<p>In the majority of the cases, verbs conjugated with <span style="font-style: italic;">avoir</span> in compound forms like <span style="font-style: italic;">passé composé</span> do not need agreement. However, there is one specific case when they do. If <strong>the direct object precedes the past participle</strong> in the sentence, the past participle must agree with the direct object. For example (the direct object is green, the participle is brown): </p>
<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Voilà l'<span class="green_emphasis">erreur</span> que j'ai <span class="brown_emphasis">faite.</span> (<span style="font-style: italic;">This is the mistake I made.</span>)</div>
<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence_note">(The direct object is feminine and singular.)</div>
<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Voici les <span class="green_emphasis">cadeaux</span> que les filles ont <span class="brown_emphasis">achetés</span>. (<span style="font-style: italic;">Here are the gifts the girls bought.</span>)</div>
<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence_note">(The direct object is masculine and plural.)</div>
<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Les <span class="green_emphasis">voitures</span> que j'ai <span class="brown_emphasis">vues</span> étaient rouges. (<span style="font-style: italic;">The cars I saw were red.</span>)</div>
<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence_note">(The direct object is feminine and plural.)</div>
<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">Je suis sûre qu'il <span class="green_emphasis">m</span>'a <span class="brown_emphasis">prise</span> pour ma grande sœur. (<span style="font-style: italic;">I'm sure he thought I was my big sister.</span>)</div>
<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence_note">(The direct object (the speaker) is feminine and singular, as indicated by the word 'sûre'.)</div>
French conjugation explanation