To fix an error properly, log it, name the rule, then test it in a task you have not done before. Correcting the original sentence only proves you can copy the answer. A new task shows whether you can use the rule.
This lesson belongs to integrating language skills. Past-tense errors are used here as the example, so past and future meaning is a useful companion.
How do I log an error so that I can fix it?
A useful log has four columns: the sentence, the correction, the rule and the likely cause. Naming the cause matters, because “careless” does not tell you what to practise.
| Sentence | Correction | Rule | Likely cause |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hier, j’ai allé au marché. | Hier, je suis allé au marché. | Aller takes être in the perfect tense | Using avoir for every verb |
Worked example
Original task (writing): a message to a friend about your last outing. The error above appeared in it.
Step 1, log the error as in the table.
Step 2, state the rule in one line. Verbs of movement and change, such as aller, partir, arriver, rentrer, sortir and venir, use être in the perfect tense. The participle then agrees with the subject.
Step 3, choose a different task that needs the same rule but different content. Here it is a spoken answer: Qu’est-ce que tu as fait pendant les vacances ?
Step 4, answer the new task and check only the rule.
L’été dernier, nous sommes allés à Penang. Nous sommes partis le matin et nous sommes arrivés à midi. Mon père a conduit et ma sœur a dormi.
Step 5, check. Sommes allés, sommes partis and sommes arrivés use être with a plural masculine ending, since the group is mixed. A conduit and a dormi correctly stay with avoir.
Step 6, repeat once more a few days later with a third task, such as a written diary of a weekend. A fix that survives three tasks is a real fix.
What mistake should I watch for?
After a fix, students sometimes over-correct and use être for every verb.
Mistaken answer: Hier, je suis mangé une pizza.
The student learned “use être” and applied it everywhere.
The correction is Hier, j’ai mangé une pizza. The rule has a boundary: most verbs, including manger, take avoir. When you test a fix, write sentences on both sides of the rule, so you see where it stops.
Check yourself
1. Choose the right auxiliary: Elle ___ (arriver) à huit heures.
Show answer
Arriver is a movement verb, so it takes être, and the participle agrees with the feminine subject. Elle est arrivée à huit heures.
2. Complete: Ils ___ (regarder) un film hier soir.
Show answer
Regarder takes avoir. Ils ont regardé un film hier soir. This is a boundary case, so it also checks that you are not over-correcting.
3. A group of girls says: Nous ___ (sortir) samedi. What is the answer, and why?
Show answer
Sortir takes être, and the subject is feminine plural. Nous sommes sorties samedi. If the group were mixed or all boys, the ending would be sortis.
Where does this lead next?
Now that you can test a fix, learn to decide what to test next in planning what to practise next from observed performance. Then try the integrated practice set and log any error that appears.
A teacher who hears your French live can set the second and third tasks for you and spot a returning habit at once. That is a regular part of online one-to-one French tuition.