Breakdown of L'inspecteur est retourné au commissariat après avoir interrogé la victime.
être
to be
avoir
to have
au
to the / at the (masculine singular)
retourner
to return, to go back
interroger
to interrogate
après
after
l'inspecteur
the inspector (m)
le commissariat
the police station
la victime
the victim
Questions & Answers about L'inspecteur est retourné au commissariat après avoir interrogé la victime.
Why does the French sentence say après avoir interrogé instead of just après interroger?
In French, when you want to say "after doing something", you must use the past infinitive. This is formed with après + the infinitive of the helping verb (avoir or être) + the past participle. You cannot use the present infinitive after après for an action that is already completed.
Why is it est retourné instead of a retourné?
Retourner (to return / go back) is one of the verbs of motion that uses être as its helping verb in compound tenses like the passé composé. Because it uses être, the past participle retourné has to agree with the subject, L'inspecteur, which is masculine singular.
Could I say après en interrogeant to mean "after questioning" like in English?
Why is it au commissariat and not à le commissariat?
In French, the preposition à (to/at) and the masculine definite article le (the) must always contract to form au. Since commissariat is a masculine noun, "to the police station" becomes au commissariat.
Is la victime always feminine, even if the victim is a man?
Yes! The noun la victime is always grammatically feminine, regardless of the actual gender of the person who was victimized. Any adjectives modifying it would also have to be feminine.
Learn L'inspecteur est retourné au commissariat après avoir interrogé la victime and more in French
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free