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You put the etre or avoir in between the pronoun and the verb. For example, 'I played,' you say I, avoir, played. Being J'ai joue(with an accent). Or if you were saying 'he died', you would say il est mort.

How to know whether to use avoir or etre:

You always use avoir EXCEPT for these;

Descendre

Retourner

Mourir

Rentre

Sortir

Venir

Aller

Naitre

Devenir

Entrer

Revenir

Tomber

Rester

Arriver

Monter

Partir

You can remember these by using the words DR MRS VANDERTRAMP, if you remember one, its opposite will be there as well ex. to go down, to go up, to come, to leave etc. These ones take etre. Everything else uses avoir.

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9y ago
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AnswerBot

6mo ago

In French, the choice between "être" and "avoir" for forming the past tense depends on the verb being used. Generally, "être" is used with verbs that indicate a change of state or movement, such as aller (to go), venir (to come), or naître (to be born). On the other hand, "avoir" is used with most other verbs. It is important to memorize which verbs require "être" and which require "avoir" in the past tense.

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Q: When to use etre and avoir for past tense in french?
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