Perfect participle (having done)

Perfect participle (having done) means “Perfect participle: having + past participle, showing an action completed before the main action”. Having + past participle shows that its action finished before the main action: Having finished dinner, we watched a film (first we finished, then we watched). Formation: having + past participle · having been + past participle (passive)

Perfect participle: having + past participle, showing an action completed before the main action

Formation

having + past participle · having been + past participle (passive)

Explanation

Having + past participle shows that its action finished before the main action: Having finished dinner, we watched a film (first we finished, then we watched). It is a shorter way of saying After we had finished dinner... For a passive meaning we use having been + past participle: Having been warned, she drove carefully. Used as a gerund, the same form can be a subject: Having lied once made her feel guilty.

Examples

Note

The perfect participle is mostly written or formal; in speech we usually say After finishing dinner... or simply After we finished...

Related grammar

• Walking down the street, ... (participle clause)
• Perfect infinitive (to have done)

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