French past participle agreement: when to add -e, -s or -es

In compound tenses like the passé composé, the past participle agrees in two main places: with the subject when the helper is être (elle est partie, ils sont partis), and with a direct object that comes before the verb when the helper is avoir (les lettres que j’ai écrites). With ordinary avoir sentences, there is no agreement: elle a mangé, not elle a mangée.

With avoir: usually no agreement

Most passé composé verbs use avoir. In the normal pattern, the past participle does not agree with the subject.

Elle a mangé. Ils ont regardé le film.
She ate. They watched the film.

Do not add -e just because the subject is feminine, or -s just because the subject is plural. With avoir, the subject is not what controls agreement.

With être: agree with the subject

When the helper is être, the past participle agrees with the subject in gender and number.

Ma sœur est arrivée hier. Mes amis sont partis tôt.
My sister arrived yesterday. My friends left early.

This covers movement verbs that use être and many reflexive verbs.

With avoir: agree with a direct object before the verb

Avoir does create agreement when the direct object comes before the past participle. The object can be a pronoun such as le, la, les, or a noun picked up by que.

J’ai lu les lettres. → Les lettres que j’ai lues.
I read the letters. → The letters that I read.

J’ai vu Marie. → Je l’ai vue.
I saw Marie. → I saw her.

If the object comes after the verb, there is no agreement. If it comes before, the participle agrees with that object.

Indirect objects do not trigger agreement

An indirect object answers “to whom?” or “for whom?” and often uses à. It does not make the participle agree.

J’ai parlé à Marie. → Je lui ai parlé.
I spoke to Marie. → I spoke to her.

Lui and leur are indirect object pronouns, so they do not add -e or -s to the participle.

Reflexive verbs: the practical learner rule

Reflexive verbs use être, but agreement depends on what the reflexive pronoun is doing. For many basic reflexive verbs, the pronoun is the direct object, so the participle agrees with the subject.

Elle s’est levée. Ils se sont couchés.
She got up. They went to bed.

But if a direct object appears after the verb, the reflexive pronoun is not the direct object, so there is no agreement with the subject.

Elle s’est lavé les mains.
She washed her hands.

At B1, this one contrast is the most useful: elle s’est lavée (“she washed herself”) but elle s’est lavé les mains (“she washed her hands”).

Common mistakes

Agreeing with the subject after avoir

With regular avoir sentences, the subject does not control the participle.

Elle a mangée. → Elle a mangé.
She ate.

Forgetting agreement after être

With être, agree with the subject.

Elles sont parti. → Elles sont parties.
They left. (feminine plural)

Agreeing with lui or leur

Lui and leur are indirect objects, so they do not trigger agreement.

Je lui ai parlée. → Je lui ai parlé.
I spoke to her.

Past participle agreement sits right where the être vs avoir helper choice starts to matter. In Fluera you practice these forms inside complete sentences, so you see the helper, the object position and the ending together instead of as separate rules. Try it when you practice French.

Practice