Grammar · Verbs · A2 · 12 min
Have or be? The auxiliaries
Why French and Italian sometimes 'are arrived' and the other sisters never do.
Compound tenses need a helper verb, an auxiliary. Latin HABĒRE gave haber / avoir / avere / avea / haver, and ESSE gave ser / être / essere. French and Italian use both, choosing by verb. Spanish, Catalan and Romanian use only 'have'. Portuguese swapped in ter (from TENĒRE 'to hold'), and its compound past means 'have been doing', so for 'I've eaten' it uses the simple past.
| Spanish | French | Italian | Portuguese | Romanian | Catalan | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I've eaten | he comido | j'ai mangé | ho mangiato | comi | am mâncat | he menjat |
| I've arrived | he llegado | je suis arrivé | sono arrivato | cheguei | am ajuns | he arribat |
| she has left | ha salido | elle est partie | è partita | ela saiu | a plecat | ha sortit |
| we got up | nos hemos levantado | nous nous sommes levés | ci siamo alzati | nos levantamos | ne-am sculat | ens hem llevat |
| I've been | he estado / he sido | j'ai été | sono stato | estive / fui | am fost | he estat / he sigut |
The house of être
French takes être with a short list of verbs of motion and change of state: aller, venir, arriver, partir, entrer, sortir, monter, descendre, naître, mourir, tomber, rester, retourner, devenir (and their compounds: revenir, rentrer…), plus every pronominal verb (se lever, s'asseoir). Italian takes essere with the same kinds of verbs and a good many more: essere itself, stare, piacere, sembrare, costare, bastare, succedere, diventare, and also every reflexive. Old Spanish and Old Catalan did much the same; today both use 'have' everywhere, as does Romanian: am venit, m-am sculat.
Sono stato malato.
He estado enfermo.
J'ai été malade.
Tenho estado doente.
Am fost bolnav.
He estat malalt.
I've been ill.
French être takes avoir; Italian essere takes essere. Portuguese tenho estado means 'I've been ill lately', a state still going on.
Mia sorella è arrivata.
Mi hermana ha llegado.
Ma sœur est arrivée.
Minha irmã chegou.
Sora mea a ajuns.
La meva germana ha arribat.
My sister has arrived.
With être / essere the participle agrees with the subject; Spanish llegado, Catalan arribat and Romanian ajuns never change.
Il film mi è piaciuto.
Me ha gustado la película.
J'ai aimé le film.
Gostei do filme.
Mi-a plăcut filmul.
M'ha agradat la pel·lícula.
I liked the film.
piacere takes essere and agrees with the thing liked; Romanian plăcea has the same structure but takes avea.
Ci siamo alzati tardi.
Nos hemos levantado tarde.
Nous nous sommes levés tard.
Nos levantamos tarde.
Ne-am sculat târziu.
Ens hem llevat tard.
We got up late.
È costato molto.
Ha costado mucho.
Ça a coûté cher.
Custou caro.
A costat mult.
Ha costat molt.
It cost a lot.
Le lettere che ho scritto.
Las cartas que he escrito.
Les lettres que j'ai écrites.
As cartas que eu escrevi.
Scrisorile pe care le-am scris.
Les cartes que he escrit.
The letters I've written.
French agrees with a direct object placed before avoir; in Italian scritte is also correct but less common; Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian never agree.
Agreement of the participle
| Rule | Spanish | French | Italian | Portuguese | Romanian | Catalan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| with be-auxiliary: agrees with subject | (no be-auxiliary) | elle est partie | è partita | (no be-auxiliary) | (no be-auxiliary) | (no be-auxiliary) |
| with have + object pronoun before it | las he visto | je les ai vues | le ho viste | eu as tinha visto (no agreement) | le-am văzut | les he vistes (or vist) |
| with have + object after it | he visto las fotos | j'ai vu les photos | ho visto le foto | eu tinha visto as fotos | am văzut pozele | he vist les fotos |