French Verbs - Temporal Auxiliary Verbs

Temporal Auxiliary Verbs

In French, all compound tense-aspect forms are formed with an auxiliary verb (either être "to be" or avoir "to have"). Most verbs use avoir as their auxiliary verb. The exceptions are all reflexive verbs and a number of verbs of motion or change of state, including some of the most frequently used intransitive verbs of the language:

• aller — to go
• arriver — to arrive
• décéder — to pass away
• descendre¹ — to descend
• devenir — to become
• entrer¹ — to enter
• monter¹ — to climb/mount
• mourir — to die
• naître — to be born
• partir — to leave or part
• passer¹ — to pass by
• rester — to stay
• retourner¹ — to return
• sortir¹ — to go out
• tomber¹ — to fall
• venir — to come

Verbs that are derived from these by prefixation may continue to select être, but this is not always the case. For example:

• (with être)
  • derived from venir: advenir, intervenir, parvenir, provenir, survenir
  • prefix re-: redevenir, remonter¹, renaître, rentrer¹, ressortir¹, revenir, etc.
• (with 'avoir')
  • derived from venir: circonvenir, contrevenir, convenir, prévenir, subvenir
  • transitive verbs: démonter, surmonter, dépasser, outrepasser, surpasser, etc.

(The verbs marked with "¹" above combine with être in their intransitive uses, and avoir when used transitively.)

A small number of verbs, including some already mentioned above, can in fact be found with either auxiliary (croître, monter, descendre, convenir, paraître, apparaître, trépasser). There may be a subtle change of meaning depending on the auxiliary chosen, and one auxiliary is usually more literary or archaic than the other.

The distinction between the two auxiliary verbs is important for the correct formation of the compound tense-aspect forms and is essential to the agreement of the past participle.