Past Infinitive in French

Overview

The past infinitive (infinitif passé) is a compound form that expresses a completed action before another action takes place. It is built by combining the infinitive of the auxiliary verb (avoir or être) with a past participle. You will encounter it frequently in written and spoken French alike, especially after the preposition après.

At the B2 level, mastering the past infinitive allows you to express time relationships between events with elegance and precision. Instead of using a full subordinate clause, French speakers often condense the idea into this compact structure, making their speech more fluid and natural.

Understanding which auxiliary to use — avoir or être — follows the same rules as the passé composé. Verbs of motion and state change, as well as all pronominal verbs, take être, while most other verbs take avoir.

How It Works

The past infinitive is formed as follows:

Component	avoir verbs	être verbs
Structure	avoir + past participle	être + past participle
Example	avoir mangé (having eaten)	être parti(e)(s) (having left)

Key rules:

• After après, always use the past infinitive (never the present infinitive): après avoir fini, après être arrivé
• With être verbs, the past participle agrees in gender and number with the subject: après être arrivée (feminine)
• Pronominal verbs use être and keep their reflexive pronoun: après s'être levé
• The past infinitive can follow prepositions like de with verbs of emotion: regretter d'avoir fait
• A negative wraps around the infinitive: après ne pas avoir compris

Trigger	Example	Meaning
après + past inf.	après avoir lu	after reading / after having read
regretter de	regretter d'avoir dit	to regret having said
remercier de	remercier d'être venu	to thank for coming
se souvenir de	se souvenir d'avoir vu	to remember having seen
sans + past inf.	sans avoir compris	without having understood

Examples in Context

French	English	Note
Après avoir mangé, je suis sorti.	After eating, I went out.	après + avoir verb
Après être arrivé, il a appelé.	After arriving, he called.	après + être verb
Je regrette d'avoir dit cela.	I regret having said that.	Verb of emotion + de
Merci d'être venu.	Thank you for coming.	Polite expression with être
Après s'être habillée, elle est partie.	After getting dressed, she left.	Pronominal verb + agreement
Il est parti sans avoir payé.	He left without having paid.	sans + past infinitive
Après avoir longtemps hésité, j'ai accepté.	After hesitating for a long time, I accepted.	Adverb between avoir and participle
Elle se souvient d'avoir visité ce musée.	She remembers having visited this museum.	se souvenir de + past inf.
Après ne pas avoir dormi, il était fatigué.	After not having slept, he was tired.	Negative past infinitive
Nous sommes contents d'avoir réussi.	We are happy to have succeeded.	Adjective + de + past inf.
Après être revenues, elles ont dîné.	After coming back, they had dinner.	Feminine plural agreement
Je m'excuse d'avoir oublié.	I apologize for having forgotten.	s'excuser de + past inf.

Common Mistakes

Using the present infinitive after "après"

• Wrong: Après manger, je suis sorti.
• Right: Après avoir mangé, je suis sorti.
• Why: French requires the past infinitive after après to indicate the action was completed first. The present infinitive is never used here.

Forgetting participle agreement with être

• Wrong: Après être arrivé, elle a appelé.
• Right: Après être arrivée, elle a appelé.
• Why: With être verbs, the past participle must agree with the subject — here feminine singular requires the extra -e.

Using the wrong auxiliary

• Wrong: Après avoir parti...
• Right: Après être parti...
• Why: Partir is an être verb, just as it would be in the passé composé. The auxiliary choice is consistent across all compound tenses.

Misplacing the negative

• Wrong: Après avoir ne pas compris...
• Right: Après ne pas avoir compris...
• Why: In a negative infinitive, ne pas is placed before the auxiliary, not between the auxiliary and the participle.

Usage Notes

The past infinitive is common in both spoken and written French. In everyday conversation, you will hear après avoir/être constructions constantly. In more formal writing, you may also encounter the past infinitive after verbs like se féliciter de (to congratulate oneself on) or se plaindre de (to complain about).

Note that English often translates the past infinitive with a simple gerund ("after eating") rather than the more literal "after having eaten." Both translations are correct, but be aware that French always requires the compound form after après.

In literary or formal registers, you may encounter the past infinitive in more complex constructions, such as pour avoir osé (for having dared) to express cause.

Practice Tips

1. Take five sentences you wrote using après + clause (e.g., après que j'ai mangé) and rewrite them using the past infinitive. This builds the reflex of choosing the more natural construction.
2. Practice sorting common verbs into avoir and être groups, then build past infinitives with each. This reinforces auxiliary selection, which is the trickiest aspect of this structure.
3. Listen to French podcasts or news and note every time you hear après avoir or après être — write down the full phrase and check whether the agreement is correct.

Related Concepts

• Passé Composé — the parent tense whose auxiliary rules apply here