French flag

Motion verbs that change auxiliary with an object

When learning the French past tense, you quickly discover that some verbs of motion use être instead of avoir. Classic examples include sortir, monter, and descendre. However, these verbs have a hidden trick up their sleeve.

If you change the meaning from simply moving your own body to moving a separate object, the auxiliary verb switches back to avoir. This quirk trips up many English speakers, but it follows a very logical pattern once you spot the direct object.

Word list
sortirA1 to go out uses être (no direct object) or avoir (direct object): a sorti = took out descendreA2 to go down uses être (no direct object) or avoir (direct object): a descendu = brought down descendreA2 to get off uses être (no direct object): elle est descendue du train descendreA2 to get out uses être (no direct object): nous sommes descendus de la voiture = got out of the car entrerA2 to enter uses être (no direct object): entering places monterA2 to go up uses être (no direct object) or avoir (direct object): a monté = carried up monterA2 to get on uses être (no direct object): je suis monté dans le bus monterA2 to get in uses être (no direct object): il est monté dans la voiture = got into the car passerA2 to spend uses avoir (direct object): spending time rentrerA2 to go home uses être (no direct object) or avoir (direct object): a rentré = brought inside retournerA2 to return uses être (no direct object) or avoir (direct object): a retourné = turned over sortirA2 to take out uses avoir (direct object): j'ai sorti les clés de mon sac = took the keys out entrerB1 to enter uses avoir (direct object): entering data passerB1 to pass by uses être (no direct object): passing by a physical place passer l'aspirateurB1 to vacuum uses avoir (direct object): j'ai passé l'aspirateur passer prendreB1 to pick up uses être (no direct object): il est passé me prendre sortirB1 to date uses être (no direct object): elle est sortie avec lui passer la douaneB2 to go through customs uses avoir (direct object): j'ai passé la douane retournerB2 to return uses avoir (direct object): j'ai retourné le produit = returned the product passer en contrebandeC1 to smuggle uses avoir (direct object): il a passé de l'alcool en contrebande = smuggled passerC2 to pass uses avoir (direct object): il a passé le ballon = passed the ball
Adding a Direct Object

When a person simply moves, the verb takes être. If the person moves an object, that object becomes the direct object of the sentence. In grammar terms, the verb now takes a direct object. Whenever this happens, French requires you to use avoir.

Elle est descendue dans le salon.
(She went down into the living room.)
Elle a descendu les valises.
(She brought the suitcases down.)

Notice that when you switch to avoir, the past participle no longer agrees with the subject. Let us look at the same pattern with sortir.

Ils sont sortis hier soir.
(They went out last night.)
Ils ont sorti la poubelle.
(They took the trash out.)
How the meaning changes in English

In French, you use the same verb for both actions, but in English, the translation often changes entirely to reflect the new meaning.

For instance, monter means to go up, but with a direct object, it means to bring or carry something up.

Je suis monté au deuxième étage.
(I went up to the second floor.)
J'ai monté les cartons.
(I carried the boxes up.)

Similarly, rentrer usually means to go home. If you add an object, it means to bring something inside.

Nous sommes rentrés tard.
(We came home late.)
Nous avons rentré les chaises de jardin.
(We brought the garden chairs inside.)
Passing time and entering data

The verb passer is a very common trap. If you drop by a place, you use être. But if you spend time, the time itself is the direct object, so you must use avoir.

Il est passé chez moi.
(He stopped by my place.)
Il a passé trois jours ici.
(He spent three days here.)

The verb entrer works the exact same way. It uses être when you walk into a room, but it takes avoir when you enter data into a computer.

Vous avez entré le mauvais mot de passe.
(You entered the wrong password.)
Summary

To decide between être and avoir for these flexible motion verbs, check what follows the verb. If the subject is just moving their own body, use être. If they are moving an object, spending time, or entering data, use avoir.