In French, the past infinitive structure is as follows:
| “avoir” or “être” + past participle |
It is equivalent to the English combination of “having” followed by the past participle, e.g., “having finished,” “having eaten,” “having seen,” etc.
Uses of the Past Infinitive
One common use of the past infinitive in French is when there are two actions in the past and the subject is the same. For example:
| Après avoir terminé son travail, il a pris une semaine de repos. | After having finished his work, he took a week off. |
| On lui a demandé de quitter les lieux pour avoir violé les règles. | He was told to leave the place for having violated the rules. |
| Après être parti tard hier soir, j’ai dû rentrer à pied. | After having left late last night, I had to walk home. |
Notice that the above example can be rephrased using the present participle of the verb “avoir” or “être,” followed by the past participle, that is:
| Ayant terminé son travail, il a pris une semaine de repos. | Having finished his work, he took a week off. |
| Ayant violé les règles, on lui a demandé de quitter les lieux. | Having violated the rules, he was told to leave the place. |
| Étant parti tard hier soir, j’ai dû rentrer à pied. | Having left late last night, I had to walk home. |
Remember that the past participle must agree with the gender and number of the noun in the case of verbs conjugated with “être.”
We can also use the past infinitive in cases where we would normally use the infinitive in English, if the action referred to by the infinitive is in the past. For example:
| Merci de m’avoir invité. | Thank you for inviting me. |
| Je suis désolé d’être parti tôt hier soir. | I’m sorry for leaving early last night. |
Notice that the actions that the past infinitive refers to in both examples are understood to be in the past.
Quiz: The Past Infinitive
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