Irregular Past Participles: avoir, être, faire

To use these verbs in the past, you need two pieces. First, you need a helper verb. In French, we call this the auxiliary. For all three of these verbs, the helper is always avoir. This is true even for être. It feels a bit like a grammar plot twist. You might expect être to help itself, but it asks avoir for a hand. Second, you need the irregular past participle. This is the special form of the verb that shows the action is finished. You put the helper verb in the present tense first. Then you add the special irregular form right after it. It is like a two-car train. The first car (avoir) pulls the second car (the past participle). Without the helper, the sentence just sits in the station. It does not matter if you are ordering a coffee or interviewing for a job. The structure stays exactly the same. You just swap out the second car depending on what you want to say.

1. 1Start with the subject of your sentence, like je, tu, or nous.
2. 2Conjugate the helper verb avoir in the present tense to match your subject.
3. 3Add the irregular past participle for the verb you want to use.
4. 4For avoir (to have), the past participle is eu. It looks strange, but it is just two letters. It is pronounced like the single French letter u. Think of the sound in the English word "flute" but tighter.
5. 5For être (to be), the past participle is été. It looks just like the word for "summer." You can remember it by thinking of a "summer state of being."
6. 6For faire (to do/make), the past participle is fait. The t at the end is usually silent. It sounds just like the word "fay."
7. 7If the sentence is negative, put ne and pas around the first part (the helper verb).
8. 8Keep the past participle exactly as it is. It does not change for je, tu, or nous when using these three verbs in basic sentences.

Use these forms when an action is completely finished in the past. This is for specific moments. Use j'ai eu when you had something at a specific time. For example, "I had a great idea during the meeting." Use j'ai été when you were somewhere or felt a certain way. Maybe you were at the cinema or you were sick yesterday. Use j'ai fait for any completed task or activity. You can use it for chores like the dishes. You can also use it for sports like j'ai fait du tennis. It is perfect for telling a story to a friend. You can list the things you did during your weekend trip. It is also essential for explaining your work history. "I did an internship in Paris" becomes j'ai fait un stage à Paris. Use it whenever the "when" of the action is clear or the action is one-and-done.

Do not use these forms for descriptions or habits. If you want to say "I was a happy child," do not use j'ai été. That sounds like you were happy for exactly one second. For descriptions, you need the Imparfait. Think of the Passé Composé like a single camera flash. It captures one moment. Habitual actions also need a different tense. If you used to do the dishes every day, j'ai fait is not your friend. Avoid using these if the action has no clear beginning or end. Also, do not use être as the helper verb for these three. Many learners say je suis été because it sounds like "I have been." That is a grammar traffic light turning red. Always stick with avoir as your helper. If you are just describing the weather, like "It was cold," you usually want the Imparfait instead. Stick to the Passé Composé for the "what happened next" parts of your story.

One big mistake is the pronunciation of eu. Many people try to say "ay-oo" or "eww." Remember, it is just a short u sound. Another trap is the helper verb for être. Learners often try to use être to help être. They say je suis été. This is 100% wrong in modern French. Always use avoir. Another mistake is forgetting the t at the end of fait. You don't say it, but you must write it. Some people also mix up été (been) and était (was). One is for a finished event, the other is for a background description. If you say j'ai faite, you are adding an extra e where it doesn't belong. Keep it simple and keep it fait. Finally, don't forget the auxiliary verb entirely. Saying je fait is present tense. You must say j'ai fait to reach the past. It is like forgetting the bread for a sandwich. The filling just falls out!

Regular verbs are very predictable. A verb like manger becomes mangé. A verb like finir becomes fini. These irregulars don't follow that "drop the ending and add a letter" logic. Avoir does not become avé. Faire does not become fai. They are unique shapes. However, they share the same DNA as other irregulars. For example, fait (from faire) looks a bit like écrit (from écrire). Both end in a silent t. The verb eu is part of a small group of verbs that turn into short u sounds, like vu (seen) or lu (read). But unlike some other verbs, these three always use avoir as the helper. Some verbs like aller or venir use être. These three are loyal to avoir. This makes your life easier. Once you know the avoir helper, you are halfway there for all three.