In this comparative grammar lesson of Romance languages, we study the past infinitive in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, & French.
Table of Contents
- Conjugation
- Uses of the Infinitive Past
- Special Uses of the Infinitive Past in Italian
- Level VI – Fluent
Conjugation
The past infinitive is formed as follows:
| SP | “haber” in the infinitive | + past participle |
| PT | “ter” or “haver” in the infinitive | |
| IT | “avere” or “essere” in the infinitive | |
| FR | “avoir” or “être” in the infinitive |
It is equivalent to the English combination of “having” followed by the past participle, e.g., “having finished,” “having eaten,” etc.
Uses of the Infinitive Past
One common use of the past infinitive is when there are two actions in the past and the subject is the same. For example:
| SP | Después de haber terminado su trabajo, se tomó una semana de descanso. | After having finished his work, he took a week off. |
| PT | Depois de ter terminado o trabalho, ele tirou uma semana de folga. | |
| IT | Dopo aver terminato il suo lavoro, si è preso una settimana di ferie. | |
| FR | Après avoir terminé son travail, il a pris une semaine de repos. | |
| SP | Le dijeron que abandonara el lugar por haber violado las normas. | He was told to leave the place for having violated the rules. |
| PT | Ele foi orientado a deixar o local por ter violado as regras. | |
| IT | Gli è stato detto di lasciare il posto per aver violato le regole. | |
| FR | On lui a demandé de quitter les lieux pour avoir violé les règles. | |
| SP | Después de haberme ido anoche, tuve que caminar a casa. | After having left late last night, I had to walk home. |
| PT | Depois de ter saído tarde ontem à noite, tive que voltar para casa a pé. | |
| IT | Dopo essere uscito tardi ieri sera, sono dovuto tornare a casa a piedi. | |
| FR | Après être parti tard hier soir, j’ai dû rentrer à pied. |
Notice that the infinitive forms “avere” and “essere” in Italian are often shortened to “aver” and “esser,” respectively, when used in the past infinitive in daily informal speech.
Special Uses of the Infinitive Past in Italian
In addition to this common use of the past infinitive, there is another special use in Italian in the subordinate clause when the verb in the main clause is in the past.
Let us consider the following two examples:
| Penso di guidare molto. | I think that I drive a lot. |
| Crede di cambiare velocemente. | He believes that he changes fast. |
Notice that both examples are in the present tense, and that the subject is the same in the main clause and the subordinate clause. In Italian, unlike in English where the subject is repeated, we use the infinitive preceded by “di” to avoid repeating the subject.
Now, consider the case when the subordinate clause in the two examples is in the past instead of the present. In this case, the past infinitive is used instead of the infinitive. For example:
| Pensavo di aver guidato molto. | I thought that I had driven a lot. |
| Crede di essere cambiato velocemente. | He believes that he changed fast. |
Notice that only the verb in the subordinate clause must be in the past to use the past infinitive, whereas the verb in the main clause can be in the present or in the past.
We can also use the past infinitive in cases where we would normally use the infinitive in English, if the action referred to by the infinitive is in the past. Here are some examples in Italian:
| Grazie per avermi invitato. | Thank you for inviting me. |
| Mi dispiace di essere andato via prima ieri sera. | I’m sorry for leaving early last night. |
Notice that the actions that the past infinitive refers to in both examples are understood to be in the past. Notice also that a pronoun can be attached to the end of “avere” or “essere.”
Back to: Comparative Grammar Lessons
Other lessons in Level VI:
