Indicative present perfect
The present perfect tense is used for a punctual and brief action in the past tense. It is formed with the help of "avoir" or "être" auxiliary and the past participle.
In order to be able to form the present perfect tense, it is therefore necessary to know how to conjugate "avoir" and "être" in the present tense with knowing how to form the past participle. The main difficulty of the present perfect tense comes from the agreements with the past participle./p>
Here is an example of a verb conjugated in the present perfect tense with the auxiliaries "avoir" and "être":
| Sujet | Auxiliary (avoir) | Past participle (finir) |
|---|---|---|
| J' | ai | fini |
| Tu | as | fini |
| Il | a | fini |
| Nous | avons | fini |
| Vous | avez | fini |
| Ils | ont | fini |
| Sujet | Auxiliary (être) | Past participle (venir) |
|---|---|---|
| Je | suis | venu |
| Tu | es | venu |
| Il | est | venu |
| Nous | sommes | venus |
| Vous | êtes | venus |
| Ils | sont | venus |
- It is immediately apparent that the question of the agreement arises. With the auxiliary being, the agreement is made with the subject from where the "s" came because the subject is put for several people. If it is a woman speaking, an "e" is also added to indicate the feminine: "je suis venue".
- The agreement is more delicate with the auxiliary have because it is necessary to make the agreement with the direct object complement when it is placed in front and not with the subject.
- The present perfect tense is formed from the auxiliaries "avoir" and "être" conjugated to the present tense of the indicative to which the past participle is added.
- With the "être" auxiliary, we agree the past participle with the subject.
- With the "avoir" auxiliary, the agreement of the past participle is made with the direct object complement when it is placed in front of it.