French Grammar: The Past Anterior
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Identify:
French Grammar: The Past Anterior
la grammaire française: le passé antérieur
Study:
The Past Anterior (le passé antérieur) is a Perfect tense. 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 Anterior is a rather formal tense and is usually only used in writing in conjunction with the Historic Past Tense (le passé simple). The Past Anterior is the literary equivalent of the Past Perfect Tense (le plus-que-parfait).
The Past Anterior is f0rmed with the Historic Past Tense (le passé simple) 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 Anterior.
The Past Anterior is used to discuss a historic past action that happened before another historic past action. Most often, the Past Anterior is used in a subordinate clause after such time expressions as quand, lorsque, après que, dès que, and aussitôt que. The Historic Past Tense (le passé simple) is used to express the subsequent historic past action.
Hier, après que nous eûmes pris le déjeuner, nous fîmes une sieste.
Yesterday, after we had eaten lunch, we took a nap.
Aussitôt qu’il fut parti, la réunion termina.
As soon as he had left, the meeting ended.
NOTE: In conversation, it would be more common to use the Past Tense (le passé composé) in sentences such as the two examples above.
Hier, après que nous avons pris le déjeuner, nous avons fait une sieste.
Yesterday, after we ate lunch, we took a nap.
Aussitôt qu’il est parti, la réunion a terminé.
As soon as he left, the meeting ended.
Also see the LEAF French Grammar lesson The Historic Past Tense (le passé simple).
Adapt:
Quand la musique eut commencé, les invités dansèrent.
When the music began, the guests danced.
Après qu’il eut fini ses études, Richard devint homme d’affaires.
After he had finished his studies, Richard became a businessman.
Dès que j’eus écrit les lettres, je les envoyai.
As soon as I had written the letters, I mailed them.
Aussitôt que vous vous fûtes senti mieux, vous revîntes au travail.
As soon as you (formal) felt better, you returned to work.
Lorsqu’ils furent arrivés, le dîner fut servi.
When they arrived, dinner was served.
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
