In French, the auxiliary verb is either avoir or être. The following is a list of verbs (and their derivatives) that require être:
- In addition to the above, all pronominal verbs use être as the auxiliary verb.
- For all verbs conjugated with être, the past participle has to agree with the subject in gender and number in all of the compound tenses.
- Verbs are conjugated with être because they are intransitive (have no direct object). However, six of these verbs can be used transitively (with a direct object), and when this happens, they need avoir as the auxiliary verb and have a slight change in meaning.
Être Verbs Used Transitively
descendre
| Il est descendu. | He went down(stairs). |
| Il a descendu l’escalier. | He went down the stairs. |
| Il a descendu la valise. | He took the suitcase down. |
monter
| Il est monté. | He went up(stairs). |
| Il a monté la côte. | He went up the hill. |
| Il a monté les livres. | He took the books up. |
passer
| Je suis passé devant le parc. | I went by the park. |
| J’ai passé la porte. | I went through the door. |
| J’ai passé une heure ici. | I spent an hour here. |
rentrer
| Je suis rentré. | I came home. |
| J’ai rentré les chaises. | I brought the chairs inside. |
retourner
| Elle est retournée en France. | She has returned to France. |
| Elle a retourné la lettre. | She returned / sent back the letter. |
sortir
| Elle est sortie. | She went out. |
| Elle a sorti la voiture. | She took the car out. |
More on Grammar
être verbs on thoughtco.com
Auxiliary verbs on lawlessfrench.com
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