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⏳ Compendium
Grammar
ES
Español — Perfect infinitive
The perfect infinitive is formed with haber + past participle. It names an action seen as already completed before another moment: después de haber comido means 'after having eaten'.
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How it works
✓ Rule
Take the invariable infinitive haber and add the past participle: haber comido, haber visto. It marks anteriority, so it is common after prepositions (después de haber comido, por no haber estudiado, al haber terminado) and after verbs of opinion or feeling (creo haberlo visto, lamento haber llegado tarde).
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Examples
| Spanish | Meaning |
|---|---|
| después de haber comido | after having eaten |
| al haber terminado | on having finished |
| por no haber estudiado | for not having studied |
| gracias a haber ahorrado | thanks to having saved |
| creo haberlo visto | I think I have seen it |
| lamento haber llegado tarde | I regret having arrived late |
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Good to know
⚠ Note
The participle is invariable here — it never agrees in gender or number, so it always ends in -o: haber comido, not haber comida. Object and reflexive pronouns attach to the end of haber: haberlo visto, haberse ido — never before it.