FYW 229: Brush-up of the past participle agreement rule – Why is there a feminine agreement in the sentence “Mon mari m’a demandée en mariage à Uluru”?
01.10.2021 - By Jessica: Native French teacher, founder of French Your Way
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I received the following question from Jane:
Hi Jessica, I am new to your podcasts but hoping to work my way through them slowly as I study French. I am very much enjoying them.
I have just listened to episode 6 (FYW 006 : "To demand” vs “Demander": ) and have a question about agreement in the following sentence :
"Mon mari m’a demandée en mariage à Uluru." Why do you use the -ée on "demandée"? Doesn't this verb agree with your husband ("mon mari")?
Here's a great opportunity for a brush-up if you're an intermediate or advanced learner of French!
Vocabulary and Spelling of the French Words mentioned in this episode
Le professeur a demandé le silence aux élèves.
Il leur a demandé le silence.
Il le leur a demandé.
Il a demandé la réponse aux élèves. Il la leur a demandée.
Mon mari m'a demandé le sel. Il me l'a demandé.
Mon mari m'a demandé de l'épouser. Il me l'a demandé.
Il a demandé sa petite amie en mariage. Il l'a demandée en mariage.
Mon mari m’a demandée en mariage.
LINKS and RESOURCES
FYW 006 : "To demand" vs "Demander":
FYW 167 : French verbs – agreement of the past participle with ETRE (compound tenses, part 3):
FYW 171 : French verbs: agreement of the past participle with AVOIR (compound tenses, part 4):