French Grammar: The Past Perfect (Pluperfect)
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Identify:
French Grammar: The Past Perfect (Pluperfect)
la grammaire française: le plus-que-parfait
Study:
Perfect tenses are also known as compound tenses. They use a conjugated auxiliary verb (either AVOIR or ÊTRE) combined with the past participle of the main verb.
The Past Perfect – also called the Pluperfect (le plus-que-parfait) – is f0rmed with the imperative tense (l’imparfait) form of the auxiliary verb (AVOIR or ÊTRE) + the past participle of the main verb.
All rules that apply to the choice of auxiliary verb and past participle agreement in the Passé Composé are identical to the rules for the Past Perfect.
The Past Perfect is used to discuss an action that had already happened before another past action took place.
Vous aviez déjà fini vos devoirs quand nous sommes arrivés.
You all had already finished your homework when we arrived.
Tu avais appris le français avant de voyager au Québec.
You (informal) had learned French before traveling to Quebec.
Elle s’était déjà réveillée quand le réveille-matin a sonné.
She had already woken up when the alarm clock went off.
The Past Perfect is also used to discuss hypothetical past events.
S’il avait étudié, il aurait réussi à l’examen.
If he had studied, he would have passed the exam. (Hypothetical)
(Fact: He hadn’t studied, so he didn’t pass the exam.)
And, just like in English, the Past Perfect is also used in indirect (reported) speech:
“J’ai manqué le bus!” a dit Guillaume.
Guillaume a dit qu’il avait manqué le bus.
“I missed the bus!” said Guillaume.
Guillaume said that he had missed the bus.
As with other compound tenses, in a negative statement ne (or n’) precedes the conjugated auxiliary verb and the remaining negative expression follows the auxiliary verb.
Je n’avais jamais visité Paris.
I had never visited Paris.
Ils n’étaient pas encore nés quand nous avons déménagé.
They had not yet been born when we moved.
Remember that direct object pronouns, indirect object pronouns, and reflexive pronouns are placed in FRONT of the conjugated auxiliary verb. The same is true for the adverbial pronouns Y and EN.
Elle y était déjà allée.
She had already gone there.
Les réservations? Il nous les avait faites ce matin.
The reservations? He had made them for us this morning.
Nous ne l’avions jamais entendu parler.
We had never heard of it.
Adapt:
Nous avons trouvé le livre que tu avais perdu.
We found the book that you had lost.
Avant d’être professeur, Richard avait été homme d’affaires.
Before being a professor, Richard had been a businessman.
Nous n’avions pas encore écrit les lettres.
We had not written the letters yet.
Ils n’avaient pas encore préparé le dîner quand la famille est arrivée.
They (masculine) had not yet made dinner when the family arrived.
La voiture était tombée en panne avant d’arriver au pont.
The car had broken down before reaching the bridge.
Nous n’étions pas encore rentrés du marché.
We had not yet returned from the market.
Tools:
- LEAF French Verb Conjugation Chart: [-ER] Verb Endings
- LEAF French Verb Conjugation Chart: [-IR] Verb Endings
- LEAF French Verb Conjugation Chart: [-RE] Verb Endings
