6.2.8

Perfect Infinitive

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The Perfect Infinitive Using Avoir

The perfect infinitive translates as 'to have done something'. It's formed by using the infinitive of 'avoir' followed by a past participle. Only verbs that use 'avoir' in the perfect tense use 'avoir' here.

ER verbs

ER verbs

  • Je regrette d'avoir oublié vos chaussures.
    • I regret having forgotten your shoes.
  • Après avoir déjeuné, je suis allé à Londres.
    • After having eaten lunch, I went to London
IR verbs

IR verbs

  • Ne le jetez pas avant d'avoir fini.
    • Please don't throw it away until you have finished.
  • Je regrette d'avoir vomi hier soir.
    • I regret having thrown up last night.
RE verbs

RE verbs

  • Je suis triste d'avoir perdu mon portable.
    • I am sad to have lost my phone.
  • Je regrette d'avoir vendu ma voiture.
    • I regret having sold my car.

The perfect infinitive translates as 'to have done something'. It's formed by using the infinitive of 'être' followed by a past participle. Only verbs that use 'être' in the perfect tense use 'être' here.

ER verbs

ER verbs

  • Après être allé à Paris, je n'avais pas envie de rentrer à Manchester.
    • After having gone to Paris, I didn't want to go back to Manchester.
  • Je regrette d'être monté dans ce bus.
    • I regret having got on this bus.
IR verbs

IR verbs

  • Après être sorti hier soir, je suis très fatigué aujourd'hui.
    • After having gone out last night, I am very tired today.
  • Je regrette d'être parti tôt hier.
    • I regret having left early yesterday.
RE

RE

  • Après être descendu sous le pont, il n'est pas revenu.
    • After having gone below deck, he hasn't come back.
  • Après être descendu derrière les montagnes, l'avion a disparu.
    • After having gone down behind the mountains, the plane disappeared.
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1

Home & Abroad

1.1

Town & Rural Life

1.1.1Town1.1.2What, Which, Where?1.1.3What is There in Your Region?1.1.4Places in the Town1.1.5Things To Do
1.2

Holiday, Tourism & Directions

1.2.1Countries1.2.2Holidays1.2.3Going on Holiday1.2.4Tourism1.2.5Food1.2.6Eating Out1.2.7Opinions on Food1.2.8Directions (1/2)1.2.9Directions (2/2)1.2.10Exam-Style Questions - Holidays
1.3

Customs

1.3.1Festivals & Customs1.3.2Festivals and Customs 2
1.4

Everyday Life & Traditions

1.4.1Greetings
2

Education & Employment

2.1

School Life & Routine

2.1.1Subjects (1/2)2.1.2Subjects (2/2)2.1.3School Routine2.1.4School Life2.1.5Exam-Style Questions - School Life
2.2

School Trips, Events & Exchanges

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2.3

Future Plans & Work

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3

Personal Life & Relationships

3.1

House & Home

3.1.1Home3.1.2Rooms of the House3.1.3In Your House
3.2

Daily Routine & Helping at Home

3.2.1Routine3.2.2Helping at Home
3.3

Family & Friends

3.3.1Describing Yourself3.3.2Physical Appearance3.3.3Personality3.3.4Friends3.3.5Opinions on Friends3.3.6Relationships3.3.7Family3.3.8Other Family Members3.3.9Role Model3.3.10Childhood3.3.11Exam-Style Questions - Family
4

The World Around Us

4.1

Global Issues

4.1.1The Environment (1/2)4.1.2The Environment (2/2)4.1.3Exam-Style Questions - The Environment4.1.4Addressing the Issue4.1.5Poverty & Homelessness4.1.6Social Issues4.1.7Energy
4.2

Weather

4.2.1Good Weather4.2.2Bad Weather
4.3

Travel & Transport

4.3.1Transport
4.4

The Media

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4.5

Information & Tech

4.5.1Mobile Technology
5

Social Activities, Fitness & Health

5.1

Special Occasions

5.1.1Parties
5.2

Hobbies & Interests

5.2.1In Your Free-Time5.2.2Music5.2.3Cinema5.2.4TV5.2.5Sport5.2.6Why Do You Play Sport?5.2.7Sports (1/3)5.2.8Sports (2/3)5.2.9Sports (3/3)5.2.10Exam-Style Questions - Sport
5.3

Numbers

5.3.1Numbers 1-205.3.2Numbers 21-100
5.4

Shopping & Money

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5.5

Illness & Health

5.5.1Healthy living5.5.2Unhealthy living5.5.3Illness (1/2)5.5.4Illness (2/2)5.5.5Aches & Pains
5.6

Food & Drink

5.6.1Fruits5.6.2Vegetables5.6.3Other Foods5.6.4Exam-Style Questions - Fruits5.6.5Meat5.6.6Fish5.6.7Drinks & Snacks
5.7

Time

5.7.1Telling the Time5.7.2Time of the Year5.7.3A Day, The Year5.7.4Expressions: The Past5.7.5Expressions: The Present5.7.6Expressions: The Future5.7.7Time Expressions
6

Common Tenses

6.1

Present Tense

6.1.1Regular ER Verbs6.1.2Regular IR Verbs6.1.3Regular RE Verbs6.1.4Reflexive Verbs6.1.5Irregular ER Verbs (1/2)6.1.6Irregular ER Verbs (2/2)6.1.7Irregular IR Verbs (1/2)6.1.8Irregular IR Verbs (2/2)6.1.9Irregular RE Verbs (1/3)6.1.10Irregular RE Verbs (2/3)6.1.11Irregular RE Verbs (3/3)6.1.12Present Participle (1/2)6.1.13Present Participle (2/2)6.1.14Irregular Present Participles6.1.15Avoir & Etre
6.2

Perfect Tense

6.2.1Avoir (1/2)6.2.2Avoir (2/2)6.2.3Irregular Past Participles (1/2)6.2.4Irregular Past Participles (2/2)6.2.5Être ER Verbs6.2.6Être IR & RE Verbs6.2.7Irregular Être6.2.8Perfect Infinitive
6.3

Imperfect tense

6.3.1Regular ER Verbs6.3.2Regular IR Verbs6.3.3Regular RE Verbs6.3.4Irregular ER Verbs6.3.5Irregular IR Verbs6.3.6Irregular RE Verbs6.3.7Être
6.4

Imperfect vs Perfect

6.4.1Which One to Use?
6.5

Future Tense

6.5.1Regular ER Verbs6.5.2Regular IR Verbs6.5.3Regular RE Verbs6.5.4Immediate future6.5.5Irregulars (1/2)6.5.6Irregulars (2/2)
7

Advanced Tenses

7.1

Conditional Tense

7.1.1Regular ER Verbs7.1.2Regular IR Verbs7.1.3Regular IR Verbs7.1.4Irregulars (1/2)7.1.5Irregulars (2/2)
7.2

Pluperfect Tense

7.2.1Avoir (1/2)7.2.2Avoir (2/2)7.2.3Être ER7.2.4Être IR & RE7.2.5Irregular Être
7.3

Present Subjunctive

7.3.1Regular Verbs (1/2)7.3.2Regular Verbs (2/2)7.3.3Irregulars (1/2)7.3.4Irregulars (2/2)7.3.5Using the Subjunctive7.3.6Imperative
8

Extra Grammar

8.1

The Passive Voice

8.1.1Être (1/6)8.1.2Être (2/6)8.1.3Être (3/6)8.1.4Être (4/6)8.1.5Être (5/6)8.1.6Être (6/6)8.1.7Avoiding the Passive
8.2

Pronouns

8.2.1Personal Pronouns (1/2)8.2.2Personal Pronouns (2/2)8.2.3Reflexive Pronouns8.2.4Indefinite Pronouns8.2.5Emphatic Pronouns8.2.6Relative Pronouns8.2.7Ça, Cela, Celui8.2.8Demonstrative Pronouns8.2.9Possessive Pronouns
8.3

Asking Questions

8.3.1Question Words (1/2)8.3.2Question Words (2/2)
8.4

Nouns

8.4.1The, A8.4.2Some8.4.3Masculine8.4.4Feminine (1/2)8.4.5Feminine (2/2)8.4.6Plurals8.4.7Irregular Plurals
8.5

Prepositions

8.5.1Prepositions (1/3)8.5.2Prepositions (2/3)8.5.3Prepositions (3/3)8.5.4Phrases
8.6

Adverbs

8.6.1Forming an Adverb8.6.2Good, Badly, Fast
8.7

Quantifiers & Intensifiers

8.7.1A Lot, Enough, Very
8.8

Adjectives

8.8.1Agreement (1/3)8.8.2Agreement (2/3)8.8.3Agreement (3/3)8.8.4Position (1/2)8.8.5Position (2/2)8.8.6Comparative8.8.7Superlative8.8.8Good, Better, Best8.8.9Demonstrative8.8.10Indefinite
8.9

Negative

8.9.1Negatives (1/2)8.9.2Negatives (2/2)
8.10

Conjunctions

8.10.1To Make Sentences Longer8.10.2To Add Extra Information
8.11

Miscellaneous

8.11.1Abbreviations

Practice questions on Perfect Infinitive

Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

  1. 1
    How do you say 'to have started' in French?Multiple choice
  2. 2
    Select the correct forms of the perfect infinitive:True / false
  3. 3
    Which of the following is NOT in the perfect infinitive?Multiple choice
  4. 4
    How do you say 'having fallen' in French?Multiple choice
  5. 5
    Select the correct form of the perfect infinitive:True / false
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Irregular Être

Regular ER Verbs