DR & MRS VANDERTRAMP: The 16 Être Verbs for Learners
Introduction
Most verbs take avoir in the passé composé — that’s already covered in Passé Composé Basics. But 16 specific verbs break that rule: they take être, and the list has to be memorized, because forgetting even one means the wrong auxiliary. TEF/TCF speaking tasks are full of “I went, I came, I came back” — so this list needs to be automatic.
DR & MRS VANDERTRAMP — this fictional name has one être verb hiding behind each letter. 16 letters, 16 verbs.
1. Dr — 2 verbs
| Verb | Past participle | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Devenir | devenu(e) | to become | Elle est devenue avocate. |
| Retourner | retourné(e) | to return, go back | Il est retourné en Inde. |
2. Mrs — 3 verbs
| Verb | Past participle | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monter | monté(e) | to go up, get on | Nous sommes montés dans le train. |
| Rester | resté(e) | to stay | Je suis resté(e) à la maison. |
| Sortir | sorti(e) | to go out | Elles sont sorties hier soir. |
3. Vandertramp — 11 verbs
| Verb | Past participle | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Venir | venu(e) | to come | Tu es venu(e) à la fête. |
| Arriver | arrivé(e) | to arrive | Le train est arrivé à l’heure. |
| Naître | né(e) | to be born | Mon fils est né à Montréal. |
| Descendre | descendu(e) | to go down, get off | Vous êtes descendus à la mauvaise station. |
| Entrer | entré(e) | to enter | Elle est entrée dans le bureau. |
| Rentrer | rentré(e) | to go home, return | Ils sont rentrés tard. |
| Tomber | tombé(e) | to fall | Le bébé est tombé. |
| Revenir | revenu(e) | to come back | Elle est revenue de vacances. |
| Aller | allé(e) | to go | Je suis allé(e) au marché. |
| Mourir | mort(e) | to die | Mon grand-père est mort en 2015. |
| Partir | parti(e) | to leave | Nous sommes partis tôt. |
Note: three verbs start with R — retourner (in Dr) and rentrer, revenir (in Vandertramp). They aren’t interchangeable: retourner = to go back to a place you’d been before, rentrer = to go back home or inside, revenir = to come back to where the speaker is.
4. Remembering the agreement
Every être participle agrees with the subject — that’s why every participle above is written with (e):
| Subject | Agreement | Example |
|---|---|---|
| il / elle (singular) | + e if feminine | il est parti / elle est partie |
| ils / elles (plural) | + s, feminine + es | ils sont partis / elles sont parties |
| vous (formal or plural) | either is possible | vous êtes parti(e)(s) |
The full agreement rules are in Passé Composé Basics — this lesson is about memorizing the list.
5. Adding “re-” keeps être
Attach the prefix “re-” to a Vandertramp verb and it still takes être — that’s exactly how revenir (venir + re-) works, and it isn’t the only one:
| Verb | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| redevenir | to become again | Il est redevenu calme. |
| repartir | to leave again | Elle est repartie tout de suite. |
| ressortir | to go out again | Nous sommes ressortis après le dîner. |
| remonter | to go back up | Ils sont remontés en voiture. |
| redescendre | to go back down | Je suis redescendu(e) à la cave. |
Examples
- Nous sommes nés au Panjab, mais nous sommes devenus citoyens canadiens. (We were born in Punjab, but we became Canadian citizens.)
- Elle est montée dans l’autobus, puis elle est descendue trois arrêts plus loin. (She got on the bus, then got off three stops later.)
- Ils sont partis tôt et ils sont arrivés en retard quand même. (They left early and still arrived late.)
- Je suis resté(e) chez moi hier, mais aujourd’hui je suis sorti(e). (I stayed home yesterday, but today I went out.)
- Ma grand-mère est morte l’année dernière ; toute la famille est revenue pour les funérailles. (My grandmother died last year; the whole family came back for the funeral.)
What’s next
Most of these verbs (aller, venir, devenir, revenir, naître, mourir, partir, sortir included) now have full conjugation tables at /tools/conjugator/. The complete agreement rules are in Passé Composé Basics, reflexive-verb être agreement is in Pronominal Verbs, and choosing between imparfait and passé composé is in Imparfait vs Passé Composé.
FAQ
What's the full list of être verbs?
16 core verbs: devenir, retourner, monter, rester, sortir, venir, arriver, naître, descendre, entrer, rentrer, tomber, revenir, aller, mourir, partir. Their first letters spell DR & MRS VANDERTRAMP.
Reflexive verbs (se lever, s'appeler) also take être — are they on the Vandertramp list?
No. Every pronominal verb takes être, whether or not it's on the Vandertramp list — it's a separate, larger rule. The full explanation is in Pronominal Verbs.
What about passer — why isn't it on the list?
Passer can take either auxiliary depending on meaning: intransitive (to pass by) takes être — elle est passée devant le magasin. Transitive (to spend time, to hand something over) takes avoir — j'ai passé une semaine à Québec. That's why it isn't counted in the core 16, though many textbooks call it the 'conditional 17th'.