French Grammar: The Pluperfect Subjunctive
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Identify:
French Grammar: The Pluperfect Subjunctive
la grammaire française: le plus-que-parfait du subjonctif
Like the other forms of the subjunctive, the Pluperfect Subjunctive is used to express doubt, how a person feels about an action or state of being, a wish, intent, or command. It can also be used to express facts that are the opposite of reality.
However, the Pluperfect Subjunctive is a literary form – that is, it is only used in formal writing (such as literature and historical accounts). The Pluperfect Subjunctive is the literary equivalent of the Past Subjunctive. It is never used in everyday conversational French.
Study:
Like the other forms of the subjunctive, the Pluperfect Subjunctive is used to express doubt, how a person feels about an action or state of being, a wish, intent, or command. It can also be used to express facts that are the opposite of reality.
The Pluperfect Subjunctive is used when the main clause includes a past action that occurred before the action in the subordinate (also called “dependent”) clause.
How to form the Pluperfect Subjunctive:
The Pluperfect Subjunctive is formed with the Imperfect Subjunctive form of the auxiliary verb (either AVOIR or ÊTRE) + the Past Participle of the main verb.
A. For verbs that are conjugated with the auxiliary verb AVOIR :
… que j’eusse + past participle
… que tu eusses + past participle
… qu’il / elle / on eût + past participle
… que nous eussions + past participle
… que vous eussiez + past participle
… qu’ils /elles eussent + past participle
For example:
DANSER (to dance) / FINIR (to finish) / RENDRE (to give back / to return)
… que j’eusse dansé / fini / rendu
… que tu eusses dansé / fini / rendu
… qu’il / elle / on eût dansé / fini / rendu
… que nous eussions dansé / fini / rendu
… que vous eussiez dansé / fini / rendu
… qu’ils / elles eussent dansé / fini / rendu
B. For verbs that are conjugated with the auxiliary verb ÊTRE :
… que je fusse + past participle
… que tu fusses + past participle
… qu’il / elle / on fût + past participle
… que nous fussions + past participle
… que vous fussiez + past participle
… qu’ils /elles fussent + past participle
For example:
ALLER (to go) / SORTIR (to leave / to go out) / VENIR (to come)
… que je fusse allé(e) / sorti(e) / venu(e)
… que tu fusses allé(e) / sorti(e) / venu(e)
… qu’il fût allé / sorti / venu
… qu’elle fût allée / sortie / venue
… qu’on fût allé / sorti / venu
… que nous fussions allé(e)s / sorti(e)s / venu(e)s
… que vous fussiez allé(e)(s) / sorti(e)(s) / venu(e)(s)
… qu’ils fussent allés / sortis / venus
… qu’elles fussent allées / sorties / venues
SE LEVER (to get up / to stand up) / SE RÉUNIR (to meet / to get together) / S’ENTENDRE (to get along)
… que je me fusse levé(e) / réuni(e) / entendu(e)
… que tu te fusses levé(e) / réuni(e) / entendu(e)
… qu’il se fût levé / réuni / entendu
… qu’elle se fût levée / réunie / entendue
… qu’on se fût levé / réuni / entendu
… que nous nous fussions levé(e)s / réuni(e)s / entendu(e)s
… que vous vous fussiez levé(e)(s) / réuni(e)(s) / entendu(e)(s)
… qu’ils se fussent levés / réunis / entendus
… qu’elles se fussent levées / réunies / entendues
The same rules for past participle agreement in the Passé Composé also apply to the Pluperfect Subjunctive.
It’s important to remember that the Pluperfect Subjunctive is a literary form – that is, it is only used in formal writing (such as literature and historical accounts). The Pluperfect Subjunctive is the literary equivalent of the Past Subjunctive. It is never used in everyday conversational French.
Compare these sentences:
Il était surpris que je fusse arrivée. (Literary form – Pluperfect Subjunctive)
He was surprised that I had arrived.
Il était surpris que je sois arrivée. (Everyday conversation equivalent – Past Subjunctive)
So why learn the Pluperfect Subjunctive? Because being able to recognize this form (just like being able to recognize the Passé Simple, Passé Antérieur, and Imperfect Subjunctive literary forms) will allow you to read older works of French literature and history.
The Pluperfect Subjunctive is also used to replace the pluperfect (le plus-que-parfait) indicative and the past conditional (le conditionnel passé) in both parts of a conditional sentence. Again, this only occurs in literary forms.
Compare these sentences:
S’ils nous l’eussent dit, nous eussions compris.
(Literary form – Pluperfect Subjunctive, Pluperfect Subjunctive)
If they had told us, we would have understood.
S’ils nous l’avaient dit, nous aurions compris.
(Everyday conversation equivalent – Pluperfect Indicative, Past Conditional)
Adapt:
Il n’a pas cru que nous eussions fini les devoirs.
He did not believe that we had finished the homework.
J’étais fâché qu’elle eût pris ma voiture sans me demander.
I was angry that she had taken my car without asking me.
Si vous eussiez été à la fête, vous vous fussiez amusés.
If you all had been at the party, you would have had fun.
