Agreement Survival Guide
📖
Agreement Survival Guide
A
The Basics Rule Everything
-
At this level, everything is predictable. You only need to recognize the auxiliary verb and apply the most basic agreement rules.
- ✅ Il est arrivé.
- ✅ Elles sont parties.
- ➡️ Elle a vu.
- ➡️ Elle a vu les fleurs.
ÊTRE : the past participle always agrees in gender and number with the subject.
AVOIR : there is no agreement when there is no direct object (COD) before the verb.
Examples:
B
The Hidden Object Strikes Back
-
Now things get more interesting. Agreement depends on the position of the direct object (COD).
- ✅ Les lettres que j’ai écrites.
- ➡️ J’ai écrit les lettres.
- ✅ Elle les a prises. (~les lettres)
If a direct object (COD) is placed before the verb with AVOIR, the participle agrees with that COD.
If the COD comes after the verb, there is no agreement.
When the COD is a pronoun (le, la, les, que, etc.) and precedes the verb, agreement applies.
Examples:
C
COD or COI, that's the question.
-
Not everything that looks like a COD actually is one.
- ✅ Elle s’est levée.
- ❌ Elle s’est parlé.
- ❌ Elle s’est lavé les mains.
- ❌ Elles leur ont parlé.
Agreement depends on whether the reflexive pronoun is a COD or a COI.
If the reflexive pronoun is an indirect object (COI), there is no agreement.
Examples:
D
The Trap Level: Nothing Is What It Seems
-
This is where even advanced learners hesitate. You must understand how verbs interact with infinitives and special constructions.
Some extra special cases are covered in this module.
- ❌ Les fleurs qu’elle a vu pousser.
- ❌ Les chansons qu’elle a fait chanter.
- ❌ Il a fallu partir.
- ❌ Des pommes, elle en a mangé.
No agreement when:
- the COD belongs to an infinitive
- with "faire" + infinitive
- impersonal constructions are used
- COD is replaced by "en".
Try to understand who is doing the action and whether the COD belongs to the main verb or the infinitive.
Examples:
E
The Last Battle: No Rules Given
-
Now we will mix all exercises and see how you can handle them.
To write correct French, you need to understand all the rules of agreement.
Ready?