Monter with a person

Question

Hi Aurélie,
This is a great article, thank you. 
Referring to http://www.french-linguistics.co.uk/grammar/avoir_or_etre.shtml
can yo clarify "In other cases, particularly when the subject is a person, être is used:" e.g. he went up to the third floor. Is this different to your example above 'you went up the stairs silently"

Answer

Bonjour Gaurav !

First of all, thank you very much :)
The difference between these two examples is the use of a direct object or not:
"Il est monté au troisième étage."
-> Here there's no direct object (he went up what *where*? to the third floor). Hint: the complement group is introduced by a preposition "au"(à+le).

"Tu as monté les escaliers en silence."
-> Here there is a direct object (you went up *what*? -the stairs). Hint: the group is not introduced by a preposition -> "les".

I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !

Answer

Merci beaucoup. I noted the use of the preposition as a way of recognising the difference. 
P.S. It would be good if we got email notifications for these posts.