The past form of the infinitive in French
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The past form of the infinitive
When two past actions are described in a sentence, we use l’infinitif passĂ© to indicate the action which occurs first.
AprÚs avoir fermé les volets, Victor monta se coucher. After closing the shutters, Victor went up to bed OR After having closed the shutters, Victor went up to bed (first Victor closes the shutters, then goes up to bed).
Je suis dĂ©solĂ© de ne pas ĂȘtre venu hier (ne pas ĂȘtre venu a eu lieu avant je suis dĂ©solĂ©). I’m sorry for not coming yesterday OR I’m sorry for not having come yesterday (the act of not coming occurred before the apology).
Je suis dĂ©solĂ© de ne pas ĂȘtre venu hier (ne pas ĂȘtre venu a eu lieu avant je suis dĂ©solĂ©). I’m sorry for not coming yesterday OR I’m sorry for not having come yesterday (the act of not coming occurred before the apology).
L’infinitif passĂ© is formed with the auxiliary ĂTRE or AVOIR in the infinitive form + the past participle of the verb.
manger â avoir mangĂ© to eat â eating / having eaten
finir â avoir fini to finish â finishing / having finished
aller â ĂȘtre allĂ© to go â going / having gone
se coucher â sâĂȘtre couchĂ© to go to bed â going to bed / having gone to bed
finir â avoir fini to finish â finishing / having finished
aller â ĂȘtre allĂ© to go â going / having gone
se coucher â sâĂȘtre couchĂ© to go to bed â going to bed / having gone to bed
Note:
• L’infinitif passĂ© is used to describe a finished action while l’infinitif prĂ©sent is used to to describe an action in progress or a future action.
• L’infinitif passĂ© is used to describe a finished action while l’infinitif prĂ©sent is used to to describe an action in progress or a future action.
Câest une bonne idĂ©e dâaller au cinĂ©ma (= nous allons au cinĂ©ma maintenant). It’s a good idea to go the movies (= we’re going to the cinema now or soon).
Câest une bonne idĂ©e dâĂȘtre allĂ©s au cinĂ©ma (= nous sommes dĂ©jĂ allĂ©s au cinĂ©ma). It was a good idea to go to the movies / to have gone to the movies (= we went to the movies already).
Câest une bonne idĂ©e dâĂȘtre allĂ©s au cinĂ©ma (= nous sommes dĂ©jĂ allĂ©s au cinĂ©ma). It was a good idea to go to the movies / to have gone to the movies (= we went to the movies already).
• We use l’infinitif passĂ© when the subject remains the same for both actions. Repeating the same subject twice in the sentence is unnatural.
Je pensais avoir fermĂ© la porte Ă clef (rather than je pensais que jâavais fermĂ© la porte Ă clef). I thought (I) had closed the door.
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