A rule about word order, not about the subject.
With avoir, French past participles usually stay the same: elle a mangé, ils ont mangé. The exception is the preceding direct object agreement: when the direct object comes before the verb, the participle takes its gender and number. La lettre que j'ai écrite needs an e; j'ai écrit la lettre does not.
The rule is about word order. Once you can spot a direct object sitting before the verb, the rest follows.
With avoir, the participle never agrees with the subject. It only agrees with a direct object, and only when that object is placed before the verb. In a normal sentence the object comes after, so nothing changes:
The rule page on past participle agreement with avoir covers the basics with exercises.
Ask three questions in order and stop at the first no.
| Question | If yes | If no |
|---|---|---|
| Is the auxiliary avoir? | next question | other rule (être, reflexive verbs) |
| Is there a direct object (what? whom?) | next question | no agreement: elle a dormi |
| Does it come before the verb? | agree with it | no agreement: elle a lu ces livres |
To find the direct object, ask what? or whom? right after the participle: elle a lu quoi ? ces livres.
The most common preceding direct object is a pronoun. Find the noun it replaces, then copy its gender and number:
Watch l': before a vowel, le and la both become l', so the gender is hidden. Go back to the noun: ce film, je l'ai vu, but cette série, je l'ai vue.
In a relative clause, que stands for the noun before it and is a direct object placed before the verb. So the participle agrees with that noun:
Sometimes you can hear it: écrite, prise and faite sound different from écrit, pris and fait. Most endings are silent, though, so check the noun rather than your ear.
Quel pulls the object to the front of the sentence, so it triggers agreement too:
Some objects placed before the verb never trigger agreement:
This is also where the avoir rule differs from verbs that take être, which agree with their subject: compare with past participle agreement with être. Reflexive verbs mix both logics and have their own page on pronominal verbs and agreement.
| Sentence | Right form | Why |
|---|---|---|
| La lettre que j'ai … | écrite | que = la lettre, before the verb |
| Tes clés ? Je les ai … | trouvées | les = tes clés, before the verb |
| Elle a … ses clés. | perdu | object after the verb |
| Des pommes ? J'en ai … | mangé | en never agrees |
| Quelle robe as-tu … ? | choisie | quel puts the object first |
With avoir, look for a direct object before the verb (a pronoun, que or quel) and copy its gender and number; anywhere else, leave the participle alone. The habit settles by writing these sentences, and Apostrophe· reads you French dictations and marks each missing ending word by word.
When does the past participle agree with avoir?
Only when a direct object comes before the verb: a pronoun like la or les, the relative que, or a question with quel. Otherwise it stays unchanged.
Does the participle agree with the subject when using avoir?
No. With avoir, the subject never matters: elle a mangé, ils ont mangé. Subject agreement belongs to verbs that take être.
Why does j'en ai mangé not agree?
Because en does not pass on a gender or a number. Des pommes, j'en ai mangé keeps the participle unchanged.
Can I hear preceding direct object agreement?
Sometimes: écrite, prise and faite sound different from their masculine forms. Most endings are silent, so check the noun the object stands for.
Apostrophe· reads you a sentence, corrects it word by word, and explains the exact rule behind each mistake.
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