Indicatif: Plus-que-parfait Flashcards
What English verb tense does the plus-que-parfait translate to?
Past perfect
Use plus-que-parfait to distinguish between two events that happened in the past:
- The sun had already started to set when I arrived.
PQP is used for the event that happened first (farther in the past)
Le soleil avait déjà commencé à se coucher quand je suis arrivé.
What verb tenses are used for the second/more recent event after plus-que-parfait?
Passé composé or imparfait, depending on the context.
Is the plus-que-parfait used when there is no relationship between the two events that occurred?
No. It is only used when the two events are understood to be connected in some way.
e.g. J’ai fini tout le travail et puis je suis parti. (I finished all the work, then I left)
What are the parts of the plus-que-parfait verb tense?
l’imparfait form of avoir/être + le participe passé of the main verb
J’avais bâillé bruyamment plusieurs fois avant que le caissier ne me remarque.
I had yawned loudly several times before the teller noticed me. (bâiller)
bâiller: to yawn; to gape
Tu avais déjà fêté l’annonce au moment où je suis arrivé.
You (in.) had already celebrated the announcement by the time I arrived. (fêter)
fêter: to celebrate
Il lui avait coûté cher de vendre sa dernière antiquité.
It had cost him dearly to sell his last antique. (coûter)
coûter: to cost; to be hard for somebody
Nous avions rigolé trop fort et la bibliothécaire nous a lancé un regard noir.
We had laughed too loudly, and the librarian gave us a look. (rigoler)
rigoler: to laugh; to have fun; to be joking/kidding
Vous aviez rencontré mon cousin dans un bar à Paris et vous l’aviez tout de suite apprécié.
(rencontrer)
You (pl.) had met my cousin at a bar in Paris and you instantly liked him.
rencontrer: to meet; to come across
Ils étaient rentrés chez eux juste avant que la tempête ne frappe.
They had gotten home just before the storm hit. (rentrer)
rentrer: to come in; to go in; to get home; to put away; to go back in
J’avais maigri quand il m’a vu à l’événement.
maigrir: to lose weight
I had lost weight when he saw me at the event. (maigrir)
Tu avais trop agrandi l’image, donc je ne pouvais pas dire ce que c’était.
You (in.) had enlarged the image too much, so I couldn’t tell what it was. (agrandir)
agrandir: to enlarge; to extend; to magnify; to make bigger
Il avait converti le type de fichier, mais cela ne fonctionnait toujours pas. (convertir)
He had converted the file type, but it still wasn’t working.
convertir: to convert
Nous avions établi l’entreprise en Espagne deux ans avant de l’étendre à l’Amérique du Sud. (établir)
We had established the business in Spain two years before we expanded it to South America.
établir: to establish