appelées

Appelées is the feminine plural past participle of the French verb appeler, which means to call or to name. In standard usage, it appears in compound tenses and in adjectival or passive constructions. Its form signals gender and number, as in feminine plural subjects.

Grammatical use

When used with the auxiliary être in tenses such as the passé composé or the plus-que-parfait, appelées agrees with the subject: elles ont été appelées, elles sont appelées. With the auxiliary avoir, the participle normally does not agree with the subject, but it may agree with a preceding direct object. For example: les invitées que j'ai appelées (the invited women that I called).

Etymology and related forms

Appelées derives from the verb appeler, which comes from Old French appeler and ultimately from Latin appellare, meaning to name or to call. The feminine plural ending -ées marks agreement with feminine plural nouns or pronouns in contexts where the participle functions adjectivally or in passive constructions.

Usage notes

Appelées can function as part of a passive construction or as a past participle in relative clauses. It contrasts with appelés (masculine plural) and appelé (masculine singular). In everyday writing and speech, it appears in contexts like judicial or administrative language, where groups of females are identified as having been called or summoned.

Examples

Elles ont été appelées à témoigner. The women were called to testify.

Les étudiantes que j'ai appelées sont arrivées. The female students I called have arrived.