# French verb question

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-verb-question/357688>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 22, 2006, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-verb-question/357688 "2006-05-22T01:11:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-verb-question/357688/1 "2006-05-22T01:11:07Z")

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If one is saying “Mary was promoted” in the sense of getting a higher paid, more responsible job, what is the correct French verb? _Avancer_? _Élever_? _Promouvoir_? The dictionaries that I’ve consulted seem somewhat contradictory.

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**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-verb-question/357688/2 "2006-05-22T04:19:40Z")

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“Etre promu” ou “recevoir de l’avancement”. Marie a ete promue, ou Marie a reçu de l’avancement. The first one can be be followed by the new job/title (“Marie a ete promue chef de departement” ), not the second, so you might have to give more precisions (“J’ai reçu de l’avancement! Maintenant, je suis adjoint au sous-chef!”).

You can’t say only “avancer” (“Marie a ete avancee” would mean that someone pushed her somewhere).

“Etre eleve” is rare and only used for some official jobs or titles : “Le capitaine de vaisseau Dupont a ete eleve au rang et a l’appellation de contre-amiral” , “Mme Martin a ete elevee au rang de commandeur de la legion d’honneur” , “L’ eveque Dubois a ete eleve au titre de cardinal”…

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**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-verb-question/357688/3 "2006-05-22T04:47:19Z")

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A very clear explanation. \*Mille remerciements \* **clairobscur**.

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**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-verb-question/357688/4 "2006-05-22T23:28:50Z")

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A follow up question.

Is it \*Marie a été promue \* or _Marie a été prom **û** e_?

My \*Bescherelle \* suggests that the past participle requires a circonflex on the u, but my dictionaries are a bit vague on the subject.

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**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2006, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-verb-question/357688/5 "2006-05-23T00:12:23Z")

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[QUOTE=Cunctator]  
Is it \*Marie a été promue \* or _Marie a été prom **û** e_?  
[/QUOTE]

It would be “promue”. When you feminize or pluralize the participle, it loses its accent. Same thing for other verbs like “devoir” (“dû” which becomes “due”, “dus”, “dues”).