French Avoir vs Être: Which Verbs Take Être in the Passé Composé (and Why)

Most French verbs form the passé composé with avoir. A specific group uses être instead. If you pick the wrong auxiliary, the sentence is grammatically wrong, and it is one of the most common mistakes at A2 and B1 level. This post gives you the full list, the agreement rule, and a reliable way to remember which verbs go with which auxiliary.

Why Two Auxiliaries Exist

French inherited two separate auxiliary verbs from Latin. Avoir (to have) is the default. Être (to be) was historically reserved for verbs describing motion or a change of state where the subject itself is the one moving or changing. Over centuries the grammar solidified into a fixed list. There is no shortcut that works 100% of the time, but knowing the logic helps a lot.

The Core List: 17 Verbs That Always Take Être

The classic mnemonic is DR MRS VANDERTRAMP. Each letter stands for one or two verbs. Learn the mnemonic once and you cover the core list.

*Passer takes être only when it means to pass by somewhere without a direct object. With a direct object it switches to avoir. More on that below.

The Agreement Rule You Cannot Skip

When a verb uses être in the passé composé, the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject. This changes the spelling and sometimes the pronunciation.

• Il est allé. (masculine singular, no change)
• Elle est allée. (feminine singular, add -e, same pronunciation for aller)
• Ils sont allés. (masculine plural, add -s)
• Elles sont allées. (feminine plural, add -es)
• Il est mort. Elle est morte. (here the -e changes pronunciation: mort vs morte)

Agreement matters most in writing and in formal speech. In casual spoken French, many agreement endings are silent. But on a written exam, missing the -e or -s costs marks. If you are preparing for TCF or TEF Canada, practice agreement in writing consistently. You can check your current grammar level with a quick test de niveau.

Reflexive Verbs: The Second Group That Always Uses Être

Every reflexive verb (verbs conjugated with se, me, te, nous, vous) uses être in the passé composé. Always. No exceptions.

• se lever: Elle s'est levée à 7h.
• se souvenir: Nous nous sommes souvenus de la date.
• se tromper: Il s'est trompé de chemin.
• se marier: Ils se sont mariés en juin.

Agreement for reflexive verbs follows the same logic, but with one caveat. If the reflexive pronoun is an indirect object, there is no agreement. This is an advanced point that mainly affects verbs like se parler, se téléphoner, and se dire. At A2-B1 level, applying agreement by default is the safer habit.

The Tricky Cases: Verbs That Switch Auxiliary

Several verbs from the DR MRS VANDERTRAMP list can also take a direct object. When they do, they switch to avoir and there is no agreement with the subject. The meaning sometimes changes slightly.

A simple test: ask 'who or what did they [verb]?' after the verb. If there is a direct answer (a noun that receives the action), use avoir. If there is no answer, use être.

A Practical Study Method

Memorizing a list is one thing. Using it automatically in conversation is another. Here is a sequence that works without wasting time.

1. Learn the 17 DR MRS VANDERTRAMP verbs first. Write them out once by hand.
2. Drill the agreement endings separately using short example sentences for masculine, feminine, singular, plural.
3. Add reflexive verbs as a second batch once the core 17 feel automatic.
4. Practice the transitive/intransitive split with monter, descendre, sortir, passer, and rentrer using real sentences, not isolated pairs.
5. Use spaced repetition so each verb comes back before you forget it.

Spaced repetition is especially effective for this because the être verbs are a closed list. Once you have reviewed each one enough times, it becomes automatic. The verb SRS tool at Fréquence is built for exactly this kind of targeted drilling, so you can work through the être list without mixing it up with hundreds of other verbs before you are ready.

How This Fits into Your Level Progression

The passé composé with avoir appears at A1. The être verbs and agreement rules are A2 content. The transitive/intransitive switch is B1. If you are at A2, focus on the core 17 and reflexives. If you are at B1, add the transitive cases and make sure agreement is consistent in writing. At B2, this should be automatic. You can explore the full grammar and vocabulary breakdown at each stage on the Fréquence learning hub.

FAQ

How do I remember which verbs take être in French?

The DR MRS VANDERTRAMP mnemonic covers the 17 core verbs. Beyond memorizing the acronym, notice that most of these verbs describe physical movement (coming, going, arriving, leaving) or a change of state (being born, dying, becoming). That pattern covers most cases, though you still need to know the exact list for the exceptions.

Do reflexive verbs always use être in the passé composé?

Yes, always. Every verb conjugated with a reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nous, vous) uses être as the auxiliary in the passé composé. Agreement with the subject applies in most cases, with the one exception involving indirect reflexive pronouns, which is a nuance to tackle at B1 level.

What happens to the agreement when the verb switches from être to avoir?

When a verb like monter or sortir takes a direct object and switches to avoir, the past participle no longer agrees with the subject. Instead, it follows the avoir agreement rule: the participle agrees with a preceding direct object, if there is one. So agreement disappears from the subject and potentially moves to the object. In practice, the simplest way to handle it is to write the participle with no ending when using avoir, unless a direct object comes before the verb.

Is the être vs avoir distinction tested on TCF or TEF Canada?

Yes. Both the TCF and TEF Canada written expression sections include questions that test past tense accuracy, which covers auxiliary choice and agreement. Grammar errors in the written section affect your band score. Getting the être verbs right is one of the higher-value fixes available at A2 to B1 level because it is a finite list and fully learnable. See the full exam breakdown on the Canada French exam preparation page.

Fréquence (frequence.academy) offers structured lessons from A1 through C1 that build grammar like this in the right order, with spaced repetition to make it stick. The first three lessons are completely free and no credit card is needed to get started. If you want more free French tips alongside the lessons, follow @frequenceacademy on Instagram and YouTube where short explanations go up regularly.