What is verb agreement in French?

Two things at once. The conjugated verb agrees with its subject in person and number, as in nous parlons. In compound tenses the past participle may also agree in gender and number, either with the subject after être (elle est venue) or with a preceding direct object after avoir (je l'ai vue).

When does the past participle agree in French?

Always with the subject when the auxiliary is être, including passives and pronominal verbs. Only with a preceding direct object when the auxiliary is avoir. If the object comes after the verb, or if the complement is indirect, nothing changes: j'ai vu les filles, je leur ai parlé.

Why is it tout le monde est and not tout le monde sont?

Because tout le monde is a singular noun phrase, literally all the world. French counts the grammar rather than the number of people, which is why tout le monde est content and everybody is happy line up exactly.

Does the verb agree with la plupart or with the noun after it?

With the noun after de: la plupart des gens sont venus, la plupart du temps se passe bien. The same holds for beaucoup de, un tiers de, and la moitié de, so the plural or singular of that second noun is what you count.

Why does agreement matter if you can't hear it?

Most of it is silent, so in speech it costs you nothing. In writing it is one of the clearest markers of accuracy, and a few forms are audible: elle est venue and elles sont venues sound the same, but fait and faite differ, as do écrit and écrite.

French grammar · Intermediate

Verb Agreement in French: Subjects, Participles, and the Hard Cases

Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed May 2026

French verbs agree twice over: the conjugated verb matches its subject in person and number, and the past participle may additionally match a noun in gender and number. Which noun it matches depends on the auxiliary, which is why elle est partie has an extra e but elle a parti never occurs.

Mes cousines sont arrivées, et les fleurs qu'elles ont apportées sont magnifiques.

My cousins have arrived, and the flowers they brought are beautiful.

What it is

Two independent systems are at work in every French sentence. The first is familiar from English: the verb ending reflects who is doing the action. The second has no English equivalent: in compound tenses, the past participle can take the endings of an adjective and agree in gender and number with a noun elsewhere in the sentence.

Elles ont chanté, puis elles sont parties. — They sang, then they left. (chanté flat, parties agreeing)

How to spot it

Deal with the conjugated verb first: find the subject and count it. Then, if there is a participle, look at the auxiliary. Être sends you to the subject; avoir sends you looking for a direct object in front of the verb.

Nous partons demain. — We're leaving tomorrow. (subject agreement only)
Elle est descendue. — She came down. (être → subject)
Je les ai vues. — I saw them. (avoir + preceding object)
J'ai vu les filles. — I saw the girls. (object follows → no agreement)

Most agreement endings are silent. Vu, vue, vus, and vues all sound identical, which is why agreement is above all a writing problem.

Verb Agreement Quick Reference

What each kind of agreement matches

Situation	Agrees with	Example
Simple tenses	the subject's person and number	Nous parlons. — We speak.
Participle with être	the subject's gender and number	Elle est partie. — She left.
Participle with avoir	a direct object that comes first	les clés que j'ai perdues — the keys I lost
Participle with avoir, object after	nothing at all	J'ai perdu les clés. — I lost the keys.
Pronominal verbs	the subject, unless an object follows	Elle s'est levée. — She got up.
Passive voice	the subject	Les portes ont été fermées. — The doors were closed.
Impersonal il	nothing: always singular	Il a fallu partir. — We had to leave.

Common Verb Agreement Examples in French

The four agreement situations, one at a time:

Subject and Verb

Les enfants dorment déjà.: The children are already asleep.
Mon frère et moi partons demain.: My brother and I are leaving tomorrow.
Tout le monde est arrivé à l'heure.: Everybody arrived on time.
Ni lui ni moi ne le savons.: Neither he nor I know.

A compound subject with mixed persons takes the earliest one: moi wins over toi, and toi wins over lui.

Participles with Être

Elle est rentrée très tard.: She got home very late.
Ils sont venus à pied.: They came on foot.
Mes sœurs sont sorties ensemble.: My sisters went out together.
Nous sommes restés une semaine.: We stayed a week.

With être the participle behaves exactly like an adjective, taking -e, -s, or -es to match the subject.

Participles with Avoir

J'ai écrit deux lettres.: I wrote two letters.
Les lettres que j'ai écrites sont parties.: The letters I wrote have gone.
Je les ai vues hier.: I saw them yesterday.
Combien de films as-tu vus ?: How many films have you seen?

The first sentence has its object after the verb, so nothing agrees. The other three all put the object first.

Pronominal Verbs

Elle s'est levée à six heures.: She got up at six.
Elle s'est lavé les mains.: She washed her hands.
Ils se sont parlé longtemps.: They talked for a long time.
Elles se sont rencontrées à Lyon.: They met in Lyon.

The second and third examples have no agreement: les mains is the real object in one, and se is indirect in the other.

How French Agreement Is Organised

Five principles. The first two are mechanical; the last three are where accurate writing is won or lost.

Two Systems, Not One

Subject agreement is about person and number and applies to every verb in every tense. Participle agreement is about gender and number and only exists in compound tenses. They are decided separately and can point at different nouns in the same sentence.

Les lettres qu'elle a écrites sont arrivées.

The letters she wrote have arrived.

Conjugation first, participle second.

Être Participles Are Adjectives in Disguise

After être, the participle describes the subject, so it agrees with it exactly as an adjective would. This covers the movement verbs, every pronominal verb, and the whole passive voice.

Elles ont été invitées.

They were invited.

être → look left at the subject.

Avoir Participles Only Look Backwards

With avoir the participle ignores the subject entirely and agrees only with a direct object that already appeared before the verb. That happens with object pronouns, with the relative que, and in questions with combien and quel.

Quelles villes avez-vous visitées ?

Which cities did you visit?

avoir → agree only with what came first.

Indirect Objects Never Trigger Agreement

Only direct objects count. Lui, leur, and any complement introduced by à or de leave the participle untouched, which is why je lui ai parlé and je leur ai écrit never change.

Je leur ai téléphoné hier soir.

I phoned them last night.

lui, leur → no agreement, ever.

Finding the Subject Is Half the Problem

Once you know the subject, agreement is automatic. The difficulty is that French subjects hide behind relative pronouns, quantity expressions, and collective nouns, and English speakers count them the way English would.

C'est nous qui avons décidé.

We're the ones who decided.

Qui passes the subject straight through.

Common Mistakes with Verb Agreement

Incorrect: Tout le monde sont arrivés. — Everybody has arrived.

Correct: Tout le monde est arrivé. — Everybody has arrived.

Tout le monde refers to many people but is grammatically singular, like everybody in English. Both the verb and the participle stay singular.

Incorrect: C'est moi qui est venu. — I'm the one who came.

Correct: C'est moi qui suis venu. — I'm the one who came.

Qui takes its person from its antecedent, and the antecedent here is moi. The verb therefore goes into the first person singular, not the third.

Incorrect: La plupart des gens pense que c'est vrai. — Most people think it's true.

Correct: La plupart des gens pensent que c'est vrai. — Most people think it's true.

In quantity expressions the verb agrees with the noun after de, so gens makes it plural. La plupart itself is never the noun that counts.

Incorrect: Elles sont arrivé en retard. — They arrived late.

Correct: Elles sont arrivées en retard. — They arrived late.

Arriver takes être, so its participle agrees with the subject like an adjective. A feminine plural subject gives arrivées, with both the e and the s.

Subjects That Cause Hesitation

Three groups of subjects where the rule is clear but the counting is not obvious.

Quantities and collectives

With an expression of quantity, the verb follows the noun that comes after de, not the quantifier. But tout le monde, chacun, and personne are grammatically singular however many people they cover.

La plupart des gens pensent la même chose.: Most people think the same thing.
Beaucoup d'étudiants sont venus.: A lot of students came.
Tout le monde est parti.: Everybody left.
Un groupe d'enfants attendait dehors.: A group of children was waiting outside.

Institutions stay singular in French where British English often goes plural: la police est arrivée, l'équipe a gagné.

C'est moi qui...

Qui hands its antecedent's person straight to the verb. If the antecedent is moi, the verb is in the first person, however odd that looks after c'est.

C'est moi qui ai fait ça.: I'm the one who did that.
C'est toi qui as raison.: You're the one who's right.
C'est nous qui avons décidé.: We're the ones who decided.
C'est elle qui est venue.: She's the one who came.

The participle follows the same logic: c'est moi qui suis allée, if the speaker is a woman.

Ni... ni and ou

With two singular subjects joined by ni... ni or ou, both a singular and a plural verb are accepted. Mixed persons force the plural, and the earliest person wins.

Ni Paul ni Marie ne viendra.: Neither Paul nor Marie will come.
Ni Paul ni Marie ne viendront.: Neither Paul nor Marie will come.
Toi et moi sommes d'accord.: You and I agree.
Lui ou toi devrez y aller.: He or you will have to go.

The first two sentences are both correct. The singular treats the subjects one by one; the plural treats them as a pair.

Verb Agreement FAQs

What is verb agreement in French?: Two things at once. The conjugated verb agrees with its subject in person and number, as in nous parlons. In compound tenses the past participle may also agree in gender and number, either with the subject after être (elle est venue) or with a preceding direct object after avoir (je l'ai vue).
When does the past participle agree in French?: Always with the subject when the auxiliary is être, including passives and pronominal verbs. Only with a preceding direct object when the auxiliary is avoir. If the object comes after the verb, or if the complement is indirect, nothing changes: j'ai vu les filles, je leur ai parlé.
Why is it tout le monde est and not tout le monde sont?: Because tout le monde is a singular noun phrase, literally all the world. French counts the grammar rather than the number of people, which is why tout le monde est content and everybody is happy line up exactly.
Does the verb agree with la plupart or with the noun after it?: With the noun after de: la plupart des gens sont venus, la plupart du temps se passe bien. The same holds for beaucoup de, un tiers de, and la moitié de, so the plural or singular of that second noun is what you count.
Why does agreement matter if you can't hear it?: Most of it is silent, so in speech it costs you nothing. In writing it is one of the clearest markers of accuracy, and a few forms are audible: elle est venue and elles sont venues sound the same, but fait and faite differ, as do écrit and écrite.