Passé composé with être: movement & change (Vandertramp)
The Passé Composé — Verbs That Use Être
Most French verbs use avoir in the passé composé. But some verbs are special — they use être instead.
These are usually verbs of movement or change of state, and recognizing them is essential for forming correct past tense sentences.
The Big Idea: Movement and Change
Verbs that take être often describe:
- Movement → going somewhere, leaving, coming back
- Change of state → being born, dying, becoming something
Examples: aller → to go, venir → to come, naître → to be born
The “Dr & Mrs Vandertramp” Trick
A popular way to remember these verbs is the acronym Dr & Mrs Vandertramp
| Letter | Verb | English |
|---|---|---|
| D | Devenir | to become |
| R | Revenir | to come back |
| M | Monter | to go up / climb |
| R | Rester | to stay |
| S | Sortir | to go out |
| V | Venir | to come |
| A | Aller | to go |
| N | Naître | to be born |
| D | Descendre | to go down |
| E | Entrer | to enter |
| R | Rentrer | to return / go back |
| T | Tomber | to fall |
| R | Retourner | to return |
| A | Arriver | to arrive |
| M | Mourir | to die |
| P | Partir | to leave |
Using These Verbs in the Passé Composé
The structure is still:
Être (present) + past participle
Examples:
- Je suis allé au marché → I went to the market
- Il est né en 2000 → He was born in 2000
Important Note 1
In French, the vast majority of transitive verbs—those that can take a direct object, like "to read a book" (lire un livre) or "to have a coffee" (prendre un café)—use avoir.
The auxiliary être is reserved strictly for:
- The 17 verbs of motion/state: The "Dr. & Mrs. Vandertramp" list we saw earlier.
- All reflexive (pronominal) verbs: Any verb that uses a reflexive pronoun (se laver, se souvenir, etc.).
Important Note 2
If you are ever in doubt, default to "avoir." Because it covers almost all transitive verbs and the majority of the French language, you will be right about 90% of the time. You only need to "switch gears" to être when you recognize a Vandertramp verb or see that "se" in front of the action.
Key Takeaways
- Most verbs take avoir, but a few take être — usually movement or change of state verbs.
- Use the Dr & Mrs Vandertramp acronym to remember them.
- Structure = Être (present) + past participle.
- These verbs are essential for talking about actions that “happen to the subject”.
In the app, you will find interactive exercises and quizzes tailored for this intermediate level.
Practice French conjugation for free in the Croissant Verbs app
Quizzes and spaced repetition for every tense, for free on your phone—plus short grammar guides on our Learn hub.
