Connaître (to know) · Passé Composé
By TutorLily Editorial Team · Last updated
Connaître in the French passé composé is: j'ai connu, tu as connu, il/elle/on a connu, nous avons connu, vous avez connu, ils/elles ont connu. The passé composé of connaître uses AVOIR + participle 'connu'. 'J'ai connu Marie en 2019' = 'I met Marie in 2019' (NOT 'I knew Marie'). Like Spanish 'conocí', the passé composé shifts to mean 'met for the first time' — a meaning-shift preterite verb.
| To Know | Connaître |
|---|---|
| I knew | j'ai connu |
| you knew | tu as connu |
| he/she knew | il/elle/on a connu |
| we knew | nous avons connu |
| you knew | vous avez connu |
| they knew | ils/elles ont connu |
Connaître (to know) in context
Sentences that use connaître in the passé composé. Tap each to hear it.
I met my husband at university.
Did you know his/her father?
She has known a lot of success.
We got to know Rome together.
You have known difficult times.
They met at a party.
Working with the passé composé
The passé composé is French's dominant past tense — used in almost every spoken past reference ("j'ai mangé" = "I ate" or "I have eaten"). It's a COMPOUND tense formed with an auxiliary (avoir for most verbs, être for ~17 motion/state verbs and all reflexives) plus a past participle. Two things to memorise: which verbs take être (aller, venir, partir, sortir, arriver, monter, descendre, naître, mourir, rester, tomber, devenir, retourner, entrer, rentrer, passer, revenir — the so-called "house of être"), and agreement rules (être verbs agree with the subject; avoir verbs only agree with a preceding direct object).
Frequently asked questions
How do you form the passé composé of connaître?
Why does 'j'ai connu' mean 'I met' instead of 'I knew'?
Should I use 'j'ai connu' or 'je connaissais'?
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