French Notes on Paris and Perfect Tense
French Quiz
Question 1: Famous Parisian landmark finished in 1889, named after its creator, visited by over 6 million people a year, 324 meters high: The Eiffel Tower.
Question 2: What did King Charles do in the catacombs? c) Have a party
Question 3: Book by Victor Hugo set in a famous Parisian cathedral? b) The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
Question 4: Famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci in the Louvre museum? a) The Mona Lisa
Question 5: How many professional football teams does Paris have? a) 2 (Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Paris FC)
Question 6: Why is Bastille Day (July 14th) celebrated? c) It marks the start of the French Revolution.
Perfect Tense (Passé Composé)
Used to talk about a completed action in the past.
Formation: auxiliary verb avoir + past participle.
For regular -er verbs: remove -er from the infinitive and add -é (e.g., regarder → j’ai regardé).
Conjugation of avoir: j’ai, tu as, il/elle/on a, nous avons, vous avez, ils/elles ont.
Examples
J’ai visité (I visited)
Tu as mangé (You ate)
Il a admiré (He admired)
Elle a regardé (She watched)
Nous avons visité (We visited)
Vous avez acheté (You bought)
Ils ont rencontré (They (m) met)
Elles ont envoyé (They (f) sent)
Paul a mangé (Paul ate)
Vocabulary
L’année dernière = last year
Gagner un concours = to win a competition
Phrases
J’ai visité la tour Eiffel (I visited the Eiffel Tower).
J’ai mangé au restaurant (I ate at a restaurant).
J’ai admiré la Pyramide du Louvre (I admired the Louvre Pyramid).
J’ai regardé le feu d’artifice (I watched the fireworks).
J’ai visité la Cathédrale de Notre-Dame (I visited the Notre-Dame Cathedral).
J’ai acheté des souvenirs (I bought souvenirs).
J’ai rencontré un beau garçon (I met a good-looking boy).
J’ai rencontré une jolie fille (I met a pretty girl).
J’ai envoyé des cartes postales (I sent postcards).
J’ai mangé des escargots (I ate snails).
Opinions
C’était génial! (It was great!)
C’était horrible! (It was horrible!)
Objective
Describe activities in Paris using the perfect tense; conjugate infinitives, add opinions, and understand information in the perfect tense.
French Quiz
Question 1: Famous Parisian landmark finished in 1889, named after its creator, visited by over 6 million people a year, 324 meters high: The Eiffel Tower.
Question 2: What did King Charles do in the catacombs? c) Have a party
Question 3: Book by Victor Hugo set in a famous Parisian cathedral? b) The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
Question 4: Famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci in the Louvre museum? a) The Mona Lisa
Question 5: How many professional football teams does Paris have? a) 2 (Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Paris FC)
Question 6: Why is Bastille Day (July 14th) celebrated? c) It marks the start of the French Revolution.
Perfect Tense (Passé Composé)
Used to talk about a completed action in the past.
Formation: auxiliary verb avoir + past participle.
For regular -er verbs: remove -er from the infinitive and add -é (e.g., regarder → j’ai regardé).
Conjugation of avoir: j’ai, tu as, il/elle/on a, nous avons, vous avez, ils/elles ont.
Examples
J’ai visité (I visited)
Tu as mangé (You ate)
Il a admiré (He admired)
Elle a regardé (She watched)
Nous avons visité (We visited)
Vous avez acheté (You bought)
Ils ont rencontré (They (m) met)
Elles ont envoyé (They (f) sent)
Paul a mangé (Paul ate)
Vocabulary
L’année dernière = last year
Gagner un concours = to win a competition
Phrases
J’ai visité la tour Eiffel (I visited the Eiffel Tower).
J’ai mangé au restaurant (I ate at a restaurant).
J’ai admiré la Pyramide du Louvre (I admired the Louvre Pyramid).
J’ai regardé le feu d’artifice (I watched the fireworks).
J’ai visité la Cathédrale de Notre-Dame (I visited the Notre-Dame Cathedral).
J’ai acheté des souvenirs (I bought souvenirs).
J’ai rencontré un beau garçon (I met a good-looking boy).
J’ai rencontré une jolie fille (I met a pretty girl).
J’ai envoyé des cartes postales (I sent postcards).
J’ai mangé des escargots (I ate snails).
Opinions
C’était génial! (It was great!)
C’était horrible! (It was horrible!)
Objective
Describe activities in Paris using the perfect tense; conjugate infinitives, add opinions, and understand information in the perfect tense.
Negatives in the Perfect Tense (Passé Composé)
To say what you didn’t do, you usually sandwich the auxiliary verb (avoir) with ne…pas.
Structure: Subject + ne + auxiliary verb (avoir) + pas + past participle.
Example: Je n’ai pas visité le Louvre. (I didn’t visit the Louvre.)
More Examples
Je n’ai pas visité (I didn’t visit)
Tu n’as pas mangé (You didn’t eat)
Il n’a pas admiré (He didn’t admire)
Elle n’a pas regardé (She didn’t watch)
Nous n’avons pas visité (We didn’t visit)
Vous n’avez pas acheté (You didn’t buy)
Ils n’ont pas rencontré (They (m) didn’t meet)
Elles n’ont pas envoyé (They (f) didn’t send)
Paul n’a pas mangé (Paul didn’t eat)
More Vocabulary & Phrases for Describing a Trip to Paris
aimer - to like
détester - to hate
J'ai aimé - I liked
Je n'ai pas aimé - I didn't like
J'ai détesté - I hated
J’ai passé cinq jours à Paris (I spent 5 days in Paris).
D’abord (Firstly)
Puis (Then)
Ensuite (Next)
Finalement (Finally)
Expressing opinions about an activity
C’était ennuyeux! (It was boring!)
C’était intéressant! (It was interesting!)
How to link sentences together in a paragraph
Use transition words like d’abord, puis, ensuite, finalement to structure your paragraph.
Example of a small paragraph on what you did in Paris during a 5-day trip using cohesive devices:
D’abord, j’ai visité la Tour Eiffel. Puis, j’ai mangé dans un restaurant. Ensuite, j’ai admiré la Joconde au Louvre. Finalement, j’ai acheté des souvenirs. C’était génial!