Question

(French) Past Participle Agreement

Hello all. Could anybody help me to understand when (using the passé-composé) the past participles agree, and when they do not?

Answer 1

When the auxiliary être is used, the past participle agrees with the subject.
For example:
Nous sommes restés.
Here the auxiliary être is used (sommes) and the subject (nous) is plural. So to make the past participle agree with the subject an s is added to the end of the past participle.
Elle est restée.
Here the auxiliary être is used and the subject is feminine. So an extra e is added to the past participle to make it agree with the subject.

When the auxiliary avoir is used the past participle does not agree with the subject.
For example:
Nous avons mangé.
Even though the subject is plural, the past participle does not change.
Elle a mangé.
And here, even though the subject is feminine, the past participle does not change.

Here is a list of the verbs that use the auxiliary être when conjugated in the passé composé:

Monter --> monté (went up)
Retourner --> retourné (returned)
Sortir --> sorti (went out)
Venir --> venu (came)
Arriver --> arrivé (arrived)
Naître --> né (was born)
Descendre --> descendu (went down)
Entrer --> entré (entered)
Rester --> resté (stayed)
Tomber --> tombé (fell)
Rentrer --> rentré (went back in)
Aller --> allé (went)
Mourir --> mort (died)
Partir --> parti (left)

You can remember them with the acronym MRS VANDERTRAMP.

There are a couple more complicated rules but these are the basics.

Answer 2

You're awesome. Thank you so much.

Answer 3

No problem :)