French grammar explained
How do you use the French compound participle?
The French compound participle, or participe composé, describes an action completed before the main action: Ayant fini de manger, je sors de table.
Quick answer: form it with ayant or étant followed by a past participle. It expresses anteriority and can indicate a cause or replace a relative clause.
1. How do you form the French compound participle?
present participle of the auxiliary
of the main verb
Ayant couru, nous sommes arrivés à temps. — Having run, we arrived on time.
Étant arrivées avant nous, elles nous ont attendus. — Having arrived before us, they waited for us.
S’étant promenés toute la journée, ils sont fatigués maintenant. — Having walked around all day, they are tired now.
Pronominal verbs always use être. The reflexive pronoun changes according to the person: m’étant promené(e), t’étant promené(e), s’étant promené(e), nous étant promené(e)s, vous étant promené(e)(s), s’étant promené(e)s.
The compound participle often has no explicitly stated subject. In that case, its subject is the same as the subject of the main verb.
If the two actions have different subjects, both subjects must be expressed.
Correct: La pluie étant tombée toute la journée, nous n’avons pas besoin d’arroser les plantes. — Since it rained all day, we do not need to water the plants.
Incorrect: Ayant plu toute la journée, nous n’avons pas besoin d’arroser le jardin. Here, nous cannot be the subject of the verb pleuvoir.
2. How does the past participle agree?
| Auxiliary | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| avoir | The past participle follows the usual agreement rules for avoir. Without a preceding direct object, it remains unchanged. | Ayant appris la nouvelle, Milène appelle sa sœur. Having heard the news, Milène calls her sister. Sa sœur ayant répondu, Milène est soulagée. Her sister having answered, Milène is relieved. |
| être | The past participle agrees with its subject or, when no subject is stated, with the subject of the main verb. | Les spectatrices étant restées jusqu’à la fin du film, le réalisateur a pu leur parler. The women in the audience having stayed until the end, the director was able to speak to them. Étant restées jusqu’à la fin, elles ont pu parler avec lui. Having stayed until the end, they were able to speak with him. S’étant trompés de route, ils arriveront en retard. Having taken the wrong road, they will arrive late. |
3. The passive form of the compound participle
In the passive form, always use ayant été, then make the past participle agree with its subject.
Ayant été invitée, elle a pu participer gratuitement. — Having been invited, she was able to take part for free.
Les journalistes ayant été conviés, un article est paru dans le journal. — The journalists having been invited, an article appeared in the newspaper.
4. What is the compound participle used for?
Expressing an earlier, completed action
The compound participle marks an action completed before the main action. The main verb can be in the past, present, or future.
Ayant manqué son train, il a pris le suivant. — Having missed his train, he took the next one.
Ayant manqué son train, il prend le suivant. — Having missed his train, he is taking the next one.
Ayant manqué son train, il prendra le suivant. — Having missed his train, he will take the next one.
In all three sentences, missing the train is already complete when the action of taking the next train begins.
Expressing a cause
Ayant fini de manger, je sors de table. = Parce que j’ai fini de manger, je sors de table.
Having finished eating, I leave the table.
Étant allée plusieurs fois à Lyon, je connais très bien cette ville. = Comme je suis allée plusieurs fois à Lyon, je connais très bien cette ville.
Having been to Lyon several times, I know the city very well.
Replacing a relative clause
Les personnes ayant fini de manger peuvent sortir de table. = Les personnes qui ont fini de manger peuvent sortir de table.
The people who have finished eating may leave the table.
Les assiettes ayant été lavées peuvent être rangées, pas les autres. = Les assiettes qui ont été lavées peuvent être rangées, pas les autres.
The plates that have been washed can be put away, but not the others.
5. Two common points of confusion
Present participle + adjective
Étant stressé, il n’arrive pas à se concentrer. — Being stressed, he cannot concentrate.
Here, étant is a present participle and stressé is a past participle used as an adjective. The stress and the difficulty concentrating happen at the same time, so there is no anteriority.
Passive present participle
Étant suivi, il appelle la police. — Being followed, he calls the police.
The verb suivre is in the passive present participle. You can add: Étant suivi par un inconnu, il appelle la police. This is therefore not a compound participle.
Your turn
Exercise: the French compound participle
Complete the activity to check that you understand how to form and use the compound participle.
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