How and when to use avoir beau
In French, if you're using après + [verbe], we consider that this action is always going to take place in the past of when you're speaking.
Therefore, you could NEVER say après faire ça the way you say after doing that in English!
Look at these examples:
Ils passeront la serpillière après avoir fait la vaisselle.They will mop the floor after doing the dishes.
Nous sommes allés nous coucher après avoir dit au revoir à Lisa.We went to bed after having said goodbye to Lisa.
Note that to express after + -ing (or after having + past participle) in French, you use the same following structure:
après + infinitive of auxiliary (être or avoir) + past participle
ATTENTION:
Use the same auxiliary as in compound tenses like Le Passé Composé.
When using avoir preceded by an object pronoun (après l'avoir vu/e), you need to agree the past participle with the object referred to by the object pronoun!
See also the more complex cases: Après être allé = After going (auxiliary être)
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
Nous sommes allés nous coucher après avoir dit au revoir à Lisa.We went to bed after having said goodbye to Lisa.
Après avoir quitté la soirée, Éric est rentré chez lui.After having left the party, Éric went back home.
Après avoir fini ma dissertation, je commencerai mes révisions.After finishing my essay, I will start studying for my exam.
Q&A Forum 10 questions, 14 answers
Hi Deeplaxmi,
The expression 'avoir beau faire' is a beautiful one to use.
It means -
Whatever you do..., try as you may...,
Here are a few examples of its usage -
On a beau tout le temps le corriger, il continue à faire la même erreur = No matter how many times we correct him he continues to make the same mistake
Vous aurez beau faire, vous n'y arriverez pas = Try as you may, you won't be able to do it
On a beau dire, la vie est agréable sur cette île = Whatever you/people think/say, life is very pleasant on this island.
I hope these examples will enable you to use it in speech.
Chris Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Do you main faire beau, as in Il fait beau aujourd'hui -- It's nice weather today? I don't know about avoir beau.
Alan Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
"avoir beau faire" means, roughly, to do something in vain. There's a good explanation here:
https://french.yabla.com/lesson-Avoir-Beau-946
There's a well-known Jacques Brel song, Le Prochain Amour that starts:
On a beau faire, on a beau dire
Qu'un homme averti en vaut deux
On a beau faire, on a beau dire
Ça fait du bien d'être amoureux
I'm not entirely sure what the question is. If you're asking how to combine that with "après avoir fait", I suppose you can just say "après avoir beau fait".
Deeplaxmi asked:View original
Could you also explain how To use avoir beau
How and when to use avoir beau
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JenkKwiziq community member
Aren't we suppose to use the futur anterieur in this sentence? Après avoir fini ma dissertation, je commencerai mes révisions
Asked 11 months ago
Hi Jenk,
It is because of 'Après' which is followed by a past infinitive in French.
If you change to 'quand' you will indeed use the futur antérieur :
'Quand j'aurai fini ma dissertation, je commencerai mes révisions.'
Bonne continuation!
Jenk asked:View original
Aren't we suppose to use the futur anterieur in this sentence? Après avoir fini ma dissertation, je commencerai mes révisions
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Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Quiz comment/query - Lucette changea les draps
This is a bit of an indirect question related to this lesson about "aprés avoir fait".
The sentence used in the quiz is: "Lucette changea les draps aprés avoir fait le lit." This got me wondering about "changea" and what verb form it is, why we wouldn't say "Lucette a changé les draps aprés avoir fait le lit." But on further reading I see that this is just the difference between a form used in conversation French (passé composé - which perhaps most learners come across first) vs written French (passé simple - which learners come across later..?)
My other question is whether the sentence should actually read: "Aprés avoir changé les draps, Lucette fis / a fait le let." You change the sheets before making the bed, right?
Asked 1 year ago
Uber asked:View original
Quiz comment/query - Lucette changea les draps
This is a bit of an indirect question related to this lesson about "aprés avoir fait".
The sentence used in the quiz is: "Lucette changea les draps aprés avoir fait le lit." This got me wondering about "changea" and what verb form it is, why we wouldn't say "Lucette a changé les draps aprés avoir fait le lit." But on further reading I see that this is just the difference between a form used in conversation French (passé composé - which perhaps most learners come across first) vs written French (passé simple - which learners come across later..?)
My other question is whether the sentence should actually read: "Aprés avoir changé les draps, Lucette fis / a fait le let." You change the sheets before making the bed, right?
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MichaelKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
going and/or doing...shopping?
Après ________ les courses, je t'aiderai avec tes devoirs.After going food shopping, I'll help you with your homework.HINT: Use "faire"The answer is... après "avoir fait".I left this unanswered because I was not certain that the verbs "going" and "doing", are both expressed using "avoir fait".You did not teach that...or did I miss something?I learned...après "être allé" was used to express, "After going..."Please explain. Thank you
Asked 1 year ago
Hi Michael,
You can say both -
après être allé en courses / après avoir fait les courses
depending whether you use the expression 'aller en courses' or 'faire les courses' which mean similar things (to go shopping or to do the shopping) .
Hope this helps!
Michael asked:View original
going and/or doing...shopping?
Après ________ les courses, je t'aiderai avec tes devoirs.After going food shopping, I'll help you with your homework.HINT: Use "faire"The answer is... après "avoir fait".I left this unanswered because I was not certain that the verbs "going" and "doing", are both expressed using "avoir fait".You did not teach that...or did I miss something?I learned...après "être allé" was used to express, "After going..."Please explain. Thank you
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PeterKwiziq community member
apres
I will do this after I wash my hands. Will do is future, wash is present why do I need to use the past tense for wash. The sentence I am setting up future after present tense and the present tense is "past" relative to the future tense
Asked 1 year ago
Chris Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Hi peter,
What can I say, in French people think differently when it comes to tenses. The English correspondence (though not entirely correct) would be:
I'll do this after having washed my hands. -- Je ferai ça après avoir lavé les mains.
Aprés usually asks for some kind of past tense when using it with a verb.
-- Chris (not a native speaker).
Peter asked:View original
apres
I will do this after I wash my hands. Will do is future, wash is present why do I need to use the past tense for wash. The sentence I am setting up future after present tense and the present tense is "past" relative to the future tense
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PaulKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Après avoir fait = After doing (simple expression)
Can you please explain what "simple expression" means in this context?
Asked 1 year ago
AurélieKwiziq team member
Bonjour Paul !
Here the distinction is actually between verbs that take "avoir" or "être" as auxiliary, but I agree that simple and complex are misleading.
I've therefore changed the titles to:
Après avoir fait = After doing (auxiliary avoir)
Après être allé = After going (auxiliary être)
Merci beaucoup de votre feedback et bonne journée !
Paul asked:View original
Après avoir fait = After doing (simple expression)
Can you please explain what "simple expression" means in this context?
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JohnKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Is it serpillère or serpillière? Dictionaries suggest the latter.
Asked 1 year ago
Bonjour John !
Thank you so much for spotting that mistake !
You've just proven that even with your native tongue, you can learn new things every day :)
I've now corrected it :)
Merci beaucoup et bonne journée !
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AlisonKwiziq community member
apres avoir fait
is the title of this a little misleading as most of the examples don't actually use faire?
Asked 2 years ago
Bonjour Alison,
L'utilisation du verbe «faire» ce n'était qu'un exemple. Le titre aurait pu être n’importe quel verbe, i.e. après avoir mangé = after eating, après avoir lu = after reading, etc. En ce qui concerne le titre-ci, je pense que «faire» a été utilisé de façon générique pour indiquer «faire n'importe quoi», i.e. manger, lire, dormir, sourire, rire, etc. parce que la forme serait le même avec n’importe quel verbe sauf celles qui nécessitent l’utilisation de l’être .
J'espère que ma réponse vous aidera.
Bonne chance et bonne continuation dans vos études en français, la langue de Molière et qui a été utilisé par le monde français depuis l’époque d’Hugues Capet
Ron (un locuteur non natif )
L'utilisation du verbe «faire» ce n'était qu'un exemple. Le titre aurait pu être n’importe quel verbe, i.e. après avoir mangé = after eating, après avoir lu = after reading, etc. En ce qui concerne le titre-ci, je pense que «faire» a été utilisé de façon générique pour indiquer «faire n'importe quoi», i.e. manger, lire, dormir, sourire, rire, etc. parce que la forme serait le même avec n’importe quel verbe sauf celles qui nécessitent l’utilisation de l’être .
J'espère que ma réponse vous aidera.
Bonne chance et bonne continuation dans vos études en français, la langue de Molière et qui a été utilisé par le monde français depuis l’époque d’Hugues Capet
Ron (un locuteur non natif )
Alison asked:View original
apres avoir fait
is the title of this a little misleading as most of the examples don't actually use faire?
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YellamarajuKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Après avoir / après d'avoir
After watching the film: Après d'avoir regardé ce film- was marked correct. Why it can't be said as: "Après avoir regardé ce film. Is it because 'watching' is considered a gerund ? Thanks.
Asked 2 years ago
LauraKwiziq team member
Bonjour Yallamaraju,
Après avoir regardé is the only correct way to say it. If you see an error like this again, please report it to info@kwiziq.com
Yellamaraju asked:View original
Après avoir / après d'avoir
After watching the film: Après d'avoir regardé ce film- was marked correct. Why it can't be said as: "Après avoir regardé ce film. Is it because 'watching' is considered a gerund ? Thanks.
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CarolynKwiziq community member
Perfect infinitive vs Après que
Does the sentence "Après qu'il a quitté la soirée, Eric est rentré chez lui" mean the same as "Après avoir quitté la soirée, Eric est rentré chez lui." Is using "après que" an easier way to say the same thing?
Asked 3 years ago
AurélieKwiziq team member
Bonjour Carolyn !
Both sentences are correct. Here the nuance of meaning would be the same as in English:
- After he left the party, Eric went home.
- After leaving the party, Eric went home.
We would tend to choose the second option when the subject is the same in both parts of the sentence, but the other way is not incorrect either :)
I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !
Carolyn asked:View original
Perfect infinitive vs Après que
Does the sentence "Après qu'il a quitté la soirée, Eric est rentré chez lui" mean the same as "Après avoir quitté la soirée, Eric est rentré chez lui." Is using "après que" an easier way to say the same thing?
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