Tense guide

Plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect)

Language: French

Tense:

Person:

Practice conjugation drills

Introduction

This tense is used to talk about something that happened in the past before another event in the past. It helps show that one past action was completed before a second past action began. Think of it as the "past in the past". If two things happened yesterday, this tense describes the one that happened first.

The most common use is to show the sequence of events. You use this tense for the first action that was finished when the second action happened.

Quand je suis arrivé, le film avait déjà commencé.

(When I arrived, the movie had already started.)

Elle a lu le livre que son frère lui avait recommandé.

(She read the book that her brother had recommended to her.)

Nous avons mangé les gâteaux que j'avais préparés.

(We ate the cakes that I had prepared.)

Avant de partir, il a fermé la fenêtre qu'il avait ouverte.

(Before leaving, he closed the window that he had opened.)

J'ai retrouvé les clés que j'avais perdues la veille.

(I found the keys that I had lost the day before.)

You also use this tense to give a reason or explanation for a past situation. The reason is the action that happened before the situation.

Il était fatigué parce qu'il avait mal dormi.

(He was tired because he had slept badly.)

Elle connaissait bien Paris parce qu'elle y avait habité.

(She knew Paris well because she had lived there.)

Je n'avais pas faim parce que j'avais déjà mangé.

(I wasn't hungry because I had already eaten.)

It is also used to talk about what someone said or thought in the past. It describes an action that was already completed at the moment of speaking or thinking.

Il a dit qu'il avait fini ses devoirs.

(He said that he had finished his homework.)

Elle pensait que nous étions partis sans elle.

(She thought that we had left without her.)

Mon ami m'a demandé si j'avais vu le nouveau film.

(My friend asked me if I had seen the new movie.)

Notice that this tense is always formed with two words. This structure helps to clearly separate the earlier past action from the more recent past action.