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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb commémorer

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The English translation of the French verb commémorer is “to commemorate.” It is pronounced “koh-meh-moh-reh” in its infinitive form.

Commémorer comes from the Latin word “commemorare” meaning “to remember” or “to call to mind.” It entered the French language in the 14th century and has been used primarily in a literary or formal context to refer to the act of remembering or honoring someone or something.

In everyday French, commémorer is most often used in the Passé Composé tense, which is the equivalent of the present perfect tense in English. This tense is used to describe actions that were completed in the past but have an impact on the present.

Here are three simple examples of how commémorer is used in the Passé Composé tense in everyday French:

  1. Nous avons commémoré le centenaire de la Première Guerre mondiale l’année dernière. (We commemorated the centenary of World War I last year.)

  2. Ils ont commémoré la mémoire de leur grand-père en plantant un arbre dans le jardin. (They commemorated the memory of their grandfather by planting a tree in the garden.)

  3. Le pays a commémoré le décès du président en observant une minute de silence. (The country commemorated the death of the president by observing a minute of silence.)

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

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
je ai commémoré J’ai commémoré cet événement. I commemorated this event.
tu as commémoré Tu as commémoré leur sacrifice. You commemorated their sacrifice.
il a commémoré Il a commémoré la fête nationale. He commemorated the national holiday.
elle a commémoré Elle a commémoré leur anniversaire de mariage. She commemorated their wedding anniversary.
on a commémoré On a commémoré la guerre. We commemorated the war.
nous avons commémoré Nous avons commémoré leur mémoire. We commemorated their memory.
vous avez commémoré Vous avez commémoré leur victoire. You commemorated their victory.
ils ont commémoré Ils ont commémoré le jour de l’Armistice. They commemorated Armistice Day.
elles ont commémoré Elles ont commémoré l’anniversaire de la fondation de l’entreprise. They commemorated the anniversary of the company’s foundation.

Other Conjugations for Commémorer.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb commémorer
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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