ouvrir Passé composé Tense Conjugation in French

The passé composé of ouvrir — open — is the form you need for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. ouvrir is the verb for arriving home and opening the door: it comes up whenever you talk about starting a lesson by opening a book or opening a shop in the morning. This page gives you the complete passé composé table for ouvrir, how it is formed, when to use it, the mistakes learners make with it, and a quiz to check yourself. The first example shows it in action: “J'ai ouvert la porte cette semaine.” — “I have opened the door this week.”

Passé composé conjugation of ouvrir

Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for ouvrir. ouvrir is irregular (regular in the passé composé), so watch out for the forms that break the pattern — they are the ones learners need to memorise.

Passé composé — ouvrir

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

The gerund of ouvrir is en ouvrant and the past participle is ouvert. The participle matters here because the passé composé is often confused with the other past tenses — keep them apart.

How the passé composé of ouvrir is formed

The passé composé of ouvrir is formed with the auxiliary avoir in the present plus the past participle ouvert. The six forms are ai ouvert, as ouvert, a ouvert, avons ouvert, avez ouvert and ont ouvert. The auxiliary is avoir for this verb — do not swap it for the other auxiliary.

Because ouvrir uses avoir as its auxiliary, the participle ouvert is the same in the table for every person. In real sentences the participle can agree in gender and number with the subject when the auxiliary is être, or with a preceding direct object — that agreement is a sentence-level rule, and the base form in the table stays ouvert.

The passé composé is the everyday spoken past tense in French. Learn these six forms as a set: once you can say ai ouvert without thinking, you can talk about anything you did yesterday.

When to use the passé composé of ouvrir

Completed actions at a specific time

Use the passé composé for an action that started and finished in the past. For example: “J'ai ouvert la porte cette semaine.” — “I have opened the door this week.”

A sequence of actions

Use the passé composé to list one finished action after another. For example: “Nous avons ouvert la fenêtre cette semaine.” — “We have opened the window this week.”

Recent events and news

Use the passé composé for something that has just happened. For example: “Il a ouvert le livre cette semaine.” — “He has opened the book this week.”

Life experience

Use the passé composé to talk about things you have done in your life. For example: “J'ai ouvert la boutique cette semaine.” — “I have opened the shop this week.”

Passé composé vs imperfect: ouvrir finished, ouvrir in progress

The passé composé and the imperfect are the two tenses learners confuse most with ouvrir. The passé composé is for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé; the imperfect is for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and background description. Compare the pairs below — the passé composé form comes from this page, the imperfect form from the full conjugation table.

  • Passé composé: “J'ai ouvert la porte cette semaine.” — “I have opened the door this week.”

  • Imperfect: “J'ouvrais la porte avant.” — “I used to open the door before.”

  • Passé composé: “Il a ouvert la fenêtre cette semaine.” — “He has opened the window this week.”

  • Imperfect: “Il ouvrait la fenêtre avant.” — “He used to open the window before.”

  • Passé composé: “Nous avons ouvert le livre cette semaine.” — “We have opened the book this week.”

  • Imperfect: “Nous ouvrions le livre avant.” — “We used to open the book before.”

Example sentences: ouvrir in the passé composé

Six sentences using only the passé composé of ouvrir, with English translations. Read them aloud — saying the forms is the fastest way to fix them in memory.

  • “J'ai ouvert la porte cette semaine.” — “I have opened the door this week.”
  • “Tu as ouvert la fenêtre cette semaine.” — “You have opened the window this week.”
  • “Il a ouvert le livre cette semaine.” — “He has opened the book this week.”
  • “Nous avons ouvert la boutique cette semaine.” — “We have opened the shop this week.”
  • “Vous avez ouvert la porte cette semaine.” — “You have opened the door this week.”
  • “Ils ont ouvert la fenêtre cette semaine.” — “They have opened the window this week.”

Common mistakes in the passé composé of ouvrir

1. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Je avons ouvert la porte.”

✓ Right: “Je ai ouvert la porte.”

avons ouvert is the nous form. With je the passé composé form is ai ouvert.

2. Using the present for a finished action

✗ Wrong: “Hier, je ouvre la fenêtre.”

✓ Right: “Hier, j'ai ouvert la fenêtre.”

The present ouvre describes now. For something finished yesterday, use the passé composé ai ouvert.

3. Forgetting the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Je ouvert le livre hier.”

✓ Right: “J'ai ouvert le livre hier.”

The passé composé needs its auxiliary: ai ouvert is avoir + ouvert. The participle alone is not a finished sentence.

4. Using the passé composé where the imperfect belongs

✗ Wrong: “Avant, je ai ouvert la boutique tous les jours.” (said of a repeated habit)

✓ Right: “Avant, je ouvrais la boutique tous les jours.”

For something you did regularly in the past, use the imperfect ouvrais.

5. Mixing up tu and je

✗ Wrong: “Tu ai ouvert la porte.”

✓ Right: “Tu as ouvert la porte.”

With tu the passé composé form is as ouvert, not ai ouvert. Copy the form for the right person from the table.

Quiz: test yourself on the passé composé of ouvrir

Ten questions on ouvrir. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. What is the je form of ouvrir in the Present perfect?

    • A) ont ouvert
    • B) avez ouvert
    • C) a ouvert
    • D) ai ouvert

  2. What is the tu form of ouvrir in the Present perfect?

    • A) ont ouvert
    • B) ai ouvert
    • C) as ouvert
    • D) avez ouvert

  3. What is the il/elle form of ouvrir in the Present perfect?

    • A) avons ouvert
    • B) ai ouvert
    • C) as ouvert
    • D) a ouvert

  4. What is the nous form of ouvrir in the Present perfect?

    • A) avons ouvert
    • B) as ouvert
    • C) avez ouvert
    • D) ont ouvert

  5. What is the vous form of ouvrir in the Present perfect?

    • A) as ouvert
    • B) a ouvert
    • C) avez ouvert
    • D) ai ouvert

  6. What is the ils/elles form of ouvrir in the Present perfect?

    • A) ont ouvert
    • B) avons ouvert
    • C) as ouvert
    • D) ai ouvert

  7. What is the je form of ouvrir in the Present indicative?

    • A) ouvres
    • B) ouvre
    • C) ouvrez
    • D) ouvrons

  8. What is the gerund of ouvrir?

    • A) buvant
    • B) ouvrant
    • C) dormant

  9. What is the past participle of ouvrir?

    • A) bu
    • B) dormi
    • C) ouvert

  10. What does ouvrir mean in English?

  • A) open
  • B) sleep
  • C) drink
  • D) close

Answer key

  1. D) ai ouvert — The je form of ouvrir in the present perfect is ai ouvert.
  2. C) as ouvert — The tu form of ouvrir in the present perfect is as ouvert.
  3. D) a ouvert — The il/elle form of ouvrir in the present perfect is a ouvert.
  4. A) avons ouvert — The nous form of ouvrir in the present perfect is avons ouvert.
  5. C) avez ouvert — The vous form of ouvrir in the present perfect is avez ouvert.
  6. A) ont ouvert — The ils/elles form of ouvrir in the present perfect is ont ouvert.
  7. B) ouvre — The je form of ouvrir in the present indicative is ouvre.
  8. B) ouvrant — The gerund of ouvrir is en ouvrant; it is used after en for actions in progress.
  9. C) ouvert — The past participle of ouvrir is ouvert; perfect tenses use avoir + ouvert.
  10. A) open — ouvrir means “open” in English.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the passé composé of ouvrir?

Use it for recent past actions and life experience; this is the everyday spoken past tense, the passé composé. For ouvrir that covers arriving home and opening the door, starting a lesson by opening a book and opening a shop in the morning.

Is the passé composé of ouvrir regular?

ouvrir is irregular. In the passé composé it is regular — copy the forms from the table on this page.

What is the past participle of ouvrir?

The past participle is ouvert. The passé composé uses it with avoir for the perfect tenses.

How do I say “I open” in the passé composé?

Say “J'ai ouvert la porte cette semaine.” — “I have opened the door this week.” The je form is ai ouvert.

Pronunciation

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

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