Naître Passé Composé Conjugation in French
The passé composé of naître — “to be born” — is the tense you need for finished actions in the past: what you did yesterday, what happened last week, what has just finished. It is formed with être in the present + the past participle né, so once you know the participle you can build every person. This page gives you the complete passé composé table for naître, how it is formed, when to use it, how it differs from the imperfect, the mistakes learners make with it, and a quiz to check yourself. The first example shows it in action: “Je suis né en France hier.” — “I was born in France yesterday.”
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for naître, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Passé Composé conjugation of naître
Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for naître. The passé composé is a compound tense: être in the present + the past participle né. The participle never changes in the table below — the tables give the masculine singular form, and agreement is explained in the formation section.
Present perfect (passé composé) — naître
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | suis né |
| tu | es né |
| il/elle | est né |
| nous | sommes né |
| vous | êtes né |
| ils/elles | sont né |
The gerund of naître is en naissant and the past participle is né. You need the participle for the perfect tenses and the gerund for constructions with en.
How the passé composé of naître is formed
Take the present tense of the auxiliary être and add the past participle né: je → suis né, tu → es né, il/elle → est né, nous → sommes né, vous → êtes né, ils/elles → sont né. So naître gives suis né, es né, est né, sommes né, êtes né, sont né. Because the auxiliary is être, the past participle agrees with the subject in gender and number: a feminine subject adds -e and a plural subject adds -s. The tables on this page give the masculine singular form né, as in suis né; in real sentences, adjust the ending to match the subject. A note on the participle: né is the only past participle for naître in the verified tables. Do not invent a second participle, and do not borrow the participle of a similar verb.
When to use the passé composé of naître
1. A finished event in the past
Use the passé composé for a finished event in the past. For example, with naître: “Je suis né en France hier.” — “I was born in France yesterday.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
2. Something that has just happened
Use the passé composé for something that has just happened. For example, with naître: “Tu es né en France ce matin.” — “You were born in France yesterday.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
3. A sequence of past events
Use the passé composé for a sequence of past events. For example, with naître: “Il est né en France hier soir.” — “He was born in France yesterday.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
4. Life experience up to now
Use the passé composé for life experience up to now. For example, with naître: “Nous sommes né en France déjà.” — “We were born in France yesterday.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
5. A past event with a definite time
Use the passé composé for a past event with a definite time. For example, with naître: “Vous êtes né en France la semaine dernière.” — “You were born in France yesterday.” Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.
Passé composé vs imperfect: naître then and naître now
The passé composé and the imperfect both talk about the past, but they are not interchangeable. The passé composé is for what happened and finished; the imperfect is for what was happening, or what used to happen. Compare the pairs below — the passé composé form comes from this page, the imperfect form from the full conjugation table.
Passé composé: “Je suis né en France hier.” — “I was born in France yesterday.”
Imperfect: “Je naissais en France quand j’étais jeune.” — “When I was young, I used to be born in France.”
Passé composé: “Tu es né en France hier.” — “You were born in France yesterday.”
Imperfect: “Tu naissais en France quand j’étais jeune.” — “You used to be born in France.”
Passé composé: “Nous sommes né en France hier.” — “We were born in France yesterday.”
Imperfect: “Nous naissions en France quand j’étais jeune.” — “We used to be born in France.”
Example sentences: naître in the passé composé
Six sentences using only the passé composé of naître, with English translations. Read them aloud — saying the forms is the fastest way to fix them in memory.
- “Je suis né en France hier.” — “I was born in France yesterday.”
- “Tu es né en France ce matin.” — “You were born in France yesterday.”
- “Il est né en France la semaine dernière.” — “He was born in France yesterday.”
- “Nous sommes né en France déjà.” — “We were born in France yesterday.”
- “Vous êtes né en France hier soir.” — “You were born in France yesterday.”
- “Ils sont né en France ce week-end.” — “They were born in France yesterday.”
Common mistakes with naître in the passé composé
Mistake 1: Using the wrong auxiliary
Wrong: “J’ai né en France.”
Right: “Je suis né en France.”
With naître the passé composé takes être, not avoir. The correct form is suis né.
Mistake 2: Using the present for a finished past event
Wrong: “Je naîs en France hier.”
Right: “Je suis né en France hier.”
Yesterday’s finished event needs the passé composé (suis né), not the present.
Mistake 3: Using the imperfect for a single finished event
Wrong: “Je naissais en France hier.” (for one finished event)
Right: “Je suis né en France hier.”
The imperfect describes background and habit. One finished event yesterday takes the passé composé.
Mistake 4: Forgetting participle agreement with être
Wrong: “Elle est né.” (said of a woman)
Right: “Elle est née.” — with être the participle agrees with the subject; the tables give the masculine singular né.
With être the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject.
Quiz: naître in the passé composé
What is the je form of naître in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) sommes né
- B) es né
- C) suis né
- D) est né
What is the tu form of naître in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) êtes né
- B) es né
- C) est né
- D) suis né
What is the il/elle form of naître in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) sont né
- B) est né
- C) êtes né
- D) sommes né
What is the nous form of naître in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) sont né
- B) sommes né
- C) est né
- D) suis né
What is the vous form of naître in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) sommes né
- B) es né
- C) êtes né
- D) est né
What is the ils/elles form of naître in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) est né
- B) es né
- C) êtes né
- D) sont né
Which auxiliary does naître take in the passé composé?
- A) faire
- B) aller
- C) être
- D) avoir
What is the past participle of naître?
- A) né
- B) naîs
- C) naissais
- D) en naissant
Answer key
- C) suis né — the je form of naître in the present perfect (passé composé) is suis né.
- B) es né — the tu form of naître in the present perfect (passé composé) is es né.
- B) est né — the il/elle form of naître in the present perfect (passé composé) is est né.
- B) sommes né — the nous form of naître in the present perfect (passé composé) is sommes né.
- C) êtes né — the vous form of naître in the present perfect (passé composé) is êtes né.
- D) sont né — the ils/elles form of naître in the present perfect (passé composé) is sont né.
- C) être — naître forms its compound tenses with être: suis né.
- A) né — the past participle of naître is né.
Frequently asked questions
How is the passé composé of naître formed?
With être in the present + the past participle né: suis né, es né, est né, sommes né, êtes né, sont né.
When do I use the passé composé of naître?
Use it for recent past actions and completed events. The five usage rules above, with examples, cover the situations you will meet most often.
What is the difference between the passé composé and the imperfect?
The passé composé is for finished events (suis né), while the imperfect is for background and habit (naissais). The contrast section above shows three pairs side by side.
Where can I see the full conjugation of naître?
On the full conjugation page for naître, which has every tense, plus examples and a longer quiz. The examples and quiz page has more sentences in context.
Practice drill
Say the six passé composé forms of naître in order, without looking: suis né, es né, est né, sommes né, êtes né, sont né. Then write three sentences of your own — one about today, one about yesterday, one about tomorrow — using suis né, naissais and naîtrai. Check every form against the table above. When you can produce all six persons without looking, move on to the examples and quiz page.
Related pages
- naître in the passé composé — the full table and uses for this verb in the passé composé.
- naître examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- French irregular verbs — every common irregular French verb, grouped by pattern.
- Mourir conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Grandir conjugation — another French verb to practise with.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Verb Conjugator — practise naître with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise naître with the interactive tool.
- Perfect Tenses Builder — practise the perfect tenses with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.