French verb apparaître is very unusual in Le Passé Composé (Indicatif), in that it can take either avoir or être as its auxiliary.
Soudain, le fantôme est apparu au plafond.Suddenly, the ghost appeared on the ceiling.
Soudain, le fantôme a apparu au plafond.Suddenly, the ghost appeared on the ceiling.
Conjugations of APPARAÎTRE (to appear) in Le Passé Composé (Indicatif) in French
j'/je |
suis apparu(e) |
ai apparu |
tu |
es apparu(e) |
as apparu |
il / elle / on |
est apparu(e)(s) |
a apparu |
nous |
sommes apparu(e)s |
avons apparu |
vous |
êtes apparu(e)(s) |
avez apparu |
ils / elles |
sont apparu(e)s |
ont apparu |
To conjugate apparaître in Le Passé Composé (Indicatif), both auxiliaries avoir and être are perfectly valid and interchangeable while the meaning remains the same.
In terms of usage, être is used more often than avoir in colloquial speech.
Of course, the auxiliaries behave as usual, meaning that with être, you need to agree the past participle with the subject. With avoir, there is no agreement.
Here are some more examples:
Tu aurais vu sa tête quand je suis apparu devant lui !You should have seen his face when I appeared in front of him!
Tu as apparu comme un ange tombé du ciel.You appeared like an angel fallen from the sky.
Elle est apparue de nulle part !She appeared out of nowhere!
Elle a apparu de nulle part !She appeared out of nowhere!
Nous sommes apparus dans un nuage de fumée.We appeared in a cloud of smoke.
La porte s'est ouverte et vous avez apparu.The door opened and you appeared.
À ce moment-là, les étoiles sont apparues dans le ciel nocturne.At that moment, the stars appeared in the night sky.
À ce moment-là, les étoiles ont apparu dans le ciel nocturne.At that moment, the stars appeared in the night sky.
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