Être in the Passé composé Tense in French

Introduction

Être means “to be”, and this page covers exactly one thing: être 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 être, 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 être in the passé composé. For example: “J'ai été professeur à Paris cette semaine.” — “I have been a teacher in Paris this week.” Everything on this page uses the forms of être exactly as they are conjugated in the passé composé, so you can trust every form you see here.

Être in the Passé composé Tense — full table

Person Form
je ai été
tu as été
il/elle a été
nous avons été
vous avez été
ils/elles ont été

Gerund: étant · Past participle: été

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

How the passé composé of être is formed

The passé composé of être is formed with the auxiliary avoir in the present plus the past participle été: the auxiliary forms are je ai, tu as, il/elle a, nous avons, vous avez, ils/elles ont. Put the two parts together and you get the table above — for example, the je form is ai été and the ils form is ont été. The participle été 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 être takes avoir as its auxiliary, the passé composé is built the same way as for most French verbs: avoir in the present, then été. That is the first thing to check whenever you build a perfect tense with this verb: reach for avoir, and then add été.

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

When to use the passé composé of être

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

1. Being a teacher in Paris — finished

When the action of being a teacher in Paris is finished, the passé composé is the tense to use. It presents the action as complete, with a clear end. Example: “J'ai été professeur à Paris cette semaine.” — “I have been a teacher in Paris this week.”

2. Being tired today — finished

The same rule applies to being tired today: once the action is done, the passé composé reports it as a completed fact. Example: “Tu as été fatigué aujourd'hui cette semaine.” — “You have been tired today this week.”

3. Being at home this evening — finished

A third everyday situation is being at home this evening, and again the passé composé is right when the action is finished. Example: “Il a été à la maison ce soir cette semaine.” — “He has been at home this evening 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 avons été professeur à Paris cette semaine.” — “We have been a teacher in Paris 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 avez été fatigué aujourd'hui cette semaine.” — “You have been tired today 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: “J'ai été professeur à Paris cette semaine.” — “I have been a teacher in Paris this week.”

  • Imperfect: “J'étais professeur à Paris autrefois.” — “I used to be a teacher 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: “Tu as été fatigué aujourd'hui cette semaine.” — “You have been tired today this week.”

  • Imperfect: “Tu étais fatigué aujourd'hui autrefois.” — “You used to be tired today 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 avons été à la maison ce soir cette semaine.” — “We have been at home this evening this week.”

  • Imperfect: “Nous étions à la maison ce soir autrefois.” — “We used to be at home this evening 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: être 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. “J'ai été fatigué aujourd'hui cette semaine.” — “I have been tired today this week.”

  2. “Tu as été à la maison ce soir cette semaine.” — “You have been at home this evening this week.”

  3. “Il a été professeur à Paris cette semaine.” — “He has been a teacher in Paris this week.”

  4. “Nous avons été fatigué aujourd'hui cette semaine.” — “We have been tired today this week.”

  5. “Vous avez été à la maison ce soir cette semaine.” — “You have been at home this evening this week.”

  6. “Ils ont été professeur à Paris cette semaine.” — “They have been a teacher in Paris this week.”

  7. “J'ai été fatigué aujourd'hui cette semaine.” — “I have been tired today this week.”

  8. “Tu as été à la maison ce soir cette semaine.” — “You have been at home this evening this week.”

Common mistakes with être 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 suis professeur à Paris hier.” Right: “Je ai été professeur à Paris hier.” Why: For one finished action yesterday, use the passé composé ai été, not the present suis. The time word hier points to the past.

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

  • Wrong: “Je avoir professeur à Paris.” — leaving out the participle Right: “Je ai été professeur à Paris.” Why: The passé composé needs both parts: the auxiliary avoir and the participle été. The auxiliary alone is not a complete passé composé.

  • Wrong: “Je étais professeur à Paris hier.” (said of one finished action) Right: “Je ai été professeur à Paris hier.” Why: The imperfect étais describes an ongoing past situation. For one finished action yesterday, use the passé composé ai été.

Quiz: être 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 ______ fatigué aujourd'hui.”

  • (A) ai été
  • (B) as été
  • (C) a été
  • (D) avons été

2. Complete the sentence: “Tu ______ à la maison ce soir.”

  • (A) a été
  • (B) avons été
  • (C) as été
  • (D) ai été

3. Complete the sentence: “Il ______ professeur à Paris.”

  • (A) avons été
  • (B) a été
  • (C) ai été
  • (D) as été

4. Complete the sentence: “Nous ______ fatigué aujourd'hui.”

  • (A) ai été
  • (B) as été
  • (C) a été
  • (D) avons été

5. Complete the sentence: “Vous ______ à la maison ce soir.”

  • (A) avez été
  • (B) ai été
  • (C) as été
  • (D) a été

6. Complete the sentence: “Ils ______ professeur à Paris.”

  • (A) a été
  • (B) ont été
  • (C) ai été
  • (D) as été

7. What does être mean in English?

  • (A) to go
  • (B) to do, to make
  • (C) to be
  • (D) to have

8. What is the past participle of être?

  • (A) allé
  • (B) fait
  • (C) été
  • (D) eu

Answer key

  1. A) ai été — The je form is ai été.
  2. C) as été — The tu form is as été.
  3. B) a été — The il/elle form is a été.
  4. D) avons été — The nous form is avons été.
  5. A) avez été — The vous form is avez été.
  6. B) ont été — The ils/elles form is ont été.
  7. C) to be — être means “to be”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
  8. C) été — The past participle of être is été; the passé composé is formed with avoir + été.

Frequently asked questions

How is the passé composé of être formed?

With the auxiliary avoir in the present plus the past participle été: je ai été, tu as été, il a été, nous avons été, vous avez été, ils ont été.

When do I use the passé composé of être?

Use the passé composé for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French — for example, “J'ai été professeur à Paris cette semaine.” — “I have been a teacher in Paris 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 être?

The passé composé reports one finished action; the imperfect describes background, habit or an action in progress in the past. Compare “J'ai été professeur à Paris cette semaine.” with “J'étais professeur à Paris 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 être, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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