Advanced Verb Structures

(Higher tier) The structures in this lesson — venir de, être en train de, depuis + present, the present participle, and après avoir/être — are Higher-tier content in AQA GCSE French (8652). Foundation students do not need them and can skip this lesson.

These are the verb structures that lift a Higher-tier answer above the basic tenses. Each one lets you say something a simple present or perfect cannot: what you have just done, what you are in the middle of doing, how long you have been doing something, and what you do while or after doing something else. Drop two or three of these into a writing or speaking answer and your range is obvious.

venir de + infinitive means "to have just done" something. French uses the present tense of venir where English uses "have just".

French	English
Je viens de manger.	I have just eaten.
Il **vient d'**arriver.	He has just arrived.
Nous venons de finir.	We have just finished.

Put venir into the imperfect and it becomes "had just":

• Je venais de partir quand tu as téléphoné. — I had just left when you phoned.

être en train de + infinitive is its partner, meaning "to be in the middle of / busy doing":

• Je suis en train de réviser. — I am (busy) revising.
• Elle était en train de cuisiner. — She was in the middle of cooking.

Both keep the second verb as an infinitive: je viens de manger, je suis en train de travailler. Never conjugate the second verb.

depuis means "for" or "since", and here is the trap: French uses it with the present tense for an action that started in the past and is still going on. English switches to "have been doing", but French does not.

French	English
J'apprends le français depuis trois ans.	I have been learning French for three years.
Elle habite ici depuis 2015.	She has lived here since 2015.
Nous attendons depuis une heure.	We have been waiting for an hour.

Use depuis + a length of time for "for" (depuis trois ans = for three years) and depuis + a point in time for "since" (depuis lundi = since Monday).

Ask "am I still doing it?" If yes, use the present: Je joue au foot depuis cinq ans (I've been playing football for five years — and still play). Do not use the perfect here.

The present participle is the "-ing" form. Build it from the nous form of the present: drop -ons and add -ant. With en in front it means "while doing" or "by doing".

Verb	nous form	Participle	With en (meaning)
parler	nous parlons	parlant	en parlant (while speaking)
finir	nous finissons	finissant	en finissant (while finishing)
faire	nous faisons	faisant	en faisant (by doing)
manger	nous mangeons	mangeant	en mangeant (while eating)

Worked examples:

• Il chante en travaillant. — He sings while working.
• J'ai appris beaucoup en lisant. — I learned a lot by reading.

Three verbs have irregular participles you must learn:

Verb	Participle	Example
être	étant	étant fatigué
avoir	ayant	ayant faim
savoir	sachant	ne sachant pas

Only en goes with the participle for "while/by". Do not use it to translate every English "-ing": "I am eating" is the plain present je mange (or je suis en train de manger), never je suis mangeant.

To say "after having done" something, French uses après avoir (or après être) + a past participle. It describes an action finished before the next one.

French	English
Après avoir mangé, je suis sorti.	After eating (having eaten), I went out.
Après avoir fini ses devoirs, elle a joué.	After finishing her homework, she played.
Après être arrivé, il a téléphoné.	After arriving, he phoned.

Use avoir for most verbs, but être for the être-verbs and reflexives — and then the participle agrees with the subject:

• Après être arrivée, Marie a téléphoné. — After arriving, Marie phoned. (f sg → arrivée)
• Après m'être levé, j'ai pris le petit déjeuner. — After getting up, I had breakfast.

The related phrase avant de + infinitive means "before doing": Avant de partir, ferme la porte (Before leaving, shut the door).

At Higher tier you also need the modals devoir, pouvoir and vouloir in the perfect tense — to say what you had to, were able to or wanted to do. They form the passé composé with avoir and an irregular past participle, followed by an infinitive.

Modal (infinitive)	Past participle	Perfect (je)	English
devoir (to have to)	dû	j'ai dû	I had to
pouvoir (to be able)	pu	j'ai pu	I was able to / managed to
vouloir (to want)	voulu	j'ai voulu	I wanted to

Worked examples:

• J'ai dû partir tôt. — I had to leave early.
• Elle n'a pas pu venir. — She wasn't able to come.
• Nous avons voulu aider. — We wanted to help.

The second verb stays in the infinitive: j'ai dû partir, il a pu finir. Note the circumflex on dû (to tell it apart from du, the partitive "some").

These pair naturally with the imperfect for storytelling: Je voulais sortir mais j'ai dû rester à la maison — I wanted to go out but I had to stay home.

1. Using the perfect tense with depuis

For an action still going on, French uses the present: J'habite ici depuis cinq ans, not J'ai habité ici depuis cinq ans. Ask whether it is still true — if so, present tense.

2. Conjugating the verb after venir de or être en train de

The second verb stays as an infinitive: je viens de partir, je suis en train de lire. Adding an ending (je viens de pars) is wrong.

3. Using suis + -ant for the continuous

There is no "am doing" with the participle in French. "I am working" is je travaille or je suis en train de travailler — never je suis travaillant.

4. Forgetting agreement after après être

With être, the past participle agrees with the subject: Après être rentrée, elle… (f sg). A missing -e or -s here is an accuracy slip examiners notice.

5. Building the participle from the infinitive

The present participle comes from the nous form, not the infinitive: faire → nous faisons → faisant, not fairant. Check the nous-stem first.