Past Participle Agreement

There are two basic rules, each one with a nuance:

1. In the case of the verbs conjugated with être the past participle will agree in number and gender with the subject:

• Elle est partie en vacances. She has left on vacation.
• Il sont restés chez eux. They stayed home.

2. In the case of the verbs conjugated with avoir, the past participle never agrees with the subject. It will, however, agree with any preceding direct object. So,

• Muriel a acheté une revue. Muriel bought a magazine.
• Amine a vendu sa voiture. Amine sold his car.
• Est-ce que Jean a trouvé ses livres? Did Jean find his books?


but:
 

• Quelle revue Muriel a-t-elle achetée? Which magazine did Muriel buy?
• Voilà la voiture qu'Amine a vendue. Here is the car that Amine sold.
• Oui, Jean les a trouvés. Yes, Jean found them.

• Les enfants se sont regardés dans la glace. The children looked at themselves in the mirror.

[Regarder takes a direct object; therefore the participle agrees with se.]

but:

• Elles se sont parlé They spoke to one another.

[Parler takes an indirect object; therefore there is no agreement with se.]

• Elle s'est coupée. She cut herself.

[Couper takes a direct object; therefore the participle agrees with se.]

• Elle s'est coupé la main. She cut her hand.

[La main is the direct object (se here becomes an indirect object pronoun indicating whose hand was cut). Since la main does not precede the participle, there is no agreement.]