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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb caillouter

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The English translation of the French verb caillouter is “to cover with small stones” or “to pave with pebbles.” The infinitive form is pronounced “kahy-too-tay” with the stress on the last syllable.

The verb caillouter comes from the French word “caillou,” meaning “pebble” or “small stone,” and the suffix “-er,” which is used to form verbs in French.

In everyday French, caillouter is most often used in the Passé Composé tense to indicate an action that was completed in the past. It is formed by using the auxiliary verb “avoir” (to have) or “être” (to be) conjugated in the present tense, followed by the past participle of caillouter.

Here are three simple examples of caillouter in the Passé Composé tense:

  1. J’ai caillouté le chemin devant la maison. (I paved the path in front of the house.)
  2. Elle a caillouté le jardin pour créer un chemin. (She covered the garden with small stones to create a path.)
  3. Ils sont allés en montagne et ont caillouté le sentier. (They went to the mountains and paved the trail with pebbles.)

Note: In the third example, the auxiliary verb “être” is used because the verb caillouter is being used in a transitive sense, meaning it has a direct object (the trail). When used intransitively, meaning without a direct object, the verb “avoir” is used instead. For example: “Les enfants ont caillouté toute l’après-midi.” (The children were playing with pebbles all afternoon.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
je ai caillouté J’ai caillouté le chemin. I stoned the path.
tu as caillouté Tu as caillouté la rivière. You stoned the river.
il a caillouté Il a caillouté le jardin. He stoned the garden.
elle a caillouté Elle a caillouté la route. She stoned the road.
on a caillouté On a caillouté la cour. We stoned the courtyard.
nous avons caillouté Nous avons caillouté le chantier. We stoned the construction site.
vous avez caillouté Vous avez caillouté le parc. You stoned the park.
ils ont caillouté Ils ont caillouté la plage. They stoned the beach.
elles ont caillouté Elles ont caillouté le toit. They stoned the roof.

Other Conjugations for Caillouter.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb caillouter
   

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

    Passé Composé (Present Perfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb caillouter    (this article)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Struggling with French verbs or the language in general? Why not use our free French Grammar Checker – no registration required!
   

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Caillouter – 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 caillouter. Still in a learning mood? Check out another TOTALLY random French verb conjugation!

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