The Pluperfect Tense for Narrating Sequences of Past Events
The pluperfect (le plus-que-parfait) describes what had already happened before another past event, giving past narrative a second, earlier layer of time. It is built exactly like the perfect tense, an auxiliary verb (avoir or être, chosen by the same rules) plus a past participle, except the auxiliary itself is in the imperfect tense rather than the present, giving forms such as j'avais mangé (I had eaten) or elle était partie (she had left).
Before you start
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Method
- Choose the same auxiliary the verb would use in the perfect tense: avoir for most verbs, être for the 'Dr and Mrs Vandertramp' movement or state verbs and all reflexive verbs.
- Conjugate that auxiliary in the imperfect tense rather than the present: avoir gives j'avais, tu avais, il avait, nous avions, vous aviez, ils avaient; être gives j'étais, tu étais, il était, nous étions, vous étiez, ils étaient.
- Add the same past participle you would use in the perfect tense, regular (parlé, fini, vendu) or irregular (eu, été, fait, pris, vu, mis, dit, écrit).
- Apply the same agreement rules as the perfect tense: with être (non-reflexive), the participle agrees with the subject in gender and number, as in elle était partie, ils étaient allés; with avoir, there is normally no agreement with the subject.
- Use the pluperfect for the earlier of two past events, typically alongside a perfect- or imperfect-tense verb for the more recent event: quand je suis arrivé, le film avait déjà commencé (when I arrived, the film had already started).
- Use the pluperfect to explain a past cause with parce que or car: elle était fatiguée parce qu'elle n'avait pas dormi (she was tired because she had not slept).
- Negate it exactly like the perfect tense, wrapping ne...pas around the imperfect auxiliary: je n'avais pas fini, elle n'était pas encore arrivée.
Worked example
Put the verb in brackets into the pluperfect tense: Quand nous sommes arrivés au cinéma, le film (déjà/commencer). Marie était triste parce qu'elle (perdre) son téléphone, et ses amis (partir) sans elle.
- 'commencer' with 'le film' takes avoir; put avoir in the imperfect for il (avait) plus the past participle commencé: le film avait déjà commencé.
- 'perdre' with elle (Marie) takes avoir; the imperfect avoir for elle is avait, plus the past participle perdu: elle avait perdu son téléphone.
- 'partir' with 'ses amis' is an être verb; the imperfect être for ils is étaient, plus the past participle parti agreeing masculine plural: ses amis étaient partis sans elle.
- Full passage: Quand nous sommes arrivés au cinéma, le film avait déjà commencé. Marie était triste parce qu'elle avait perdu son téléphone, et ses amis étaient partis sans elle.
Practice questions
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Q1Give the je form of the pluperfect of 'manger'.Show answer
Answer: j'avais mangé.
Q2What tense is the auxiliary verb in, in the pluperfect?Show answer
Answer: The imperfect tense.
Q3Complete: Elle ______ (arriver, pluperfect) avant nous.Show answer
Answer: était arrivée (Elle était arrivée avant nous).
Q4Translate: 'They (masculine) had already eaten when I arrived.'Show answer
Answer: Ils avaient déjà mangé quand je suis arrivé.
Q5Correct the agreement: 'Elle était allé à Paris avant son mariage.'Show answer
Answer: Elle était allée à Paris avant son mariage, because the subject elle is feminine.
Q6Give the nous form of the pluperfect of 'se lever'.Show answer
Answer: nous nous étions levé(e)s.
Q7Explain the difference in meaning between 'j'ai mangé' and 'j'avais mangé'.Show answer
Answer: 'J'ai mangé' (perfect) means 'I ate' or 'I have eaten', a completed action; 'j'avais mangé' (pluperfect) means 'I had eaten', an action completed before another point in the past.
Q8Translate: 'She was sad because she had lost her keys.'Show answer
Answer: Elle était triste parce qu'elle avait perdu ses clés.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE French exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Translate this passage into English: Quand je suis rentré chez moi, mes parents avaient déjà préparé le dîner. Ma soeur m'a dit qu'elle avait fini ses devoirs avant le repas et que nos grands-parents étaient arrivés pendant l'après-midi. J'étais content parce que je n'avais pas encore mangé.
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Translate this passage into French: When we arrived at the station, the train had already left. We were annoyed because we had not checked the times, and our friends had waited for an hour.
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