Most verbs use either avoir or être as the auxiliary verb in Passé composé (or other compound tense), but descendre uses both, depending on its grammatical usage* and what it means in the sentence.
Je suis descendu du train avant elle.
I got off the train before her.
Tu es descendu de la voiture.
You got out of the car.
Ils sont descendus de Paris pour le mariage.
They came down from Paris for the wedding.
Elle est descendue à la cave chercher une bouteille de vin.
She went down to the basement to get a bottle of wine.
Note that in each case where être is the auxilliary, the verb descendre is followed by a preposition (en, sur, de, dans, à etc.).
In these cases descendre is usually about getting off [something], getting out of [something] or coming down from [somewhere].
J'ai descendu les escaliers aussi vite que j'ai pu.
I went down the stairs as fast as I could.
Il a descendu le Parrain.
J'ai descendu les boîtes au sous-sol.
I took the boxes down to the basement.
Tu as descendu le cadeau de Pierre?
You took Pierre's present downstairs?
-> Here it literally means You took Pierre's present down (somewhere), which in a geographical context implies down a physical level, some stairs or elevator for example. Therefore in English, you would translate it as downstairs when no clear destination (e.g. to the basement) is expressed.
When descendre is followed immediately by a noun (as opposed to a preposition), it uses avoir as the auxiliary, like most verbs.
It can be very tricky to get the distinction here if you think in terms of what descendre means in English (English verbs are very often 'prepositional', meaning we say things like to get off a plane as well as disembark a boat which are equivalent in meaning but grammatically very different - our verbs very often have prepositions where they don't in French!).
So, ask yourself if there's a preposition in the French, not the English!
Jacques est descendu du haricot magique.
Jack got off the beanstalk.
Your second example means I went down the escalator.
Similar meanings, but slightly nuanced.
By the way, I know what you're trying to convey, but you can use l'escalator instead of l'escalier roulant (moving stairs). I'm not a native speaker though, so if I'm wrong, someone please correct me.
down the stairs to the basement?
If instead of just going down to the basement to fetch a bottle of wine, she went down THE STAIRS to the basement to fetch the bottle, would you conjugate descendre with etre or avoir?
It would require avoir, because les escaliers are the direct object and descendre is used as a transitive verb.
J'ai descendu les escaliers à la cave.
That's how I would say it.
Jacque a descendu le géant.
The test at the end of the lesson marked the choice: Jack took the giant down (killed him) as wrong. It accepted only the choice: Jack took the giant downstairs as correct. Why? The lesson suggests that the first choice to be one of the correct meanings. What am I missing?
Are you sure that "Jack took the giant downstairs" is indeed the proper translation? I would have said "Jack took the giant down", meaning he killed it, would be the right one.
I had a look at your Correction Board, and it says that both "Jack took the giant down (killed him)" and "Jack took the giant downstairs" are correct, but shows that you only selected one answer (Jack took the giant downstairs), hence the nearly correct mark.
why not he climbed down the magic beanstalk?
"In another example I read that Jacques est descendu de l'arbre means Jack climbed down the tree. So why cannot Jacques est descendu du haricot magique mean Jack climbed down the magic bean as well as Jack got off the magic beanstalk?" In the quiz I took, I was told it was wrong.
"Jacques est descendu de l'arbre means Jack climbed down the tree."
Really the English translation should read "Jack climbed down from the tree"
This point is the translation of "de" above.
I suspect this is why you are being marked wrong.
Jack descended on the giant = Jack est descendu sur le geant.
Thanks Chris. I saw your two examples in the lesson, but it gets trickier in the multiple choice quizzes. According to the "right" answers on the quizzes "Jacques a descendu le géant." also means "Jack took the giant downstairs." But the meaning of "Jacques est descendu du haricot magique." includes "Jack got (climbed) off the magic beanstalk" but not "Jack climbed down the magic beanstalk."
Maybe the meaninngs are different for beanstalks and giants a propos Aurelie's comment that "With animated beings, "avoir descendu" means "to take down, to shoot them down, to kill them"." Aurelie also writes that "If you wanted to say "He climbed down ON the giant", you would use "être descendu" as it would be followed by a preposition such as "de" (off/from) or "le long de" (along):"
Maybe the quiz answer is wrong?
I also had this question, and I'm still confused. The examples "J'ai descendu les escaliers" and "Jacques a descendu le géant". Why does the first mean I went down, but the second does not mean He went down (He descended)? I did not get the first two, but this one I did answer was marked wrong.
I ran into this prompt on the quiz "Il ________ descendu le drapeau, car la reine avait quitté le palais." The correct answer is "il a descendu." Why is it "a" and not "avait"? I feel this is more of an English question than a french question. We have "la reine avait quitté." So shouldn't it be "il AVAIT descendu"? When should we use avait and avait for both clauses?
- Il avait descendu le drapeau, car la reine avait quitté le palais.
- Il a descendu le drapeau, car la reine avait quitté le palais.
"Jacques a descendu le géant."
I get the transitive meaning of "avoir descendu" in the example above. Therefore the possible option "Jack descended on the giant.", meaning he is sliding down the gian's body, would also be transitive. So why doesn't it work here? -- Chris.
I don't understand either. It seems that these two sentences: J'ai descendu les escaliers. Jacques a descendu le géant. Have the exact same structure -- avoir + descendre + an object. How come one can mean "went down the stairs" but the other cannot mean "climbed down the giant" (e.g. on his back or something)?
I understand that we use être w hen certain verbs are followed by a preposition but isn't 'au' as in 'J'ai descendu les boîtes au sous-sol.', a preposition or have I got that wrong - again!
Bonjour Sheila ! I understand your confusion, but here "au sous-sol" doesn't follow and relate to the verb "descendre". In this sentence, "descendre" is followed by a direct object (to take [something] down), therefore you use "avoir", even though you're adding a location *where* you're taking these boxes. The meaning is different: it's "to take [something] down [somewhere]" vs "to go down [somewhere]". I hope that's helpful! À bientôt !