The compound participle

The compound participle

ayant fait, étant parti: anteriority in written style.

⚡Key points

ayant / étant + past participle→ayant fini, étant parti
Anteriority→an action BEFORE the main one
Cause / time→Ayant compris, il partit.
Written register→replaces “comme / parce que + verb”
Agreement with être→étant partie, étant venus

Formation and meaning

The compound participle = the present participle of the auxiliary (ayant or étant) + the past participle. It expresses an action that is completed and prior to the main one, and is typical of written style.

Formation

finir (avoir)
ayant fini
having finished
comprendre (avoir)
ayant compris
having understood
partir (être)
étant parti(e)
having left
arriver (être)
étant arrivé(e)s
having arrived
se lever (reflexive)
s’étant levé(e)
having got up

Uses

The compound participle replaces a clause of cause or time (anteriority): Ayant terminé son travail, il sortit (= Comme il avait terminé / Après avoir terminé). It often opens the sentence and refers to the subject of the main clause.

Meanings

1

Cause

Ayant raté le train, elle a pris un taxi. (Having missed the train…)

2

Anteriority in time

Étant arrivé tôt, il attendit. (Having arrived early, he waited.)

3

Reflexive verb

S’étant trompé, il s’excusa. (Having made a mistake, he apologised.)

💡⚠️ One subject; agreement with être

The compound participle refers to the subject of the main clause (one subject). With the auxiliary être, the past participle agrees: Étant partie tôt, elle…. It is the written equivalent of après avoir / être + past infinitive.
Ayant lu la lettre, il pâlit. (= Après avoir lu…)
Les invités étant arrivés, on passa à table.

Excerpt: narration

NarrateurAyant entendu un bruit, elle se leva.
NarrateurÉtant descendue au salon, elle ne vit personne.
NarrateurN’ayant rien trouvé, elle remonta se coucher.
NarrateurS’étant rassurée, elle finit par s’endormir.

Narrator: Having heard a noise, she got up. | Having gone down to the living room, she saw no one. | Having found nothing, she went back up to bed. | Having reassured herself, she finally fell asleep.