Partir in the Passé composé Tense in French

Introduction

Partir means “to leave”, and this page covers exactly one thing: partir 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 partir, 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 partir in the passé composé. For example: “Je suis parti pour Paris demain cette semaine.” — “I have left for Paris tomorrow this week.” Everything on this page uses the forms of partir exactly as they are conjugated in the passé composé, so you can trust every form you see here.

Partir in the Passé composé Tense — full table

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

Gerund: partant · Past participle: parti

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

How the passé composé of partir is formed

The passé composé of partir is formed with the auxiliary être in the present plus the past participle parti: 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 parti and the ils form is sont parti. The participle parti 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 partir 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 parti.

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

When to use the passé composé of partir

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

1. Leaving for Paris tomorrow — finished

When the action of leaving for Paris tomorrow is finished, the passé composé is the tense to use. It presents the action as complete, with a clear end. Example: “Je suis parti pour Paris demain cette semaine.” — “I have left for Paris tomorrow this week.”

2. Leaving at eight in the morning — finished

The same rule applies to leaving at eight in the morning: once the action is done, the passé composé reports it as a completed fact. Example: “Tu es parti à huit heures du matin cette semaine.” — “You have left at eight in the morning this week.”

3. Leaving on holiday in July — finished

A third everyday situation is leaving on holiday in July, and again the passé composé is right when the action is finished. Example: “Il est parti en vacances en juillet cette semaine.” — “He has left on holiday in July 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 parti pour Paris demain cette semaine.” — “We have left for Paris tomorrow 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 parti à huit heures du matin cette semaine.” — “You have left at eight in the morning 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 parti pour Paris demain cette semaine.” — “I have left for Paris tomorrow this week.”

  • Imperfect: “Je partais pour Paris demain autrefois.” — “I used to leave for Paris tomorrow 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 parti à huit heures du matin cette semaine.” — “You have left at eight in the morning this week.”

  • Imperfect: “Tu partais à huit heures du matin autrefois.” — “You used to leave at eight in the morning 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 parti en vacances en juillet cette semaine.” — “We have left on holiday in July this week.”

  • Imperfect: “Nous partions en vacances en juillet autrefois.” — “We used to leave on holiday in July 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: partir 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 parti à huit heures du matin cette semaine.” — “I have left at eight in the morning this week.”

  2. “Tu es parti en vacances en juillet cette semaine.” — “You have left on holiday in July this week.”

  3. “Il est parti pour Paris demain cette semaine.” — “He has left for Paris tomorrow this week.”

  4. “Nous sommes parti à huit heures du matin cette semaine.” — “We have left at eight in the morning this week.”

  5. “Vous êtes parti en vacances en juillet cette semaine.” — “You have left on holiday in July this week.”

  6. “Ils sont parti pour Paris demain cette semaine.” — “They have left for Paris tomorrow this week.”

  7. “Je suis parti à huit heures du matin cette semaine.” — “I have left at eight in the morning this week.”

  8. “Tu es parti en vacances en juillet cette semaine.” — “You have left on holiday in July this week.”

Common mistakes with partir 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 pars pour Paris demain hier.” Right: “Je suis parti pour Paris demain hier.” Why: For one finished action yesterday, use the passé composé suis parti, not the present pars. The time word hier points to the past.

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

  • Wrong: “Je être pour Paris demain.” — leaving out the participle Right: “Je suis parti pour Paris demain.” Why: The passé composé needs both parts: the auxiliary être and the participle parti. The auxiliary alone is not a complete passé composé.

  • Wrong: “Je partais pour Paris demain hier.” (said of one finished action) Right: “Je suis parti pour Paris demain hier.” Why: The imperfect partais describes an ongoing past situation. For one finished action yesterday, use the passé composé suis parti.

Quiz: partir 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 ______ à huit heures du matin.”

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

2. Complete the sentence: “Tu ______ en vacances en juillet.”

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

3. Complete the sentence: “Il ______ pour Paris demain.”

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

4. Complete the sentence: “Nous ______ à huit heures du matin.”

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

5. Complete the sentence: “Vous ______ en vacances en juillet.”

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

6. Complete the sentence: “Ils ______ pour Paris demain.”

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

7. What does partir mean in English?

  • (A) to leave
  • (B) to play
  • (C) to know (a person)
  • (D) to become

8. What is the past participle of partir?

  • (A) parti
  • (B) joué
  • (C) connu
  • (D) devenu

Answer key

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

Frequently asked questions

How is the passé composé of partir formed?

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

When do I use the passé composé of partir?

Use the passé composé for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French — for example, “Je suis parti pour Paris demain cette semaine.” — “I have left for Paris tomorrow 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 partir?

The passé composé reports one finished action; the imperfect describes background, habit or an action in progress in the past. Compare “Je suis parti pour Paris demain cette semaine.” with “Je partais pour Paris demain 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 partir, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Related pages