finished action yesterday, use the passé composé suis devenu.

Quiz: devenir in the passé composé

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. Complete the sentence: “Je ______ célèbre à Paris.”

  • (A) sommes devenu
  • (B) suis devenu
  • (C) es devenu
  • (D) est devenu

2. Complete the sentence: “Tu ______ grand et fort.”

  • (A) sommes devenu
  • (B) es devenu
  • (C) suis devenu
  • (D) est devenu

3. Complete the sentence: “Il ______ professeur un jour.”

  • (A) sommes devenu
  • (B) est devenu
  • (C) suis devenu
  • (D) es devenu

4. Complete the sentence: “Nous ______ célèbre à Paris.”

  • (A) est devenu
  • (B) sommes devenu
  • (C) suis devenu
  • (D) es devenu

5. Complete the sentence: “Vous ______ grand et fort.”

  • (A) suis devenu
  • (B) es devenu
  • (C) est devenu
  • (D) êtes devenu

6. Complete the sentence: “Ils ______ professeur un jour.”

  • (A) est devenu
  • (B) sont devenu
  • (C) suis devenu
  • (D) es devenu

7. What does devenir mean in English?

  • (A) to write
  • (B) to read
  • (C) to become
  • (D) to come back

8. What is the past participle of devenir?

  • (A) lu
  • (B) devenu
  • (C) revenu
  • (D) écrit

Answer key

  1. B) suis devenu — The je form is suis devenu.
  2. B) es devenu — The tu form is es devenu.
  3. B) est devenu — The il/elle form is est devenu.
  4. B) sommes devenu — The nous form is sommes devenu.
  5. D) êtes devenu — The vous form is êtes devenu.
  6. B) sont devenu — The ils/elles form is sont devenu.
  7. C) to become — devenir means “to become”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
  8. B) devenu — The past participle of devenir is devenu; the passé composé is formed with être + devenu.

Frequently asked questions

How is the passé composé of devenir formed?

With the auxiliary être in the present plus the past participle devenu: je suis devenu, tu es devenu, il est devenu, nous sommes devenu, vous êtes devenu, ils sont devenu.

When do I use the passé composé of devenir?

Use the passé composé for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French — for example, “Je suis devenu professeur un jour cette semaine.” — “I have become a teacher one day this week.” For an ongoing or habitual past action, use the imperfect instead.

What is the difference between the passé composé and the imperfect of devenir?

The passé composé reports one finished action; the imperfect describes background, habit or an action in progress in the past. Compare “Je suis devenu professeur un jour cette semaine.” with “Je devenais professeur un jour autrefois.” — the first is finished, the second is ongoing in the past.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for devenir, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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