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0z\"\u002F>",true,{"id":46,"title":47,"author":48,"body":49,"cefrLevel":747,"date":48,"description":748,"extension":749,"faqs":750,"gcseTier":760,"intro":761,"language":762,"lastUpdated":48,"meta":763,"navigation":44,"path":764,"seo":765,"stem":766,"verbSlugs":48,"__hash__":767},"pages\u002Ffrench\u002Fgrammar\u002Fplus-que-parfait.md","The French Pluperfect (le plus-que-parfait): The Past Before the Past",null,{"type":50,"value":51,"toc":734},"minimark",[52,57,74,88,93,111,121,189,198,252,255,276,294,298,309,341,345,352,362,391,397,411,424,454,458,461,487,498,502,508,536,543,547,554,574,610,614,667,671,693,697],[53,54,56],"h1",{"id":55},"the-french-pluperfect-le-plus-que-parfait","The French Pluperfect (le plus-que-parfait)",[58,59,60,61,65,66,69,70,73],"p",{},"The ",[62,63,64],"strong",{},"plus-que-parfait"," is the \"had done\" tense. It is the past ",[62,67,68],{},"before"," the past: you are already narrating in a past tense, and you need to reach further back to something that ",[62,71,72],{},"had"," already happened. English does this with \"had\" plus a participle - \"I had eaten\", \"she had left\" - and French does it the same way, with one extra layer of machinery.",[58,75,76,77,82,83,87],{},"The good news is that you already own most of that machinery. The plus-que-parfait is simply the ",[78,79,81],"a",{"href":80},"\u002Ffrench\u002Fgrammar\u002Fpasse-compose","passe compose"," with the auxiliary moved into the ",[78,84,86],{"href":85},"\u002Ffrench\u002Fgrammar\u002Fimparfait","imperfect",". The auxiliary choice and the agreement rules do not change at all.",[89,90,92],"h2",{"id":91},"how-to-form-it","How to form it",[58,94,95,96,99,100,103,104,106,107,110],{},"Take the auxiliary - ",[62,97,98],{},"avoir"," or ",[62,101,102],{},"etre"," - put it in the ",[62,105,86],{},", and bolt on the ",[62,108,109],{},"past participle",".",[58,112,113,116,117,120],{},[62,114,115],{},"manger"," (avoir verb), imperfect of avoir + participle ",[62,118,119],{},"mange",":",[122,123,124,137],"table",{},[125,126,127],"thead",{},[128,129,130,134],"tr",{},[131,132,133],"th",{},"Subject",[131,135,136],{},"Form",[138,139,140,149,157,165,173,181],"tbody",{},[128,141,142,146],{},[143,144,145],"td",{},"je",[143,147,148],{},"j'avais mange",[128,150,151,154],{},[143,152,153],{},"tu",[143,155,156],{},"tu avais mange",[128,158,159,162],{},[143,160,161],{},"il \u002F elle",[143,163,164],{},"il avait mange",[128,166,167,170],{},[143,168,169],{},"nous",[143,171,172],{},"nous avions mange",[128,174,175,178],{},[143,176,177],{},"vous",[143,179,180],{},"vous aviez mange",[128,182,183,186],{},[143,184,185],{},"ils \u002F elles",[143,187,188],{},"ils avaient mange",[58,190,191,194,195,120],{},[62,192,193],{},"partir"," (etre verb), imperfect of etre + participle ",[62,196,197],{},"parti",[122,199,200,208],{},[125,201,202],{},[128,203,204,206],{},[131,205,133],{},[131,207,136],{},[138,209,210,217,224,231,238,245],{},[128,211,212,214],{},[143,213,145],{},[143,215,216],{},"j'etais parti(e)",[128,218,219,221],{},[143,220,153],{},[143,222,223],{},"tu etais parti(e)",[128,225,226,228],{},[143,227,161],{},[143,229,230],{},"il \u002F elle etait parti(e)",[128,232,233,235],{},[143,234,169],{},[143,236,237],{},"nous etions parti(e)s",[128,239,240,242],{},[143,241,177],{},[143,243,244],{},"vous etiez parti(e)(s)",[128,246,247,249],{},[143,248,185],{},[143,250,251],{},"ils \u002F elles etaient parti(e)s",[58,253,254],{},"Compare the three layers directly and the pattern is obvious:",[256,257,258,265,271],"ul",{},[259,260,261,264],"li",{},[62,262,263],{},"je mange"," (I eat) - present.",[259,266,267,270],{},[62,268,269],{},"j'ai mange"," (I ate \u002F I have eaten) - passe compose, present of avoir.",[259,272,273,275],{},[62,274,148],{}," (I had eaten) - plus-que-parfait, imperfect of avoir.",[58,277,278,279,282,283,286,287,282,290,293],{},"The only thing that moves is the auxiliary: ",[62,280,281],{},"ai"," becomes ",[62,284,285],{},"avais",", ",[62,288,289],{},"est",[62,291,292],{},"etait",". Everything else stays put.",[89,295,297],{"id":296},"the-auxiliary-is-the-same-as-the-passe-compose","The auxiliary is the same as the passe compose",[58,299,300,301,303,304,306,307,110],{},"You do not learn a new list. The verbs that take ",[62,302,102],{}," in the passe compose take ",[62,305,102],{}," here too: the movement and change-of-state verbs (aller, venir, partir, arriver, entrer, sortir, monter, descendre, rester, tomber, naitre, mourir, devenir) and all the reflexives. Everything else takes ",[62,308,98],{},[256,310,311,321,331],{},[259,312,313,316,317,320],{},[62,314,315],{},"elle est partie"," (she left) -> ",[62,318,319],{},"elle etait partie"," (she had left).",[259,322,323,326,327,330],{},[62,324,325],{},"nous sommes arrives"," (we arrived) -> ",[62,328,329],{},"nous etions arrives"," (we had arrived).",[259,332,333,336,337,340],{},[62,334,335],{},"j'ai fini"," (I finished) -> ",[62,338,339],{},"j'avais fini"," (I had finished).",[89,342,344],{"id":343},"past-participle-agreement-identical-rules","Past-participle agreement: identical rules",[58,346,347,348,351],{},"The agreement rules carry over wholesale from the ",[78,349,81],{"href":350},"\u002Ffrench\u002Fgrammar\u002Fpasse-compose-vs-imparfait",". There is nothing new to memorise.",[58,353,354,357,358,361],{},[62,355,356],{},"With etre",", the participle agrees with the ",[62,359,360],{},"subject"," in gender and number:",[256,363,364,373,382],{},[259,365,366,369,370,110],{},[62,367,368],{},"Elle etait partie."," (She had left.) - feminine ",[62,371,372],{},"-e",[259,374,375,378,379,110],{},[62,376,377],{},"Ils etaient arrives."," (They had arrived.) - masculine plural ",[62,380,381],{},"-s",[259,383,384,387,388,110],{},[62,385,386],{},"Mes soeurs etaient deja sorties."," (My sisters had already gone out.) - feminine plural ",[62,389,390],{},"-es",[58,392,393,396],{},[62,394,395],{},"Reflexive verbs"," take etre and agree with the subject in the normal case:",[256,398,399,405],{},[259,400,401,404],{},[62,402,403],{},"Nous nous etions leves tot."," (We had got up early.)",[259,406,407,410],{},[62,408,409],{},"Elle s'etait deja couchee."," (She had already gone to bed.)",[58,412,413,416,417,420,421,423],{},[62,414,415],{},"With avoir",", the participle is invariable ",[62,418,419],{},"unless"," a direct object comes ",[62,422,68],{}," the verb, in which case it agrees with that preceding direct object:",[256,425,426,432,445],{},[259,427,428,431],{},[62,429,430],{},"J'avais mange la pomme."," (I had eaten the apple.) - object follows, no agreement.",[259,433,434,437,438,441,442,110],{},[62,435,436],{},"La pomme que j'avais mangee..."," (The apple I had eaten...) - ",[62,439,440],{},"que"," = la pomme, a preceding feminine direct object, so ",[62,443,444],{},"mangee",[259,446,447,450,451,110],{},[62,448,449],{},"Les lettres qu'il avait ecrites."," (The letters he had written.) - preceding feminine plural object, so ",[62,452,453],{},"ecrites",[89,455,457],{"id":456},"use-1-the-action-that-came-first","Use 1: the action that came first",[58,459,460],{},"This is the everyday use. When two things happen in the past and you want to make clear that one was already finished before the other, the earlier one goes in the plus-que-parfait and the later one in the passe compose (or imperfect).",[256,462,463,469,475,481],{},[259,464,465,468],{},[62,466,467],{},"Quand il est arrive, elle etait deja partie."," (When he arrived, she had already left.)",[259,470,471,474],{},[62,472,473],{},"Quand je suis arrive a la gare, le train etait deja parti."," (When I got to the station, the train had already left.)",[259,476,477,480],{},[62,478,479],{},"J'avais fini mes devoirs quand mes amis sont passes."," (I had finished my homework when my friends came by.)",[259,482,483,486],{},[62,484,485],{},"Elle a dit qu'elle n'avait jamais vu la mer."," (She said she had never seen the sea.)",[58,488,489,490,493,494,497],{},"The word ",[62,491,492],{},"deja"," (already) and ",[62,495,496],{},"ne... jamais"," (never) sit very naturally with this tense, because both point back to a stretch of time before the main past event.",[89,499,501],{"id":500},"use-2-reported-speech","Use 2: reported speech",[58,503,504,505,507],{},"When you report what someone said and the original statement was itself in the past, the reported version steps one tense further back, into the plus-que-parfait. This mirrors the English \"he said he ",[62,506,72],{}," finished\".",[256,509,510,517,524,530],{},[259,511,512,513,516],{},"Direct: ",[62,514,515],{},"Il a dit: \"J'ai fini.\""," (He said: \"I have finished.\")",[259,518,519,520,523],{},"Reported: ",[62,521,522],{},"Il a dit qu'il avait fini."," (He said he had finished.)",[259,525,512,526,529],{},[62,527,528],{},"Elle a dit: \"Je suis arrivee tard.\""," (She said: \"I arrived late.\")",[259,531,519,532,535],{},[62,533,534],{},"Elle a dit qu'elle etait arrivee tard."," (She said she had arrived late.)",[58,537,538,539,110],{},"The pattern is consistent: a passe compose in the original becomes a plus-que-parfait when reported in the past, just as a present becomes an imperfect and a future becomes a ",[78,540,542],{"href":541},"\u002Ffrench\u002Fgrammar\u002Fconditional","conditionnel",[89,544,546],{"id":545},"use-3-si-javais-su-regret-about-the-past","Use 3: si j'avais su - regret about the past",[58,548,549,550,553],{},"The plus-que-parfait is half of the third type of si-clause, the one used for ",[62,551,552],{},"regret about the past",". The condition goes in the plus-que-parfait and the result in the past conditional (the conditionnel of avoir or etre + participle).",[256,555,556,562,568],{},[259,557,558,561],{},[62,559,560],{},"Si j'avais su, je ne serais pas venu."," (If I had known, I would not have come.)",[259,563,564,567],{},[62,565,566],{},"Si tu m'avais ecoute, tu n'aurais pas fait cette erreur."," (If you had listened to me, you would not have made that mistake.)",[259,569,570,573],{},[62,571,572],{},"Si nous etions partis plus tot, nous aurions evite les embouteillages."," (If we had left earlier, we would have avoided the traffic.)",[58,575,576,579,580,282,583,586,587,99,590,593,594,597,598,601,602,605,606,110],{},[62,577,578],{},"Si j'avais su"," (if I had known) is worth learning as a fixed phrase - it is the standard French expression of \"had I known\". Note the elision: ",[62,581,582],{},"si",[62,584,585],{},"s'"," only before ",[62,588,589],{},"il",[62,591,592],{},"ils",", never before ",[62,595,596],{},"j'"," - so it stays ",[62,599,600],{},"si j'avais su",", but ",[62,603,604],{},"s'il avait su",". The full three-type system is on the ",[78,607,609],{"href":608},"\u002Ffrench\u002Fgrammar\u002Fsi-clauses","si-clauses page",[89,611,613],{"id":612},"worked-examples","Worked examples",[256,615,616,625,637,646,652,661],{},[259,617,618,621,622,110],{},[62,619,620],{},"Quand nous sommes rentres, les invites etaient deja partis."," (When we got back, the guests had already left.) - etre verb, subject agreement ",[62,623,624],{},"partis",[259,626,627,630,631,633,634,110],{},[62,628,629],{},"Il m'a montre la maison qu'il avait achetee."," (He showed me the house he had bought.) - avoir verb, preceding direct object ",[62,632,440],{}," = la maison, so ",[62,635,636],{},"achetee",[259,638,639,642,643,110],{},[62,640,641],{},"Je ne savais pas qu'elle s'etait mariee."," (I did not know she had got married.) - reflexive, etre, subject agreement ",[62,644,645],{},"mariee",[259,647,648,651],{},[62,649,650],{},"Elle etait fatiguee parce qu'elle n'avait pas dormi."," (She was tired because she had not slept.) - avoir verb, no agreement.",[259,653,654,657,658,110],{},[62,655,656],{},"Nous nous etions leves a six heures."," (We had got up at six.) - reflexive, subject agreement ",[62,659,660],{},"leves",[259,662,663,666],{},[62,664,665],{},"Si j'avais su, je t'aurais prevenu."," (If I had known, I would have warned you.) - plus-que-parfait in the si-clause, past conditional in the result.",[89,668,670],{"id":669},"common-mistakes-english-speakers-make","Common mistakes English speakers make",[58,672,673,674,676,677,680,681,684,685,688,689,692],{},"The commonest slip is choosing the wrong auxiliary - but since it is the same auxiliary as the passe compose, the cure is simply to know your etre verbs: it is ",[62,675,319],{},", never \"elle avait partie\". The second trap is forgetting agreement: with etre the participle must match the subject, so it is ",[62,678,679],{},"elles etaient arrivees",", not \"elles etaient arrive\". With avoir, learners forget the preceding-direct-object agreement, writing \"la lettre que j'avais ecrit\" instead of ",[62,682,683],{},"la lettre que j'avais ecrite",". A third error is reaching for the plus-que-parfait when a plain passe compose is enough: only use it when there genuinely is an ",[62,686,687],{},"earlier"," past point to anchor to. Finally, in the si-clause of regret, do not put the conditional after si - it is ",[62,690,691],{},"si j'avais su, je serais venu",", never \"si j'aurais su\". The plus-que-parfait belongs after si; the conditional belongs in the result.",[89,694,696],{"id":695},"see-also","See also",[256,698,699,704,710,716,722,727],{},[259,700,60,701,703],{},[78,702,81],{"href":80}," page covers the auxiliary choice and agreement rules that the plus-que-parfait reuses wholesale.",[259,705,60,706,709],{},[78,707,708],{"href":350},"passe compose vs imparfait"," page sorts out which past tense does what.",[259,711,60,712,715],{},[78,713,714],{"href":85},"imparfait"," page covers the imperfect of avoir and etre that builds this tense.",[259,717,60,718,721],{},[78,719,720],{"href":608},"si-clauses"," page sets out the full three-type conditional system, including si j'avais su.",[259,723,60,724,726],{},[78,725,542],{"href":541}," page covers the past conditional used in the result clause for regret.",[259,728,60,729,733],{},[78,730,732],{"href":731},"\u002Ffrench\u002Fgrammar","French grammar cheatsheet"," covers the whole A1-B2 grammar map at a glance.",{"title":735,"searchDepth":736,"depth":736,"links":737},"",2,[738,739,740,741,742,743,744,745,746],{"id":91,"depth":736,"text":92},{"id":296,"depth":736,"text":297},{"id":343,"depth":736,"text":344},{"id":456,"depth":736,"text":457},{"id":500,"depth":736,"text":501},{"id":545,"depth":736,"text":546},{"id":612,"depth":736,"text":613},{"id":669,"depth":736,"text":670},{"id":695,"depth":736,"text":696},"B2","Forming and using the French pluperfect (le plus-que-parfait): the imperfect of avoir or etre plus a past participle (j'avais mange, elle etait partie, nous nous etions leves). Same auxiliary choice and past-participle agreement as the passe compose. Used for an action completed before another past action, in reported speech, and after si for regret (si j'avais su).","md",[751,754,757],{"q":752,"a":753},"How do you form the plus-que-parfait in French?","Take the auxiliary - avoir or etre - put it in the imperfect, and add the past participle. So manger gives j'avais mange, tu avais mange, il avait mange, nous avions mange, vous aviez mange, ils avaient mange. The etre verbs use the imperfect of etre: elle etait partie, nous etions arrives. Reflexive verbs also take etre: nous nous etions leves. It is the passe compose with the auxiliary shifted from the present to the imperfect, so j'ai fait (I did) becomes j'avais fait (I had done).",{"q":755,"a":756},"Which auxiliary does the plus-que-parfait take, avoir or etre?","Exactly the same one the verb takes in the passe compose. The handful of movement and change-of-state verbs - aller, venir, partir, arriver, entrer, sortir, monter, descendre, rester, tomber, naitre, mourir, devenir and their relatives - take etre, and so do all reflexive verbs. Everything else takes avoir. If you already know that elle est partie uses etre in the passe compose, then elle etait partie uses etre in the plus-que-parfait. Nothing changes except the tense of the auxiliary.",{"q":758,"a":759},"When do you use the plus-que-parfait?","Three main times. First, for an action that was already complete before another past action: quand je suis arrive, le train etait deja parti (when I arrived, the train had already left). Second, in reported speech, to push a past event one step further back: il a dit qu'il avait fini (he said he had finished). Third, after si to express regret about the past, paired with the past conditional: si j'avais su, je ne serais pas venu (if I had known, I would not have come).","higher","The plus-que-parfait is the 'had done' tense - the past before the past. When you are already telling a story in the past and you need to reach back to something that had happened even earlier, this is the tense that does it: quand il est arrive, elle etait deja partie (when he arrived, she had already left). The build is reassuringly familiar. It is exactly the passe compose, but with the auxiliary moved into the imperfect: j'ai mange (I ate) becomes j'avais mange (I had eaten); elle est partie (she left) becomes elle etait partie (she had left). The auxiliary choice and the past-participle agreement rules are identical to the passe compose, so once you can build one you can build the other. This page covers the formation, the agreement, the two everyday uses (the earlier past action and reported speech), and the high-value si j'avais su construction for regret.","french",{},"\u002Ffrench\u002Fgrammar\u002Fplus-que-parfait",{"title":47,"description":748},"french\u002Fgrammar\u002Fplus-que-parfait","rcSCgFrboLIWUc-TzspMvHnyCU_FShwWXwuVib-x928",[],{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":770},"\u003Cg fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\">\u003Cpath d=\"M12 15V3m9 12v4a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H5a2 2 0 0 1-2-2v-4\"\u002F>\u003Cpath d=\"m7 10l5 5l5-5\"\u002F>\u003C\u002Fg>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":772},"\u003Cpath fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\" d=\"M13 21h8M15 5l4 4m2.174-2.188a1 1 0 0 0-3.986-3.987L3.842 16.174a2 2 0 0 0-.5.83l-1.321 4.352a.5.5 0 0 0 .623.622l4.353-1.32a2 2 0 0 0 .83-.497z\"\u002F>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":774},"\u003Cg fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\">\u003Crect width=\"18\" height=\"18\" x=\"3\" y=\"3\" rx=\"2\" ry=\"2\"\u002F>\u003Ccircle cx=\"9\" cy=\"9\" r=\"2\"\u002F>\u003Cpath d=\"m21 15l-3.086-3.086a2 2 0 0 0-2.828 0L6 21\"\u002F>\u003C\u002Fg>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":776},"\u003Cg fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\">\u003Cpath d=\"M6 22a2 2 0 0 1-2-2V4a2 2 0 0 1 2-2h8a2.4 2.4 0 0 1 1.704.706l3.588 3.588A2.4 2.4 0 0 1 20 8v12a2 2 0 0 1-2 2z\"\u002F>\u003Cpath d=\"M14 2v5a1 1 0 0 0 1 1h5M10 9H8m8 4H8m8 4H8\"\u002F>\u003C\u002Fg>",1]