You're sitting in a French I or II class. The teacher starts talking about the passé composé. Suddenly, there’s this weird name on the board. Dr. Mrs. Vandertramp. It sounds like a character from a Wes Anderson movie or maybe a very specific type of Victorian socialite. But honestly? It’s just the most famous mnemonic in the history of language learning. If you’ve ever felt like your brain was melting trying to figure out which verbs use être instead of avoir, you’re not alone. Most people get this wrong because they try to memorize the list alphabetically. That is a massive mistake.
French is picky. Most of the time, when you want to say you "did" something in the past, you use avoir. I ate? J'ai mangé. I saw? J'ai vu. Easy. But then there’s this small, elite group of verbs—the rebels—that insist on using être. These are the Dr Mrs Vandertramp verbs. Without them, you’re basically speaking "Tarzan French."
Why the Vandertramp List is Still Your Best Friend
Language evolves. Slang comes and goes. But the way the French structure their past tense has been remarkably stubborn for centuries. The acronym DR MRS VANDERTRAMP is a lifeline. It stands for seventeen specific verbs of motion and change of state.
Wait. Why do these specific ones matter?
Think of it like this: most of these verbs describe a journey or a transition. You're moving from point A to point B, or you're changing from one state of being to another (like being born or dying). They are "intransitive," which is a fancy linguistic way of saying they don't take a direct object. You don't "arrive" something. You just arrive.
Here is the breakdown of the crew. Devenir (to become), Revenir (to come back), Monter (to go up), Rester (to stay), Sortir (to go out), Venir (to come), Arriver (to arrive), Naître (to be born), Descendre (to go down), Entrer (to enter), Rentrer (to return home), Tomber (to fall), Retourner (to return), Aller (to go), Mourir (to die), and Partir (to leave). Oh, and sometimes people add Passer (to pass by) to make it Dr Mrs Vandertramp.
The Agreement Trap Everyone Falls Into
Here’s where it gets slightly annoying. When you use être as your auxiliary verb, you have to make the past participle agree with the subject. If a girl says "I went," she can't just say Je suis allé. She has to add an extra 'e': Je suis allée.
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If a group of guys left? Ils sont partis.
If a group of girls left? Elles sont parties.
It’s a lot to juggle. You're already trying to remember the conjugation of être (which, let’s be real, people still trip over nous sommes sometimes), and now you’re doing math with vowels at the end of the word. But this is the difference between sounding like a tourist and sounding like someone who actually respects the language.
What the textbooks don't always emphasize
Some of these verbs are "swing" verbs. This is the part that trips up even advanced students. Take passer, monter, or descendre. Usually, they are part of the Dr Mrs Vandertramp verbs family.
Je suis monté (I went up).
But! If you use them with a direct object—meaning you're doing the action to something—they suddenly ditch être and go back to avoir.
J'ai monté les valises (I carried up the suitcases).
It feels like a betrayal, right? You spent weeks memorizing the list only for the rules to shift. But the logic is consistent: if the action is happening to the subject (you), use être. If you are doing the action to something else, use avoir.
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The Weird History of Mnemonics
We use these memory tricks because the human brain is surprisingly bad at remembering dry lists but incredibly good at remembering stories or names. The "Vandertramp" acronym wasn't handed down by the Académie Française. It was likely cooked up by frustrated teachers in the mid-20th century who were tired of seeing J'ai allé on every single test paper.
In some parts of the world, they use "The House of Être." They draw a little picture of a house and show people entering, staying, and leaving. If you’re a visual learner, that might work better for you. But for those of us who grew up with the acronym, Dr. Mrs. Vandertramp is like an old, slightly stern aunt who won't let us leave the dinner table until we've conjugated naître (which is né, by the way—totally irregular just to keep you on your toes).
Getting the Irregulars Right
Speaking of naître, let's talk about the irregular past participles in this list. Most of the Dr Mrs Vandertramp verbs follow a predictable pattern. Arriver becomes arrivé. Partir becomes parti.
But then you hit the "M" and the "N."
Mourir becomes mort.
Naître becomes né.
You've probably seen these words a thousand times without realizing they were part of this grammar rule. "Née" is used in English all the time to describe a woman’s maiden name. Literally, it just means "born."
Marie, née Smith. It’s all connected. When you start seeing these patterns, French stops being a wall of random sounds and starts being a puzzle you actually know how to solve.
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Common Mistakes That Make Teachers Cringe
The biggest one? Forgeting the "Mrs" part. People remember Aller and Venir, but they totally forget Rester (to stay). For some reason, learners think because you aren't "moving" in the traditional sense when you stay, it shouldn't be an être verb. But in French logic, staying is a "state of being" in that moment.
Another big one: Passer.
If you say Je suis passé par la boulangerie, you’re saying you stopped by the bakery.
If you say J'ai passé un examen, you’re saying you took a test.
The meaning changes entirely based on that tiny auxiliary verb.
How to Actually Practice This Without Losing Your Mind
Don't just stare at the list. That’s boring and it doesn't stick. You have to use them in "stories of movement."
Try to describe your morning using as many Dr Mrs Vandertramp verbs as possible.
Je suis né (okay, maybe start a bit later).
Je suis descendu (I went downstairs).
Je suis sorti (I went out).
Je suis allé au travail (I went to work).
Je suis arrivé (I arrived).
When you attach the words to your actual life, the "Dr" and the "Mrs" stop being abstract characters and start being tools.
Actionable Steps for Mastering the Vandertramp Verbs
If you want to nail this by next week, stop trying to be perfect and start being repetitive.
- Audit your past tense: Take a piece of writing you've done in French. Circle every time you used avoir. Check if any of those verbs are on the Vandertramp list. You’ll probably find at least one mistake.
- The "Agreement" Check: Every time you write suis, es, est, sommes, êtes, or sont before a verb, stop. Look at the subject. If it’s feminine, add an -e. If it’s plural, add an -s. It needs to become muscle memory.
- Say it out loud: The difference between allé and allée is silent in speech, but the difference between parti and partie is also silent. However, knowing the agreement exists helps you hear the rhythm of the language.
- Master the "Swing" Verbs: Specifically practice passer, monter, and descendre with and without objects. Write "I went down the stairs" (Je suis descendu) vs "I took down the trash" (J'ai descendu la poubelle).
The Dr Mrs Vandertramp verbs are a rite of passage. Once you've got them down, you’ve officially moved past the "beginner" phase of French. You're navigating the nuances of how the French perceive time and movement. It’s not just grammar; it’s a mindset. Just remember: if you're moving, changing, or just hanging out (staying), Dr. Mrs. Vandertramp is probably watching.