Past infinitive (after avoir/être + past participle)

What is the past infinitive (après avoir/être + participe passé)?

The "past infinitive" (French: infinitif passé) is the compound infinitive used to describe an action that is completed before another action or to describe a past action in a reduced clause. In French it is formed with the infinitive of the appropriate auxiliary (avoir or être) + the past participle of the main verb. In English this corresponds to the perfect infinitive: "to have + past participle" or the -ing form "having + past participle".

Examples:
- Après avoir mangé, je suis sorti. (After having eaten, I went out / After I had eaten, I went out.)
- Je suis content d'avoir réussi l'examen. (I am happy to have passed the exam.)
- Il prétend être parti à midi. (He claims to have left at noon.)

Use the past infinitive in these common situations:

- To show anteriority (one action completed before another), especially after the preposition "après":
- Après avoir fini mes devoirs, je suis allé me promener. (After having finished my homework, I went for a walk.)
- Après être arrivé, elle a téléphoné. (After having arrived, she phoned.)

- As the complement of verbs, adjectives or nouns when the infinitive action is already completed:
- Je suis fier d'avoir remporté le concours. (I am proud to have won the contest.)
- Nous étions désolés d'être arrivés si tard. (We were sorry to have arrived so late.)

- In reported speech or to indicate a prior action after verbs like prétendre, sembler, paraître, déclarer:
- Il prétend avoir vu le suspect. (He claims to have seen the suspect.)
- Elle semble être partie avant l'aube. (She seems to have left before dawn.)

- After "pour" to explain a reason or cause ("for having ...") and after "sans" for "without having ...":
- Il a été puni pour avoir menti. (He was punished for having lied.)
- Ils sont partis sans avoir tout expliqué. (They left without having explained everything.)

- In short, any time you want to say "to have done" something in contexts where French requires an infinitive rather than a subordinate clause.

Note about subjects: The past infinitive is normally used when the subject of the infinitive is the same as the subject of the main clause (or when a pronoun/object in front of the infinitive clearly controls the subject). If the two subjects are different, prefer a full clause (e.g. "après que + indicative"):
- Correct (same subject): Après avoir mangé, je suis parti. (After I had eaten, I left.)
- Prefer a clause if subjects differ: Après qu'elle est partie, nous avons rangé la salle. (After she left, we tidied the room.)

Basic formula: auxiliary in the infinitive (avoir or être) + participe passé of the main verb.

- With most verbs (transitive and many intransitive) use avoir:
- parler → avoir parlé → après avoir parlé (after having spoken)
- finir → avoir fini → après avoir fini (after having finished)
- prendre → avoir pris → après avoir pris (after having taken)

- With verbs that take être in the passé composé (mainly verbs of motion and all pronominal verbs) use être:
- aller → être allé → après être allé(e)(s) (after having gone)
- arriver → être arrivé(e)(s) → après être arrivé(e)(s)
- se lever → s'être levé(e)(s) → après s'être levé(e)(s)

Negation
- Place the negation around the auxiliary in the infinitive:
- Je regrette de ne pas avoir répondu. (I regret not having answered.)
- Elle est triste de ne pas être venue. (She is sad not to have come.)

Object and reflexive pronouns
- Object pronouns that would normally come before the verb in a finite form also come before the auxiliary in the past infinitive:
- Après les avoir vus, j'ai compris. (After having seen them, I understood.)
- Je suis content de t'avoir rencontré. (I am glad to have met you.)
- Reflexive pronouns attach before the auxiliary: s'être, nous être, etc.:
- Après s'être lavée, elle est sortie. (After having washed herself, she went out.)

Agreement with être (easy rule):
- When the auxiliary is être, make the past participle agree in gender and number with the subject of that infinitive.
- Après être parti, il a téléphoné. (m. sing.)
- Après être partie, elle a téléphoné. (f. sing.)
- Nous sommes contents d'être partis. (m. pl.)

Agreement with avoir (short rule):
- With avoir the past participle is invariable unless a direct object pronoun precedes the auxiliary inside the infinitive phrase; then the participle agrees with that preceding direct object pronoun.
- Après avoir mangé la tarte, j'étais rassasié. → No agreement (direct object follows the verb).
- Après les avoir mangées, j'étais étonné. ("les" = les tartes, feminine plural) → "mangées" agrees with "les".

Pronominal verbs (tricky):
- Treat the past infinitive of pronominal verbs like their compound tense: usually the past participle agrees with the subject if the reflexive pronoun is a direct object; if the reflexive pronoun is an indirect object and a direct object follows, there may be no agreement.
- Après s'être lavés, ils sont sortis. (They washed themselves → "lavés" agrees.)
- Après s'être lavé les mains, il est sorti. (He washed his hands → "les mains" is direct object after the verb → no agreement: "lavé".)

A practical tip
- If you have trouble deciding, ask: "Which noun or pronoun directly receives the action inside the infinitive phrase?" That is what the participle agrees with.

- Using the present infinitive after "après":
- Wrong: *Après finir mes devoirs, je suis sorti.
- Right: Après avoir fini mes devoirs, je suis sorti.

- Choosing the wrong auxiliary:
- Wrong: *Après avoir allé au marché.
- Right: Après être allé au marché.

- Misplacing object pronouns (they must come before the auxiliary):
- Wrong: *Après avoir les vus.
- Right: Après les avoir vus.

- Forgetting agreement with être or with a preceding direct object pronoun after avoir:
- Wrong: *Après être arrivée, il a appelé. (If "il" = male) → correct: Après être arrivé, il a appelé.
- Wrong: *Après les avoir vu. (If "les" refers to feminine plural les filles) → correct: Après les avoir vues.

- Using "après que" incorrectly: "après que" should be followed by an indicative clause (e.g. "Après qu'il est parti, ..."). Many speakers use the subjunctive colloquially, but the standard rule favors the indicative.

After "après" (anteriority):
- Après avoir mangé, nous avons regardé un film. (After having eaten, we watched a movie.)
- Après être rentré, il a pris une douche. (After having come home, he took a shower.)
- Après s'être réveillées, elles ont préparé le petit-déjeuner. (After having woken up, they prepared breakfast.)

As complement of adjectives / nouns / verbs:
- Je suis heureux d'avoir trouvé un appartement. (I am happy to have found an apartment.)
- Elle était fière d'être acceptée à l'université. (She was proud to have been accepted to university.)
- Nous regrettons de ne pas avoir accepté l'offre. (We regret not having accepted the offer.)

Reported speech / opinion / uncertainty:
- Il affirme avoir vu la voiture rouge. (He states he saw the red car / he claims to have seen the red car.)
- On croit l'avoir entendu chanter. (People think they heard him sing / to have heard him sing.)

Reason / cause ("pour avoir ..."):
- Il a été critiqué pour avoir pris une décision sans consulter l'équipe. (He was criticized for having made a decision without consulting the team.)
- Condamné pour avoir volé, l'homme a fait appel. (Convicted for having stolen, the man appealed.)

Without ("sans ..."):
- Ils sont partis sans avoir dit au revoir. (They left without having said goodbye.)

Pronouns and agreement:
- Après les avoir invités, j'ai rangé la maison. (After having invited them, I tidied the house.) — if "les" = the guests (masculine or mixed), use "invités".
- Après les avoir invitées, j'ai rangé la maison. — if "les" = the female guests, use "invitées".
- Je suis content de t'avoir vu hier. (I am glad to have seen you yesterday.)
- Après s'être lavée, elle a enfilé une robe. (After having washed herself, she put on a dress.)
- Après s'être lavé les mains, il est reparti au travail. (After having washed his hands, he went back to work.) → note no agreement because "les mains" is the direct object following the verb.

Comparison with English:
- French past infinitive: d'avoir + fait / d'être + parti
- English perfect infinitive: to have done / to have left or "having + past participle"
- Je suis content d'avoir réussi. → I am happy to have succeeded.
- Après avoir mangé, nous sommes sortis. → After having eaten / After we had eaten, we went out.

- Infinitive: the basic form of a verb (parler, être, avoir).
- Past participle (participe passé): the form used in compound tenses (parlé, fini, allé).
- Auxiliary: a helping verb used to form compound tenses (avoir or être).
- Pronominal (reflexive) verb: a verb that uses a reflexive pronoun (se laver, s'habiller).
- Agreement (accord): matching the ending of a participle with the gender and number of the noun or pronoun it refers to.

Final practical checklist:
- Use "avoir + past participle" for most verbs; use "être + past participle" for motion and reflexive verbs (as in passé composé).
- Use the past infinitive after "après", after verbs/adjectives/nouns when the action is already completed, and after verbs like prétendre, sembler, paraître.
- Put object pronouns and reflexive pronouns before the auxiliary in the past infinitive (les avoir, s'être).
- Make the past participle agree with the subject after être, and with a preceding direct object pronoun after avoir.

Translation of the topic name into English

Past infinitive (after avoir/être + past participle)