📖LearnModule 3 · Lesson 1 of 30Basic User · CEFR A2, first halfUnit 1 · Le passé composé — the past, part I
J'ai parlé — the passé composé
Module 3 of the free French course (CEFR A2, first half), lesson 1 of 30: . On this page: 7 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line, the conjugation table and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's lesson 1.
The words
French
English
Say it
j'ai parlé
I spoke
zhay pahr-LAY
tu as joué
you played
tew ah zhoo-AY
elle a mangé
she ate
eh-lah mah(n)-ZHAY
nous avons regardé
we watched
noo zah-voh(n) ruh-gahr-DAY
ils ont écouté
they listened
eel zoh(n) tay-koo-TAY
le participe
the participle
luh pahr-tee-SEEP
le passé
the past
luh pah-SAY
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
Hear the words
Each word is read twice — say it back in the gap. Computer-generated voice; credits on the course page.
La règle · The rule
The past tense of everyday French is two words: avoir in the present + a participle. Parler becomes j'ai parlé — I spoke, I have spoken, both at once.
Et aussi · And also
Every -er verb makes its participle the same way: -er becomes -é. J'ai joué. Tu as regardé. Elle a mangé.
Attention · Watch out
The participle of an -er verb ends in -é, never -er: j'ai parlé. Writing j'ai parler is the most common slip in the whole tense.
parler, passé composé — the table
je ai parlé · tu as parlé · il/elle a parlé · nous avons parlé · vous avez parlé · ils/elles ont parlé
manger, passé composé — the table
je ai mangé · tu as mangé · il/elle a mangé · nous avons mangé · vous avez mangé · ils/elles ont mangé
Do it now — on paper
Say all 7 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with j'ai parlé.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the French.
Write out parler, passé composé and manger, passé composé in full from memory, every person, and check each form against the table above.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The French Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.