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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb collaborer

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The English translation of the French verb collaborer is “to collaborate.” It is pronounced “koh-lah-buh-ray.”

The word collaborer comes from the Latin word “collaborare,” meaning “to labor together.” It entered the French language in the 16th century and has been used in various contexts throughout history.

In everyday French, collaborer is most often used in the passé composé (present perfect) tense to indicate a completed action in the past. This tense is formed by using the auxiliary verb “avoir” (to have) or “être” (to be) and the past participle of the verb collaborer, which is “collaboré.”

Here are three simple examples of how collaborer is used in the passé composé tense:

  1. Hier, j’ai collaboré avec mes collègues sur un projet important.
    Translation: Yesterday, I collaborated with my colleagues on an important project.

  2. Elle a collaboré avec plusieurs artistes renommés pour son dernier album.
    Translation: She collaborated with several renowned artists for her latest album.

  3. Nous sommes allés à Paris la semaine dernière et nous avons collaboré avec une entreprise française.
    Translation: We went to Paris last week and we collaborated with a French company.

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

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
je ai collaboré J’ai collaboré avec mon équipe. I collaborated with my team.
tu as collaboré Tu as collaboré avec moi. You collaborated with me.
il a collaboré Il a collaboré avec l’entreprise. He collaborated with the company.
elle a collaboré Elle a collaboré avec son partenaire. She collaborated with her partner.
on a collaboré On a collaboré sur le projet. We collaborated on the project.
nous avons collaboré Nous avons collaboré avec d’autres équipes. We collaborated with other teams.
vous avez collaboré Vous avez collaboré avec le client. You collaborated with the client.
ils ont collaboré Ils ont collaboré pour atteindre l’objectif. They collaborated to achieve the goal.
elles ont collaboré Elles ont collaboré pour résoudre le problème. They collaborated to solve the problem.

Other Conjugations for Collaborer.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb collaborer
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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