The French past infinitive (infinitif passé) is a verb form used to show that one action happened before another action. It is the infinitive equivalent of a completed action.

In English, it is often translated with forms such as:

• to have done
• to have seen
• after doing
• after having done

For example:

• Après avoir mangé, il est parti. – “After eating, he left.”
• Merci d’avoir attendu. – “Thank you for waiting.”

The past infinitive is common in both spoken and written French. It is especially useful when two actions have the same subject and one action clearly happened first.

How the past infinitive is formed

The past infinitive is made from:

• the infinitive of avoir or être
• plus a past participle

With avoir

Most verbs use avoir.

• Avoir parlé – “To have spoken”
• Avoir fini – “To have finished”
• Avoir compris – “To have understood”

Examples:

• Je suis heureux d’avoir trouvé la solution. – “I am happy to have found the solution.”
• Il regrette d’avoir dit cela. – “He regrets having said that.”

With être

Verbs that normally take être in compound tenses also use être in the past infinitive.

• Être allé – “To have gone”
• Être arrivé – “To have arrived”
• Être parti – “To have left”

Examples:

• Je suis content d’être arrivé à temps. – “I am pleased to have arrived on time.”
• Elle regrette d’être partie si tôt. – “She regrets having left so early.”

Agreement of the past participle

When être is used, the past participle agrees with the subject.

Masculine singular:

• Après être arrivé, il a téléphoné. – “After arriving, he called.”

Feminine singular:

• Après être arrivée, elle a téléphoné. – “After arriving, she called.”

Masculine plural:

• Après être arrivés, ils ont téléphoné. – “After arriving, they called.”

Feminine plural:

• Après être arrivées, elles ont téléphoné. – “After arriving, they called.”

Main use: showing an earlier action

The main purpose of the past infinitive is to show that one action happened before another.

Compare:

• Après manger, il est parti. – Incorrect
• Après avoir mangé, il est parti. – “After eating, he left.”

The meal happened first. The departure happened second.

More examples:

• Après avoir terminé son travail, elle est sortie. – “After finishing her work, she went out.”
• Après avoir lu le livre, j’ai regardé le film. – “After reading the book, I watched the film.”
• Après être rentré chez lui, il s’est couché. – “After returning home, he went to bed.”

After après

One of the most common uses is after après.

French normally uses the past infinitive rather than a finite clause when the subject remains the same.

• Après avoir déjeuné, nous sommes partis. – “After having lunch, we left.”
• Après avoir réfléchi, elle a accepté. – “After thinking it over, she agreed.”
• Après être monté dans le train, il a trouvé sa place. – “After getting on the train, he found his seat.”

Alternative expression:

• Après qu’il a déjeuné, il est parti. – “After he had lunch, he left.”

This construction is possible, but when the subject is the same, French often prefers the more compact past infinitive.

After prepositions

The past infinitive often appears after prepositions and prepositional phrases.

Sans

• Il est parti sans avoir dit au revoir. – “He left without saying goodbye.”
• Elle a répondu sans avoir lu le message. – “She replied without reading the message.”

Alternative:

• Il est parti sans dire au revoir. – “He left without saying goodbye.”

The ordinary infinitive is possible when there is no need to stress that the action was completed beforehand.

Pour

• Merci pour avoir aidé mon frère. – Rare and generally avoided

French normally prefers:

• Merci d’avoir aidé mon frère. – “Thank you for helping my brother.”

Avant de

Unlike après, avant de normally uses the ordinary infinitive because the action has not yet happened at that point.

• Avant de partir, ferme la porte. – “Before leaving, close the door.”

Not:

• Avant d’avoir parti – Incorrect

However, a past infinitive can occasionally appear after avant de when completion is important.

• Il voulait être sûr d’avoir tout compris avant de répondre. – “He wanted to be sure he had understood everything before answering.”

After expressions of thanks

This is one of the most frequent uses.

• Merci d’avoir appelé. – “Thank you for calling.”
• Merci d’être venu. – “Thank you for coming.”
• Merci d’avoir patienté. – “Thank you for waiting.”

Alternative expressions:

• Je vous remercie d’avoir appelé. – “I thank you for calling.”
• Nous vous remercions d’être venus. – “We thank you for coming.”

After expressions of emotion

The past infinitive is often used after adjectives or expressions showing feelings.

• Je suis heureux d’avoir réussi. – “I am happy to have succeeded.”
• Elle est fière d’avoir gagné. – “She is proud to have won.”
• Nous sommes ravis d’être ici. – “We are delighted to be here.”
• Il est triste d’avoir perdu son emploi. – “He is sad to have lost his job.”

After verbs expressing regret

• Je regrette d’avoir vendu cette voiture. – “I regret having sold that car.”
• Elle regrette d’être partie trop tôt. – “She regrets having left too early.”
• Ils regrettent d’avoir refusé l’offre. – “They regret having refused the offer.”

Alternative:

• Je regrette que j’aie vendu cette voiture. – “I regret that I sold that car.”

The subordinate clause version is often more formal or more emphatic.

After nouns and adjectives

Many nouns and adjectives can be followed by de plus a past infinitive.

• Le fait d’avoir étudié en France lui a été utile. – “The fact of having studied in France was useful to him.”
• Elle est satisfaite d’avoir terminé le projet. – “She is satisfied to have finished the project.”
• Nous sommes fiers d’avoir participé. – “We are proud to have taken part.”

When the subject stays the same

The past infinitive is especially common when both actions share the same subject.

• Après avoir fini ses devoirs, Paul est sorti. – “After finishing his homework, Paul went out.”

Both actions involve Paul.

French often chooses the past infinitive instead of repeating the subject:

• Après que Paul a fini ses devoirs, Paul est sorti. – “After Paul finished his homework, Paul went out.”

The second version is grammatical but less elegant because the subject is repeated.

Negative past infinitive

To make the past infinitive negative, place ne pas, ne jamais, ne plus, and similar expressions before the auxiliary.

• Ne pas avoir compris – “Not to have understood”
• Ne jamais avoir visité Paris – “Never to have visited Paris”
• Ne plus avoir besoin d’aide – “No longer to need help”

Examples:

• Il regrette de ne pas avoir répondu. – “He regrets not having replied.”
• Elle est heureuse de ne plus avoir ce problème. – “She is happy no longer to have that problem.”
• Je suis surpris de ne jamais avoir entendu cette histoire. – “I am surprised never to have heard that story.”

Pronominal verbs

Pronominal verbs use être.

• S’être trompé – “To have made a mistake”
• S’être levé – “To have got up”
• S’être souvenu – “To have remembered”

Examples:

• Il regrette de s’être trompé. – “He regrets having made a mistake.”
• Elle est heureuse de s’être souvenue de la date. – “She is happy to have remembered the date.”
• Après s’être levé, il a préparé le café. – “After getting up, he made the coffee.”

Comparison with the ordinary infinitive

The ordinary infinitive does not itself show whether the action happened before another action.

• Je suis content de vous voir. – “I am happy to see you.”
• Je suis content de vous avoir vu. – “I am happy to have seen you.”

The first refers to seeing someone in general or in the present.

The second refers to a completed meeting in the past.

Another example:

• Merci de venir. – “Thank you for coming.”
• Merci d’être venu. – “Thank you for coming.”

In modern French, the second is much more common when thanking someone for something already completed.

Summary

The French past infinitive consists of avoir or être in the infinitive plus a past participle.

• Avoir parlé – “To have spoken”
• Être arrivé – “To have arrived”

Its main role is to show that one action happened before another. It is especially common:

• after après
• after expressions of thanks
• after expressions of emotion
• after verbs such as regretter
• when two actions share the same subject

It often corresponds to English forms such as “to have done”, “having done”, and “after doing”.