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Infinitivo compuesto
When one thing happens before another, you can use the Spanish perfect infinitive, aka past infinitive, to talk about the earlier action. In English, the past infinitive is very stilted, so it’s usually loosely translated into more idiomatic phrasing.
Por ejemplo…
Espero haber terminado antes del mediodía. | I hope to have finished by noon. I hope to finish by noon. |
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Gracias por habernos invitado. | Thank you for having invited us. Thank you for inviting us. |
The Spanish perfect infinitive has various uses.
A. Modify the verb in the main clause.
Por ejemplo…
Se disculpó por haber olvidado. | He apologized for having forgotten. He apologized for forgetting. |
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¿Recuerdas haber ido a España? | Do you remember having gone to Spain? Do you remember going to Spain? |
B. Modify the adjective in the main clause.
Por ejemplo…
Estoy encantada de haberte visto. | I’m delighted to have seen you. I’m delighted that I saw you. |
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Era necesario haberlo terminado. | It was necessary to have finished it. It was necessary to finish it / to have it finished. |
C. With the preposition después (after):
Por ejemplo…
Después de haber comido, fui al parque. | After having eaten, I went to the park. After eating, I went to the park. |
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Quería viajar después de haber terminado mis estudios. | I wanted to travel after having finished my studies. I wanted to travel after finishing my studies. |
D. When expressing gratitude.
Por ejemplo…
Gracias por haber venido. | Thanks for having come. Thanks for coming. |
|
Gracias por habernos ayudado. | Thank you for having helped us. Thank you for helping us. |
Word Order with the Perfect Infinitive
Unlike with other compound tenses, object pronouns used with the perfect infinitive are attached to the end of the auxiliary verb – learn more.
Por ejemplo…
Después de haberte visto …. | After seeing you …. | |
Gracias por haberme ayudado. | Thanks for helping me. |
Related lessons
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