Agreement of the past participle with the pronoun “nous” is a recurring problem in business letters and emails. The sentence “elle nous a informés” or “elle nous a informées” involves a precise grammatical rule: agreement is not determined by the subject “elle,” but by the direct object “nous,” which comes before the participle. Identifying who is included in “nous” settles the question.
Past participle agreement with avoir: the role of the preceding direct object
With the auxiliary avoir, the past participle never agrees with the subject. It agrees with the direct object, provided that the object comes before the verb. In “elle nous a informés,” the subject “elle” has no effect on the participle’s ending.
The verb “informer” takes a direct object: you inform someone. The pronoun “nous” therefore functions as a direct object. Because it comes before the participle, the participle agrees with it.
This rule clearly distinguishes “informer” from a verb such as “parler.” In “elle nous a parlé,” the construction is parler à quelqu’un (to speak to someone): “nous” is then an indirect object, and the participle remains invariable with an indirect object. The question to ask is not “who is speaking?” but “does the verb take a direct or indirect object?”
To check, simply move the object after the verb. “Elle a informé nous” sounds awkward, but the function is still clear: informer quelqu’un (to inform someone), so it is a direct object. Compare this with “elle a parlé à nous”: the “à” reveals the indirect object. Checking how the verb is constructed settles the question every time.
The distinction between elle nous a informés or informées therefore depends entirely on the gender and number of the people represented by “nous.”
Informés, informées, informé: agreement table based on who “nous” refers to
The pronoun “nous” does not visibly indicate gender. The context determines the agreement. Here are the possible cases:
| Who “nous” refers to | Participle agreement | Example |
|---|---|---|
| All-male or mixed group (at least one man) | informés | Elle nous a informés de la date limite. |
| All-female group | informées | Elle nous a informées du changement d’horaire. |
| “Nous” of modesty or majesty (one person, male) | informé | Elle nous a informé par courrier. |
| “Nous” of modesty or majesty (one person, female) | informée | Elle nous a informée dès réception du dossier. |
The masculine form is used as soon as the group includes even one man. If “nous” refers to three women and one man, the participle takes the form “informés.”
The form “informées” is used only in one specific case: everyone referred to by “nous” is female, and there is more than one person.
“Nous” of modesty in a professional context: singular agreement
The most confusing case is “nous” used by a single person. An author, academic, or executive may use “nous” instead of “je” (I). This pronoun of modesty (or majesty in certain institutional contexts) then refers to just one individual.
The participle agrees with the actual meaning: if “nous” refers to one person, the participle agrees in the singular. A man would write “elle nous a informé,” and a woman “elle nous a informée.”
The problem arises when the recipient or writer cannot tell the gender of the person behind this “nous.” In administrative correspondence, several practices coexist:
- Rephrase to avoid ambiguity: “elle a porté l’information à notre connaissance” (she brought the information to our attention) removes the need for the participle to agree with “nous”
- Use the masculine singular by default (“elle nous a informé”) when the other person’s gender is unknown; this remains the most widespread convention in administrative usage
- Ask the person directly about their preference in ongoing correspondence, removing any uncertainty in future letters
This singular “nous” is rare in everyday language. It appears mainly in scientific publications, official speeches, and certain legal documents. Confusing “nous” of modesty with a true plural is the most common mistake in this type of text.
Common mistakes and tricky verbs involving the past participle
Agreement with “informer” is often straightforward once the rule is understood. Errors are more common with verbs whose direct or indirect construction can be confusing.
| Verb | Construction | Agreement with preceding “nous”? |
|---|---|---|
| Informer | informer quelqu’un (direct object) | Yes |
| Prévenir | prévenir quelqu’un (direct object) | Yes |
| Parler | parler à quelqu’un (indirect object) | No |
| Téléphoner | téléphoner à quelqu’un (indirect object) | No |
| Écrire | écrire à quelqu’un (indirect object) / écrire quelque chose (direct object) | Only if “nous” refers to the thing written (rare) |
The tricky verb “écrire” illustrates the difficulty well. In “elle nous a écrit,” “nous” is an indirect object (écrire à quelqu’un, to write to someone), so there is no agreement. In “les mots qu’elle nous a écrits” (the words she wrote to us), “qu’” (the words) is a preceding direct object, and the participle agrees with “mots.”
Identifying the pronoun’s function before choosing the ending is the only reliable method. No shortcut can replace this grammatical habit, whether the verb is “informer,” “prévenir,” or “écrire.”
The rule can be summed up in one sentence: with the auxiliary avoir, the past participle agrees with the direct object that comes before it. In “elle nous a informés,” everything depends on who “nous” actually refers to, even when the pronoun refers to just one person.
