Voyages et déplacements
Chapter Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Form the passé composé with être for a set of high-frequency movement and state-change verbs.
- Apply basic subject agreement of the past participle with être.
- Form the passé composé of reflexive verbs, which also use être.
- Distinguish, in context, which verbs take être and which take avoir.
- Ask and answer questions about a trip or a journey, using time expressions and place names.
- Use ne... pas correctly with reflexive verbs in the passé composé.
- Understand short spoken and written accounts of a recent trip.
- Narrate, in speech and in writing, a short account of a trip you took or a day involving movement.
- Apply accurate pronunciation of être-verb agreement endings and smooth connected speech in reflexive constructions.
Communication Scenario
Léa has just returned from a weekend trip to Lyon with her friend Nadia. Marc, who is about to start his own internship, wants to hear every detail: when they left, how they traveled, what time they arrived, whether they got lost, and when they got up each morning. This chapter continues Unit IV by giving you the tools to narrate movement, arrival, departure, and daily routines in the past, using être as a helping verb.
- Describe a trip: departure, arrival, and movement between places.
- Talk about getting up, going to bed, and other daily routines in the past.
- Ask someone how their trip or weekend went.
- Choose correctly between avoir and être as the auxiliary verb.
Core Vocabulary
This chapter's productive vocabulary consists of the movement and reflexive verbs used with être, plus travel-related time expressions. Most surrounding vocabulary is recycled from Chapters 1–16.
| Infinitive | Past participle | English (scheduled meaning) |
|---|---|---|
| aller | allé(e)(s) | went |
| venir | venu(e)(s) | came |
| arriver | arrivé(e)(s) | arrived |
| partir | parti(e)(s) | left, departed |
| entrer | entré(e)(s) | entered |
| sortir | sorti(e)(s) | went out |
| monter | monté(e)(s) | went up / got on |
| descendre | descendu(e)(s) | went down / got off |
| rester | resté(e)(s) | stayed |
| tomber | tombé(e)(s) | fell |
| retourner | retourné(e)(s) | went back |
| naître | né(e)(s) | was/were born |
This chapter practices only the meanings shown above. sortir, monter, descendre, and retourner can also take avoir when they are followed by a direct object or used with a different meaning; only the intransitive meanings above are assessed in this chapter. For example: Elle est montée. ("She went upstairs" — scheduled, productive) versus Elle a monté les valises. ("She carried the suitcases upstairs" — receptive only, not assessed).
| Infinitive | Past participle | English |
|---|---|---|
| se lever | levé(e)(s) | got up |
| se coucher | couché(e)(s) | went to bed |
| se réveiller | réveillé(e)(s) | woke up |
| se promener | promené(e)(s) | went for a walk |
| se perdre | perdu(e)(s) | got lost |
| French | English |
|---|---|
| le week-end dernier | last weekend |
| pendant le voyage | during the trip |
| à l'arrivée | on arrival |
| au départ | at departure |
| tout de suite | right away |
All other vocabulary, including avoir-verbs from Chapter 16, remains active and recyclable. No vocabulary domain beyond what is listed above is introduced as productive.
Pronunciation Focus
When the past participle of an être-verb agrees with a feminine subject, an added written -e is silent in most cases: allé and allée sound identical. Do not assume that a written agreement ending always changes the pronunciation; for the verbs scheduled in this chapter, the feminine -e is generally not pronounced.
In reflexive constructions, pronounce the reflexive pronoun and the form of être as one smooth rhythmic group: je me suis levé(e), nous nous sommes couchés, ils se sont promenés. This is connected speech, not a new liaison rule. In very informal speech, speakers may reduce je me suis to a form resembling j'me suis; this is receptive-only informal reduction and must not be used in formal writing.
Grammar: Le passé composé avec être
Purpose: describe completed movement, state changes, and reflexive actions in the past using a conjugated form of être plus a past participle that agrees with the subject.
17.1 A scheduled set of être-verbs
Most French verbs use avoir in the passé composé, as you learned in Chapter 16. This chapter introduces a scheduled set of high-frequency verbs that use être in the intransitive movement or state-change patterns practiced here. Auxiliary choice must be learned with the verb's meaning and sentence structure, not assumed from meaning alone: many verbs describing movement, such as voyager or marcher, actually take avoir.
- Léa est arrivée à Lyon vendredi soir. Léa arrived in Lyon on Friday evening. est [aux.] + arrivée [participle, feminine agreement]
- Nadia et Léa sont parties ensemble. Nadia and Léa left together.
17.2 Basic subject agreement with être
This chapter covers only this basic subject agreement. Agreement of the past participle with a preceding direct object pronoun, which applies to avoir-verbs in certain cases, is not covered at this level.
17.3 Reflexive verbs also use être
Every reflexive verb — a verb built with se, such as se lever or se coucher — uses être in the passé composé, even though most of these verbs are not verbs of movement. The reflexive pronoun still appears, matching the subject, and comes directly before the conjugated form of être.
- Elle s'est levée à sept heures. She got up at seven o'clock. elle s' [refl.] + est [aux.] + levée [participle]
- Ils se sont couchés tard. They went to bed late.
- Elles se sont promenées dans le vieux Lyon. They went for a walk in old Lyon.
In the simple reflexive patterns practiced in this chapter — se lever, se coucher, se réveiller, se promener, and se perdre — the past participle agrees with the subject. More complex reflexive-agreement cases are deferred to a later level. Learners are not required to analyze reflexive constructions involving a following direct object or an indirect-object relationship, such as elles se sont lavé les mains or elles se sont parlé; these are mentioned here only as deferred exceptions and are not taught productively.
17.4 Conjugating être + participle
| Subject | Form |
|---|---|
| je | je suis allé(e) |
| tu | tu es allé(e) |
| il / on | il est allé / on est allé(e)(s) |
| elle | elle est allée |
| nous | nous sommes allé(e)s |
| vous | vous êtes allé(e)(s) |
| ils | ils sont allés |
| elles | elles sont allées |
On most often takes a masculine singular agreement in ordinary usage, though speakers sometimes make the agreement match the real people referred to; either pattern is acceptable at this level.
17.5 Negation and questions
Questions follow the same strategies as in Chapter 16: Qu'est-ce que tu as fait ce week-end ? À quelle heure es-tu parti ? (intonation-neutral, question word plus est-ce que or inversion), or Tu es arrivée à quelle heure ? (rising intonation, everyday conversation).
Model Dialogue: Comment s'est passé ton voyage ?
Context: Marc asks Léa about her weekend trip to Lyon with Nadia.
This dialogue uses être throughout, with feminine plural agreement because Léa and Nadia are both women. Notice that n'a pas eu mal still uses avoir, since avoir mal is not a scheduled être-verb or reflexive expression.
Listening Practice
If no audio recording is available, ask a partner, instructor, or text-to-speech tool to read the script aloud, or read it aloud to yourself slowly. Listen once or twice, and try to answer the questions below from memory before revealing the script.
- When did Nadia and Léa leave for Lyon, and when did they arrive?
- Who woke up first, Nadia or Léa?
- What happened during the walk in the old town?
- When did they go back to Paris?
Reveal script after listening
Speaking Practice
Pratique contrôlée — Controlled practice: avoir or être in context
Take turns reading a complete sentence frame from Chapters 16 and 17. Your partner identifies whether the verb takes avoir or être in that sentence, then produces the complete passé composé form with the correct agreement.
- Léa ______ à Lyon vendredi. → est arrivée
- Léa ______ un café. → a pris
- Nadia ______ dans l'escalier. → est tombée
- Marc ______ son travail. → a fini
Tâche communicative — Communicative task: a recent trip or weekend
With a partner, ask and answer Comment s'est passé ton week-end ? or Qu'est-ce que tu as fait pendant ton voyage ? Each of you should describe at least four completed actions, mixing avoir-verbs, être-verbs, and at least one reflexive verb.
Pratique individuelle — Solo alternative
Record yourself narrating a real or imagined trip: when you left, how you traveled, what time you arrived, and what you did once you got there. Use at least three être-verbs and one reflexive verb in the passé composé.
Reading Practice
Le week-end de Marc — Marc's weekend
Samedi matin, Marc s'est réveillé tôt parce qu'il est parti voir sa famille à Tours. Il est monté dans le train à huit heures, et il est arrivé vers dix heures. Sa mère est venue le chercher à la gare. L'après-midi, ils se sont promenés dans le centre-ville, et Marc est entré dans son ancien lycée pour dire bonjour à un professeur. Le soir, toute la famille s'est couchée assez tôt. Dimanche, Marc est retourné à Paris, fatigué mais content de son week-end. Il n'est pas resté longtemps à Tours, mais ce court voyage lui a fait du bien.
Tâche de lecture — Reading task:
- Why did Marc get up early on Saturday?
- Who came to get him at the train station?
- What did Marc and his family do in the afternoon?
- Did Marc stay a long time in Tours, according to the last sentence?
Writing Workshop
Complete the following linked writing tasks in order.
Tâche 1 — Sentence transformation: Rewrite the following five present-tense sentences in the passé composé. Use the correct auxiliary, and apply subject agreement where required.
- Léa arrive à Lyon vendredi soir.
- Nadia et Léa partent ensemble.
- Marc finit son travail avant le voyage.
- Léa se lève tôt le lendemain.
- Nous prenons le train à huit heures.
Tâche 2 — Connected paragraph: Write a short paragraph of six to eight sentences describing a trip you took or a weekend involving travel or movement. Include at least three scheduled être-verb forms with correct agreement, one reflexive verb, one avoir verb recycled from Chapter 16, one negative sentence, and one past-time expression such as le week-end dernier or à l'arrivée.
- List your activities in order. Choose a real or imagined trip with clear movement between places.
- Identify your auxiliary for each verb. Decide whether each verb takes avoir or être, and check agreement carefully for être-verbs.
- Draft your paragraph. Organize the trip in chronological order using time expressions.
- Read your paragraph aloud once. Listen for smooth connected speech in reflexive sequences and check agreement endings.
- Revise. Confirm negation surrounds the reflexive pronoun and être together, not the participle alone.
Liste de révision — Editing checklist:
- Every scheduled Chapter 17 verb uses the auxiliary required by its meaning and sentence pattern.
- The paragraph uses only the scheduled intransitive être patterns and the reflexive patterns taught in this chapter.
- Past participles with être agree in gender and number with the subject.
- Reflexive verbs include the correct reflexive pronoun before être.
- ne... pas surrounds the reflexive pronoun and être together.
- At least one time expression situates the trip in the past.
- Accents, apostrophes, and punctuation are accurate throughout.
- No vocabulary or grammar from outside Chapters 1–17 has been used.
Culture and Communication
Short weekend trips between French cities are common, and many travelers rely on an extensive train network to move quickly between regional centers. Lyon, mentioned in this chapter, is often described as a hub for gastronomy and history, and short getaways of this kind are a familiar part of student and young-professional life in France, though travel habits and preferred destinations naturally vary by region, budget, and personal interest.
The passé composé with être, including standard reflexive constructions, is used widely across the Francophone world. Informal pronunciation and usage may vary by region and register, but the standard auxiliary and agreement patterns taught here remain the productive model for this level.
Common Mistakes
Error: Writing j'ai allé instead of the correct auxiliary.
Correction: aller always takes être: je suis allé(e).
Error: Writing elle est allé without the feminine ending.
Correction: The participle must agree with a feminine subject: elle est allée.
Error: Writing je suis levée without the reflexive pronoun me.
Correction: Reflexive verbs keep the reflexive pronoun in the passé composé: je me suis levée.
Chapter Review
Partie A — Compréhension (Comprehension)
1. Return to the Model Dialogue, and answer these short questions.
- When did Léa and Nadia leave for Lyon, and when did they arrive?
- What happened to Nadia during their walk in old Lyon?
Partie B — Écriture (Writing)
1. Give the correct form: Elle ______ (arriver) à sept heures.
2. Rewrite in the negative: Nous nous sommes couchés tard. → ______________________________
Partie C — Lecture (Reading)
1. Return to "Le week-end de Marc," and list two être-verbs and one reflexive verb from the passage.
Partie D — Oral (Speaking)
1. With a partner, ask and answer three questions about a recent trip or weekend. Across your exchange, use at least two scheduled être verbs and one reflexive verb in the passé composé, with accurate basic subject agreement.
Practical Performance Task
Chapter 17 Practical Check — Narrating a Trip or Journey
Comment s'est passé ton voyage ? — How Did Your Trip Go?
Complete the following connected tasks, in order.
- Read the model dialogue and the reading passage. Answer the comprehension questions above before continuing.
- Have a short conversation. Ask and answer how a recent trip or weekend went, using at least three scheduled être-verb forms, one reflexive verb, and one avoir verb recycled from Chapter 16.
- Complete the sentence-transformation task. Confirm that each auxiliary, past participle, reflexive pronoun, and agreement ending is correct.
- Write your six-to-eight-sentence paragraph. Apply the editing checklist from the Writing Workshop.
- Read your paragraph aloud once. Listen for smooth connected speech in reflexive sequences and check agreement endings.
| Criterion | What is assessed |
|---|---|
| Auxiliary selection | The learner correctly chooses avoir or être for each scheduled verb based on its meaning and sentence pattern, not on a general "movement equals être" assumption. |
| Basic agreement | The learner applies gender and number agreement with scheduled être-verbs. |
| Reflexive formation | The learner correctly includes the reflexive pronoun with être for the simple reflexive patterns taught in this chapter. |
| Negation | The learner correctly places ne... pas around the reflexive pronoun and être. |
| Oral intelligibility | The learner pronounces auxiliary forms and past participles intelligibly, produces reflexive sequences as smooth connected speech, and does not invent audible agreement endings where none are pronounced. |
| Task completeness | The learner's conversation and paragraph include at least three scheduled être-verb forms, one reflexive verb, one recycled avoir verb, one negative sentence, and one past-time expression, staying within Chapters 1–17. |
This chapter introduces the passé composé with être and reflexive verbs at an introductory level, limited to the scheduled intransitive meanings and simple reflexive patterns taught here. Agreement with a preceding direct object pronoun and the imperfect are not assessed here; the imperfect and past-time contrast are developed in Chapter 18.
Answer Key
Model Dialogue — Comprehension
- They left Friday evening and arrived around ten o'clock in the evening.
- Nadia fell on a small staircase, but she was not hurt.
Writing Workshop — Task 1
- Léa est arrivée à Lyon vendredi soir.
- Nadia et Léa sont parties ensemble.
- Marc a fini son travail avant le voyage.
- Léa s'est levée tôt le lendemain.
- Nous avons pris le train à huit heures.
Writing
- est arrivée
- Nous ne nous sommes pas couchés tard.
Listening
- They left Friday evening and arrived around ten o'clock that evening.
- Nadia woke up first; Léa got up a little later.
- They went for a walk in the old town, and Nadia fell on a staircase.
- They went back to Paris on Sunday evening.
Reading
- Marc got up early because he was leaving to see his family in Tours.
- His mother came to get him at the train station.
- They went for a walk in the town center, and Marc went into his old high school.
- No, he did not stay long in Tours, according to the last sentence.
Part C — Reading (Chapter Review)
Acceptable être-verb forms from "Le week-end de Marc" include est parti, est monté, est arrivé, est venue, est entré, est retourné, and est resté. Acceptable reflexive forms include s'est réveillé, se sont promenés, and s'est couchée. Any two appropriate être-verb forms and one reflexive form are acceptable.
Part D — Speaking (Chapter Review)
Answers will vary. A successful exchange contains three comprehensible questions and answers about a recent trip or weekend, uses at least two scheduled être verbs and one reflexive verb, and applies basic subject agreement accurately.
Looking Ahead
Ce que vous savez déjà faire — What you can do now
You can narrate movement, arrival, departure, and daily routines in the past using the passé composé with être, including reflexive verbs, with correct basic agreement and negation.