Actions in Sequence: The Perfect Participle
To show that one action was completely finished before another began, English uses "Having done [something]".
In French, use the perfect participle (le participe passé composé). To form it, take the present participle of the auxiliary verb (ayant for avoir or étant for être) and add the past participle of the main verb.
For verbs that take avoir, use ayant.
| Having finished the canvas, the genius took a break. | Ayant terminé la toile, le génie a fait une pause. |
| Having read the poem, the composer composed a beautiful song. | Ayant lu le poème, le compositeur a composé une belle chanson. |
If a verb uses être in the passé composé (like devenir), its perfect participle uses étant. As always with être verbs, the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject.
| Having become the most famous sculptor, this genius traveled to Italy. | Étant devenu le sculpteur le plus célèbre, ce génie a voyagé en Italie. |
Biographies and Chronologies
The perfect participle is an excellent tool for storytelling, as it neatly links a past achievement to a later result.
| Having survived the exile, the poet wrote this novel despite the sadness. | Ayant survécu à l'exil, le poète a écrit ce roman malgré la tristesse. |
While this structure frequently appears at the beginning of a sentence, it can also be placed at the end to provide historical context.
| He has been governing the country for ten years, having succeeded the king. | Il gouverne le pays depuis dix ans, ayant succédé au roi. |