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

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb déclarer

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The English translation of the French verb déclarer is “to declare” or “to state.” It is pronounced “deh-kla-ray.”

Déclarer comes from the Latin verb “declarare” which means “to make clear” or “to announce.” In modern French, it is most often used in the Passé Composé tense, which is equivalent to the English Present Perfect tense. This tense is used to talk about completed actions in the past that have a connection to the present.

Three examples of déclarer in the Passé Composé tense are:

  1. J’ai déclaré mes revenus hier soir. (I declared my income last night.)
  2. Elle a déclaré son amour pour lui lors du dîner. (She declared her love for him during dinner.)
  3. Nous avons déclaré la guerre à notre voisin. (We declared war on our neighbor.)

These examples all show actions that were completed in the past and have a direct impact on the present. In the first sentence, the action of declaring income is linked to tax season. In the second sentence, the declaration of love has a current effect on the relationship between the two people. And in the third sentence, the declaration of war has consequences that are still being felt in the present.

In everyday French, déclarer is commonly used in situations related to official statements or declarations, such as declaring income for taxes, declaring one’s love, or declaring war. It can also be used in a more general sense, such as declaring one’s intentions or beliefs.

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

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
je ai déclaré J’ai déclaré mes impôts. I declared my taxes.
tu as déclaré Tu as déclaré ta candidature. You declared your candidacy.
il a déclaré Il a déclaré la guerre. He declared war.
elle a déclaré Elle a déclaré son amour. She declared her love.
on a déclaré On a déclaré la réunion terminée. We declared the meeting over.
nous avons déclaré Nous avons déclaré nos revenus. We declared our income.
vous avez déclaré Vous avez déclaré vos bagages. You declared your luggage.
ils ont déclaré Ils ont déclaré leur indépendance. They declared their independence.
elles ont déclaré Elles ont déclaré leur intention. They declared their intention.

Other Conjugations for Déclarer.

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

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb déclarer
   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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