Passé Composé (Present Perfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb abréger

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb abréger

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The English translation of the French verb “abréger” is “to shorten” or “to abbreviate.” The infinitive form of abréger is pronounced as “ah-breh-zhay.”

The word “abréger” comes from the Old French term “abregier,” which in turn derives from the Latin “abbreviare,” meaning “to make brief.” In everyday French, “abréger” is commonly used in the Passé Composé tense (Present Perfect) to talk about actions that have been completed in the past.

Here are three examples of “abréger” in the Passé Composé tense with their English translations:

  1. J’ai abrégé mon discours.
    (I shortened my speech.)

  2. Elle a abrégé son séjour en France.
    (She shortened her stay in France.)

  3. Nous avons abrégé le temps d’attente.
    (We shortened the waiting time.)

In these examples, the verb “abrégé” is conjugated in the Passé Composé tense according to the subject of the sentence (j’ai, elle a, nous avons). It is used to express actions that were completed in the past, specifically the act of shortening or abbreviating something.

Table of the Passé Composé (Present Perfect) Tense Conjugation of abréger

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
je ai abrégé J’ai abrégé l’histoire. I abridged the story.
tu as abrégé Tu as abrégé le discours. You abridged the speech.
il a abrégé Il a abrégé le texte. He abridged the text.
elle a abrégé Elle a abrégé la réunion. She abridged the meeting.
on a abrégé On a abrégé le livre. We abridged the book.
nous avons abrégé Nous avons abrégé le chapitre. We abridged the chapter.
vous avez abrégé Vous avez abrégé le contrat. You abridged the contract.
ils ont abrégé Ils ont abrégé la chanson. They abridged the song.
elles ont abrégé Elles ont abrégé le cours. They abridged the lesson.

Other Conjugations for Abréger.

Le Present (Present Tense) Conjugation of the French Verb abréger

Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb abréger

Passé Simple (Simple Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb abréger

Passé Composé (Present Perfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb abréger (You’re reading it right now!)

Futur Simple (Simple Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb abréger

Futur Proche (Near Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb abréger

Plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb abréger

Passé Antérieur (Past Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb abréger

Futur Antérieur (Future Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb abréger

Subjonctif Présent (Subjunctive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb abréger

Subjonctif Passé (Subjunctive Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb abréger

Subjonctif Imparfait (Subjunctive Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb abréger

Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait (Subjunctive Pluperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb abréger

Conditionnel Présent (Conditional Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb abréger

Conditionnel Passé (Conditional Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb abréger

Conditionnel Passé II (Conditional Past II) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb abréger

L’impératif Présent (Imperative Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb abréger

L’impératif Passé (Imperative Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb abréger

L’infinitif Présent (Infinitive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb abréger

L’infinitif Passé (Infinitive Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb abréger

Le Participe Présent (Present Participle) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb abréger

Le Participe Passé (Past Participle) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb abréger

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Abréger – About the French Passé Composé (Present Perfect) Tense

The French Passé Composé is a compound tense used to express actions or events that have been completed in the past. It is one of the most common past tenses in the French language and is typically used in everyday conversation to describe actions that occurred at a specific point in the past. The Passé Composé is constructed using an auxiliary verb (either “être” or “avoir”) and a past participle.

NOTE: To take a deep dive into all the French tenses then see our article on Mastering French Tense Conjugation.

Formation of the Passé Composé

Set the auxiliary verb with either

“être” – used with a select group of verbs (mostly intransitive verbs of motion, reflexive verbs, and some others) or
“avoir” – used with most other verbs. 

Conjugate the auxiliary verb

If using “être,” you must conjugate it in the present tense according to the subject of the sentence. 
Je suis, Tu es, Il est, Nous sommes, Vous êtes, Ils sont 
If using “avoir,” conjugate it according to the subject as well: 
J’ai, Tu as, Elle a, Nous avons, Vous avez, Ils ont.  

Add the past participle

For regular -er verbs, remove the -er ending and add -é (e.g., “parler” becomes “parlé”). 
For regular -ir verbs, remove the -ir ending and add -i (e.g., “finir” becomes “fini”). 
For regular -re verbs, remove the -re ending and add -u (e.g., “vendre” becomes “vendu”). 
For irregular verbs, you’ll need to learn the past participles individually, as they don’t follow a regular pattern.

Common everyday usage patterns

Narrating Past Events

The Passé Composé is used to talk about specific actions or events that took place in the past. For example: “Hier, j’ai mangé une pizza” (Yesterday, I ate a pizza). 

Sequential Actions

When describing a series of actions in the past, the Passé Composé is used. For example: “D’abord, je me suis réveillé, puis je suis allé travailler” (First, I woke up, then I went to work). 

Describing Completed Actions

It’s used to emphasize that an action has been completed, often with a specific time reference. For example: “Elle a terminé son travail à 18 heures” (She finished her work at 6 p.m.). 

Interactions with other tenses

Imperfect Tense

The Passé Composé is often used in conjunction with the imperfect tense when telling a story or describing past events. The Passé Composé is used for specific actions that occurred, while the imperfect is used for background information or ongoing actions. 
For example: “Il pleuvait quand j’ai sorti mon parapluie” (It was raining when I took out my umbrella).

Conditional and Future Tenses

The Passé Composé is used as a reference point in complex sentences to establish the sequence of events in relation to future or conditional actions. 
For example: “Quand il est arrivé, je lui ai donné ton message” (When he arrived, I gave him your message). 

Summary

The French Passé Composé is an essential tense for talking about completed actions in the past in everyday conversation. It’s important to master the choice of auxiliary verb and the past participle conjugation for various verbs to use it effectively.

I hope you enjoyed this article on the verb abréger. Still in a learning mood? Check out another TOTALLY random French verb conjugation!

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