Verb agreement with a direct object

Dominique M.C1Kwiziq community member

Verb agreement with a direct object

Elle les (découper) - I think should be ‘Elles les découpes’ with a direct plural object, n’est-ce pas?

Asked 9 months ago

Maarten K.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

Dominique,

I think the agreement you are thinking of with a direct object preceding the verb is of the past participle in compound tenses conjugated with ‘ avoir ‘, which isn’t the case in either of your examples. They are both simple present tense, and conjugation of the verb form accords with the subject.

(Passé composé is used in the attached lesson as the exemplar compound tense with avoir).

From what you have written ‘ elle les découpe ‘ - 3rd person singular is correct. However, with the plural it would be 3rd person plural ‘ elles les découpent ‘

Special cases when the past participle agrees (in number & gender) when used with 'avoir' in the compound past in French (Le Passé Composé)

Like09 months ago