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The question is on this sentence from chapter 7 of La porte étroite by André Gide.

(P) Alissa t’attend dans le jardin, me dit mon oncle, après m’avoir embrassé paternellement lorsque, à la fin d’avril, j’arrivai à Fongueusemare.

QUESTION

Which is the correct to way expand the gerund phrase to a que clause?

(X) Alissa t’attend dans le jardin, me dit mon oncle, après qu'il m'embrassa paternellement lorsque, à la fin d’avril, j’arrivai à Fongueusemare.
(Y) Alissa t’attend dans le jardin, me dit mon oncle, après qu'il m'avait embrassé paternellement lorsque, à la fin d’avril, j’arrivai à Fongueusemare.

If neither please tell me the correct answer.

BACKGROUND

This background is not part of the question. You don't have to read it.

I am expecting that the answer will be (Y).

What is motivating this question is the interesting contrast between the transformation of (P) to (Y), if that be the answer, and the transformation of

(2B) Miss Ashburton, après avoir été malade depuis quelques mois, mourut quatre jours avant Noël.

to

(1A) Miss Ashburton, qui était malade depuis quelques mois, mourut quatre jours avant Noël.

See this other question in which I learned that (1A) and (2B) go together.

I try to explain the difference to myself this way: était marks out a period that preceded (and terminated with) the event of mourut while avoir embrassé is an event that preceded another event. So when expanding an infinitif passé to a clause, one has to mind the grammatical aspect, the distinction of which is lost in an infinitif form.

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  • Why do you want to change après m''avoir embrasé to après que? The first is considered more elegant.
    – Lambie
    Jan 24, 2017 at 15:23
  • @Lambie. I am trying to work out certain grammatical relationships. Yes, I realize that I may be injuring the elegance of the original text.
    – Catomic
    Jan 24, 2017 at 15:26
  • Ok, so this is only writing. I understand.
    – Lambie
    Jan 24, 2017 at 15:45

1 Answer 1

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Both (X) and (Y) sound very odd.

What most people will probably use is the subjunctive present :

Alissa t’attend dans le jardin, me dit mon oncle, après qu'il m'ait embrassé paternellement lorsque, à la fin d’avril, j’arrivai à Fongueusemare.

However, grammar rules states the indicative is required after après que so this is the best formal way:

Alissa t’attend dans le jardin, me dit mon oncle, après qu'il m'eut embrassé paternellement lorsque, à la fin d’avril, j’arrivai à Fongueusemare.

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  • Oh, thank you. I would like nothing better than eut embrassé. I only used avait embrassé in the example because of the warning (in Web sites) that the passé antérieur was literary, that one should use the plus-que-parfait, etc.
    – Catomic
    Jan 24, 2017 at 14:07
  • And quite forgetting I was lifting things from Gide.
    – Catomic
    Jan 24, 2017 at 14:13

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