Plus-que Parfait

Question 1

What is the le plus-que-parfait

Answer 1

In english, it corresponds to the past perfect tense. We use it to talk about an action or situation that took place before another past action.

Question 2

When to use plus-que-parfait

Answer 2

The tense is usually used with another past tense (i.e. imparfait, passé composé or the passé simple) and establishes the order of events: the action expressed in the plus-que-parfait always occurred before the action expresssed by the other past tenses.

Question 3

How to conjugate the plus-que-parfait

Answer 3

To conjugate the plus-que-parfait we use the imparfait forms of avoir and être followed by the participe passé of the main verb.

Avoir:
J’avais
Tu avais
Il/Elle/On avait
Nous avions
Vous aviez
Ils/Elles avaient

Être:
J’étais
Tu étais
Il/Elle/On était
Nous étions
Vous étiez
Ils/Elles étaient

REMEMBER THAT THE PASSÉ PARTICIPE MUST AGREE IN AGE AND GENDER

In negative, the auxillary comes between ne and pas.
J’avais rigolé. → Je n’avais pas rigolé

For reflexive, the auxillary is affected
Je ne m’étais pas trompé dans mon calcul

Question 4

Avoir or être

Answer 4

Most verbs use avoir, however être is used for reflexive verbs and verbs of movement.