Voir (to see) · Passé Composé
By TutorLily Editorial Team · Last updated
Voir in the French passé composé is: j'ai vu, tu as vu, il/elle/on a vu, nous avons vu, vous avez vu, ils/elles ont vu. The passé composé of voir uses AVOIR + the short past participle 'vu'. 'J'ai vu la mer' = 'I saw / I have seen the sea'. 'Vu' is invariable unless preceded by a direct object.
| To See | Voir |
|---|---|
| I saw | j'ai vu |
| you saw | tu as vu |
| he/she saw | il/elle/on a vu |
| we saw | nous avons vu |
| you saw | vous avez vu |
| they saw | ils/elles ont vu |
Voir (to see) in context
Sentences that use voir in the passé composé. Tap each to hear it.
I saw a beautiful film last night.
Have you seen Paul recently?
She saw a doctor yesterday.
We saw the Eiffel Tower for the first time.
Did you see the sunset?
They saw a deer in the forest.
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 voir?
Should I use 'j'ai vu' (passé composé) or 'je voyais' (imparfait)?
What does 'on a vu' mean as a stand-alone phrase?
Practice Voir (To See) in real conversations
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