Participle Agreement
with a Preceding Direct Object
The past participle of the passé composé, will always reflect the gender and number of a preceding direct object (see Object Pronouns).
La gloire, je l'ai connue, je l'ai vue.
--Honoré de Balzac La liberté appartient à ceux qui l'ont conquise.
J'ai vu la chatte traverser la rue. |
A preceding direct object need not necessarily appear as a pronoun directly in front of the verbal clause. If the passé composé is used inside a relative clause, the modified noun could potentially be a preceding direct object (see Relative Pronouns).
Il a créé la plus forte administration civile
que la France ait connue -- André Malraux à propos de Napoléon 1, Antimémoires. Les vrais paradis sont les paradis qu'on a perdus.
- Marcel Proust |
Also in questions, the interrogative pronoun often counts as a preceding direct object.
Reflexive
If the subject is the direct object of the verb, the past participle of the
passé composé will agree with it (See reflexives).
Elle s'est assise. She sat down. Nous nous sommes peignés. Cosette s'était toujours crue laide. |
Careful! If the subject is the indirect object of a reflexive sentence, no agreement takes place.
In addition when the reflexive takes an object, the past participle will agree with this object rather than the subject when it is preceding.
Elle s'est brossée les dents. Elle se les est brossées.She brushed her teeth. |