The Académie française dictionary states the rule for descendre in a single sentence: the verb takes avoir in its transitive use and être in its intransitive use, in compound tenses. That one sentence covers most of the small group of verbs that trip up learners. Many courses teach "verbs of movement take être" as a list to memorise, then leave you stuck the first time you hear j'ai sorti la voiture. The list is not wrong. It just stops one step short.
Which French verbs can take both avoir and être?
Six common verbs take être when only the subject moves and avoir when they act on an object: sortir, monter, descendre, rentrer, retourner and passer. In each pair below, the verb is the same and only the sentence around it changes.
| Verb | With être (the subject moves) | With avoir (there is an object) |
|---|---|---|
| sortir | Elle est sortie à cinq heures. (She went out at five.) | Elle a sorti les draps de l'armoire. (She took the sheets out of the wardrobe.) |
| monter | Je suis monté me coucher. (I went up to bed.) | Le bagagiste a monté les valises. (The porter carried the suitcases up.) |
| descendre | Nous sommes descendus à la gare. (We got off at the station.) | J'ai descendu la poubelle. (I took the bin down.) |
| rentrer | Il est rentré tard. (He came home late.) | J'ai rentré le linge avant la pluie. (I brought the washing in before the rain.) |
| retourner | Elle est retournée à Lyon. (She went back to Lyon.) | Il a retourné la crêpe. (He flipped the pancake.) |
| passer | Je suis passé chez toi hier. (I dropped by your place yesterday.) | J'ai passé trois jours à Rouen. (I spent three days in Rouen.) |
The sortir and monter examples are the ones Larousse itself gives in its conjugation notes.
How do you know which auxiliary to use?
Ask whether something is being moved, carried or handled: if yes, use avoir, and if only the subject travels, use être. The test takes two seconds, and it works because a direct object makes the verb transitive.
- Je suis monté. Nothing else is mentioned, only I moved. Use être.
- J'ai monté la valise. The suitcase is the object. Use avoir.
- Ils sont descendus. They went down. Être, and the past participle agrees with the subject.
- Ils ont descendu l'escalier. The staircase is the object. Avoir, and there is no agreement with the subject.
Agreement is a useful clue when you are writing. With être, the participle matches the subject: elle est sortie, ils sont montés. With avoir, it does not.
Does the auxiliary change the meaning?
Sometimes the meaning changes with the auxiliary, and retourner and passer are the clearest cases. The auxiliary tells the listener which verb you mean.
- Il est retourné au bureau. (He went back to the office.)
- Il a retourné le dossier. (He sent the file back, or turned it over.)
- Je suis passé à la pharmacie. (I stopped by the pharmacy.)
- J'ai passé l'examen en juin. (I took the exam in June.)
That last sentence hides a false friend. Passer un examen means to sit an exam, not to pass it. To say you passed, use réussir un examen.
There is one more exception worth knowing. Larousse notes that monter takes avoir even without an object when it means reaching a higher level, as in les prix ont monté (prices went up) or l'eau a encore monté cette nuit (the water rose again overnight). You are describing a change in a quantity, not a person moving.
What mistakes do learners make with these verbs?
The most common mistake is putting être on a verb that has an object, as in je suis sorti la voiture. The reverse error is just as frequent.
- ✕ Je suis descendu la poubelle. ✓ J'ai descendu la poubelle. (I took the bin down.)
- ✕ J'ai rentré tard hier soir. ✓ Je suis rentré tard hier soir. (I got home late last night.)
- ✕ J'ai sorti avec des amis. ✓ Je suis sorti avec des amis. (I went out with friends.)
A habit that helps: when you say one of these six verbs in the passé composé, pause for half a second and look for the object. Having an object in mind is what picks the auxiliary, so say the sentence out loud a few times with both versions until the choice feels automatic.
If you want to build that reflex in conversation rather than on worksheets, Yann, a certified French teacher, can run short speaking drills with you where these verbs come up naturally in everyday stories. You can book a free trial lesson at frenchwithyann.com and bring the sentences that still sound wrong to you.
Common questions
Can I say j'ai sorti to mean I went out?
No. Going out is intransitive, so it takes être: "je suis sorti hier soir". "J'ai sorti" is only correct with an object, for example "j'ai sorti le chien" (I took the dog out).
Does passer take avoir or être?
Both. It takes être when the subject simply moves or stops by ("je suis passé chez toi") and avoir when it has an object ("j'ai passé trois jours à Rouen"). Note that "passer un examen" means to take an exam, not to pass it.
Why do prices and water level take avoir with monter?
Larousse records an exception: when monter means reaching a higher level, it takes avoir even without an object. That is why you say "les prix ont monté" and "l'eau a monté".