Common mistakes
Sortir, monter, passer: five auxiliary mistakes to fix
Compare going out with taking something out, going upstairs with carrying luggage up, and calling round with spending time. Five fixes and a quiz.
- B1
- 5 corrections
- Examples and fixes
- Learn this in the B1 notebook →
In short
Learn the whole construction: elle est sortie means she went out; elle a sorti la chaise means she took the chair out. With these paired uses, adding a direct object changes the construction and the auxiliary. Passer also changes with its meaning: être passé chez quelqu’un but avoir passé la soirée.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learnRed watch out
| The person moves | The person moves something |
|---|---|
| Léa est sortie. | Léa a sorti la chaise. |
| Léa est montée au premier étage. | Léa a monté la valise. |
| Léa est descendue à la cave. | Léa a descendu le carton. |
A destination such as au premier étage is introduced by a preposition. A direct object such as la valise follows the verb directly and tells you what is carried. The pairs here give you clear everyday models. Other verbs of movement have their own constructions: elle a marché uses avoir.
- sortir la chaiseNot: elle est sortie la chaiseShe took the chair out: elle a sorti la chaise.
Elle a sorti la chaise sur le balcon.She took the chair out onto the balcony.
Use avoir when someone takes something out. With the object after the verb, sorti stays unchanged.
- monter la valiseNot: elle est montée la valiseShe carried the suitcase up: elle a monté la valise.
Elle a monté la valise au premier étage.She carried the suitcase up to the first floor.
The carried item is the direct object. Compare her own ascent: elle est montée au premier étage.
- descendre le cartonNot: elle est descendue le cartonShe carried the box down: elle a descendu le carton.
Elle a descendu le carton à la cave.She carried the box down to the cellar.
Keep avoir for carrying the box down. For her own descent, use elle est descendue à la cave.
- passer la soiréeNot: nous sommes passés la soiréeWe spent the evening: nous avons passé la soirée.
Nous avons passé la soirée chez Léa.We spent the evening at Léa’s.
Spending time uses avoir. Compare a visit: Inès est passée chez Léa means Inès called round.
- les chaises qu’elle a sortiesNot: les chaises qu’elle a sortiThe chairs she took out.
Les chaises qu’elle a sorties sont sur le balcon.The chairs she took out are on the balcony.
Les chaises is a feminine plural direct object placed before a sorties, so the participle agrees.
When do sortir, monter and passer take avoir?
Find:
The auxiliary choice carries into other compound tenses: elle était sortie but elle avait sorti la chaise. With être, these non-pronominal examples agree with the subject: Inès est passée. With avoir, check the position of the direct object: elle a sorti les chaises versus les chaises qu’elle a sorties.