Plus que parfait

Comprehensive Guide to Mastering the Plus-que-Parfait (Pluperfect) in French

The Plus-que-parfait (also known as the pluperfect in English) is a crucial French tense that allows speakers to discuss actions or events that took place before another action in the past. This tense enhances your ability to narrate past events with precision and depth, adding layers of time and causality to your storytelling. The Plus-que-parfait is often used in combination with the passé composé or the imparfait, making it an essential tool for advanced learners of French.
In this guide, we will explore how to form and use the Plus-que-parfait seamlessly, with a focus on real-world examples and the nuances of this tense. We will also discuss irregular verbs, agreement rules, and typical mistakes learners tend to make. By the end of this comprehensive guide, you should have a deep understanding of the Plus-que-parfait, making you more confident and proficient in expressing complex past events.

Section 1: What is the Plus-que-parfait?

The Plus-que-parfait is used to express an action that occurred before another past action. It functions as the French equivalent of the English past perfect tense, which you might recognize from sentences like:

“I had eaten before she arrived.”

In this sentence, “I had eaten” refers to an action that took place before another past action, “she arrived.” Similarly, the Plus-que-parfait situates an event that has already occurred prior to another past event or moment

1.1 Example of Plus-que-parfait in French

J’avais déjà fini mes devoirs quand elle est arrivée.
(I had already finished my homework when she arrived.)

In this example, “I had already finished my homework” happened before “she arrived.” Therefore, the action of finishing the homework takes the Plus-que-parfait tense, while the second action (“she arrived”) uses the passé composé.

Section 2: How to Form the Plus-que-parfait

The Plus-que-parfait is a compound tense, meaning it is formed with an auxiliary verb (avoir or être) conjugated in the imparfait tense, followed by the past participle of the main verb.

2.1 Auxiliary Verbs: Avoir and Être

In French, most verbs use avoir as the auxiliary verb, while certain verbs—primarily verbs of motion—use être. Reflexive verbs also use être as their auxiliary in the Plus-que-parfait.

Let’s start by reviewing the imparfait forms of avoir and être, which are the auxiliary verbs in the Plus-que-parfait.

Imparfait of Avoir:

J’avais (I had)
Tu avais (You had)
Il/Elle/On avait (He/She/One had)
Nous avions (We had)
Vous aviez (You had)
Ils/Elles avaient (They had)

Imparfait of Être:

J’étais (I had been)
Tu étais (You had been)
Il/Elle/On était (He/She/One had been)
Nous étions (We had been)
Vous étiez (You had been)
Ils/Elles étaient (They had been)

2.2 Forming the Plus-que-parfait with Regular Verbs

The formation of the Plus-que-parfait is quite simple once you understand the mechanics:

Conjugate the auxiliary verb (avoir or être) in the imparfait tense.
Add the past participle of the main verb.

Example 1: Verb “parler” (to speak)

J’avais parlé (I had spoken)
Tu avais parlé (You had spoken)
Il/Elle/On avait parlé (He/She/One had spoken)
Nous avions parlé (We had spoken)
Vous aviez parlé (You had spoken)
Ils/Elles avaient parlé (They had spoken)

Example 2: Verb “finir” (to finish)

J’avais fini (I had finished)
Tu avais fini (You had finished)
Il/Elle/On avait fini (He/She/One had finished)
Nous avions fini (We had finished)
Vous aviez fini (You had finished)
Ils/Elles avaient fini (They had finished)

Example 3: Verb “attendre” (to wait)

J’avais attendu (I had waited)
Tu avais attendu (You had waited)
Il/Elle/On avait attendu (He/She/One had waited)
Nous avions attendu (We had waited)
Vous aviez attendu (You had waited)
Ils/Elles avaient attendu (They had waited)

2.3 Forming the Plus-que-parfait with Être

Some verbs use être instead of avoir as the auxiliary verb in the Plus-que-parfait. These are mainly:

Verbs of movement (e.g., aller, venir, entrer, sortir, monter, descendre, partir, retourner)
Reflexive verbs (e.g., se laver, se réveiller, s’endormir)

When the auxiliary verb is être, the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject. This means that the ending of the past participle will change to reflect whether the subject is masculine, feminine, singular, or plural.

Example 1: Verb “aller” (to go)

Je → étais allé(e) (I had gone)
Tu → étais allé(e) (You had gone)
Il/Elle/On → était allé(e) (He/She/One had gone)
Nous → étions allé(e)s (We had gone)
Vous → étiez allé(e)(s) (You had gone)
Ils/Elles → étaient allé(e)s (They had gone)

Example 2: Reflexive Verb “se réveiller” (to wake up)

Je → m’étais réveillé(e) (I had woken up)
Tu → t’étais réveillé(e) (You had woken up)
Il/Elle/On → s’était réveillé(e) (He/She/One had woken up)
Nous → nous étions réveillé(e)s (We had woken up)
Vous → vous étiez réveillé(e)(s) (You had woken up)
Ils/Elles → s’étaient réveillé(e)s (They had woken up)

Section 3: Uses of the Plus-que-parfait

The Plus-que-parfait is primarily used to describe actions or events that took place before another past event or moment. It adds depth to past narratives, enabling you to sequence events clearly and meaningfully.

3.1 Expressing Actions that Occurred Before Another Past Action

The most common use of the Plus-que-parfait is to express an action that occurred before another action in the past. The tense often works in tandem with the passé composé or the imparfait to provide a clear timeline of events.

Example 1:

Quand je suis arrivé à la gare, le train était déjà parti.
(When I arrived at the station, the train had already left.)

In this example, the action of the train leaving (“était parti“) happened before the speaker arrived at the station (“je suis arrivé“).

Example 2:

Elle avait fini ses devoirs avant de sortir avec ses amis.
(She had finished her homework before going out with her friends.)

Here, the Plus-que-parfait (“avait fini“) is used for the action of finishing homework, which occurred prior to going out with friends.

3.2 Reporting Indirect Speech in the Past

When reporting indirect speech (also known as reported speech) in the past, the Plus-que-parfait is often used to express what someone had said or thought about an event that had already occurred at an earlier time.

Example 1:

Il m’a dit qu’il avait déjà vu ce film.
(He told me that he had already seen that movie.)

In this sentence, “avait déjà vu” is in the Plus-que-parfait because it refers to an action that happened before the main past action, “il m’a dit.”

Example 2:

Elle croyait qu’ils étaient partis sans elle.
(She thought they had left without her.)

The action of leaving (“étaient partis“) happened before her thought, which is why it takes the Plus-que-parfait.

3.3 Expressing Regret or Missed Opportunities

The Plus-que-parfait can be used to express regret about something that happened or didn’t happen in the past. This use is often combined with the conditionnel passé to form sentences that express missed opportunities or hypothetical situations that did not occur.

Example 1:

Si nous avions su, nous n’avions pas acheté cette voiture.
(If we had known, we wouldn’t have bought this car.)

Here, the Plus-que-parfait (“j’avais su“) is used to express regret about something that was not known at the time, which led to the acceptance of the job.

Example 2:

Nous serions venus plus tôt si nous avions eu le temps.
(We would have come earlier if we had had the time.)

Section 4: Common Mistakes with the Plus-que-parfait

4.1 Forgetting Agreement with Être

When using être as the auxiliary verb, learners often forget to make the past participle agree with the subject in gender and number. Always remember to add the correct ending when necessary (e.g., -e for feminine, -s for plural).

Incorrect:

Elle était allé au parc.
(She had gone to the park.)

Correct:

Elle était allée au parc.
(She had gone to the park.)

4.2 Confusing Avoir and Être

Another common mistake is using the wrong auxiliary verb. Always make sure you know which verbs require être and which ones take avoir.

Incorrect:

Nous avions allés au cinéma.
(We had gone to the cinema.)

Correct:

Nous étions allés au cinéma.
(We had gone to the cinema.)

Conclusion: Mastering the Plus-que-parfait

The Plus-que-parfait is an essential tense that allows you to express actions occurring before a past event with clarity and precision. Mastering its form and usage will greatly enhance your ability to narrate complex past events and understand French at an advanced level.

By practicing regularly and paying close attention to the use of auxiliary verbs and agreement rules, you’ll become adept at using the Plus-que-parfait in both written and spoken French. This tense is an invaluable part of the French language, helping you communicate with more depth and sophistication.