Breakdown of Après être arrivé à la prison, le juge a parlé au suspect.
être
to be
avoir
to have
parler
to speak
à
at / to / in (general locations) / about (what one thinks about / reacts to)
au
to the / at the (masculine singular)
arriver
to arrive
le suspect
the suspect
après
after
le juge
the judge
la prison
the prison
Questions & Answers about Après être arrivé à la prison, le juge a parlé au suspect.
Why is it après être arrivé instead of après avoir arrivé?
The past infinitive always uses the same helping verb (auxiliary) that the verb uses in the passé composé. Since arriver is a verb of motion that takes être (one of the Dr. Mrs. Vandertramp verbs), you must use après être instead of après avoir.
Why do we say après être arrivé instead of translating "after arriving" directly as après arrivant?
In English, we use "after" followed by an "-ing" verb. However, French grammar rules require that the preposition après must be followed by the past infinitive (avoir or être plus the past participle) when the same person is performing both actions.
Would the word arrivé change if the judge was a woman?
Yes, it would become arrivée. Even in a past infinitive structure, when the helping verb is être, the past participle still has to agree with the subject performing the action. Here, le juge is masculine, so arrivé stays masculine singular.
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