Le Plus-que-parfait

We use the plus-que-parfait to talk about an action that occurred before another action in the past.

This tense is usually used together with another past tense and establishes the order of events: the action expressed in the plus-que-parfait always occurred before the action expressed by the other past tenses.

• Passé composé: J'ai fini (I finished) → Pluperfect: J'avais fini (I had finished)
• Passé composé: Je suis parti(e) (I left) → Pluperfect: J'étais parti(e) (I had left)
• Passé composé: Je me suis réveillé(e) (I woke up) → Pluperfect: Je m'étais réveillé(e) (I had woken up)

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Formation

The pluperfect tense is formed similarly to the passé composé, with two parts:

1. The auxiliary verb-avoir or être in the imperfect tense (l'imparfait).
2. A past participle.

1. The Auxiliary Verb

Avoir or être in the imperfect tense (l'imparfait).

2. Verbs with Avoir: Past Participle

Irregular verbs have unique past participles. They must be memorised:

Verb	Past Participle
Avoir	eu
Être	été
Faire	fait
Dire	dit
Écrire	écrit
Lire	lu
Voir	vu
Savoir	su
Connaître	connu
Comprendre	compris
Apprendre	appris
Mettre	mis
Prendre	pris
Pouvoir	pu
Vouloir	voulu
Devoir	dû
Boire	bu
Courir	couru
Rire	ri
Ouvrir	ouvert
Offrir	offert

3. Verbs with être: Past Participle

What verbs use être?

Verb	Translation	Past participle
aller	to go	allé
arriver	to arrive	arrivé
descendre	to descend / go downstairs	descendu
entrer	to enter	entré
monter	to climb	monté
mourir	to die	mort
naître	to be born	né
partir	to leave	parti
rester	to stay	resté
rentrer	to re-enter	rentré
retourner	to return	retourné
sortir	to go out	sorti
tomber	to fall	tombé
venir	to come	venu
devenir	to become	devenu
parvenir	to reach, achieve	parvenu
revenir	to come again, come back	revenu

Just like in the passé composé, verbs that use être require the past participle to agree in gender and number with the subject.

Add the appropriate ending to the past participle:

• Masculine singular: No change (e.g., allé).
• Feminine singular: Add e (e.g., allée).
• Masculine plural: Add s (e.g., allés).
• Feminine plural: Add es (e.g., allées).

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4. Putting it All Together

Example 1: Manger (to eat) – Uses Avoir

• Identify the auxiliary: The verb manger uses avoir.
• Imparfait of avoir: For "je" (I), the imparfait of avoir is j'avais.
• Form the past participle: The past participle of manger is mangé.
• Combine:
  • Je + avais + mangé = J'avais mangé (I had eaten)

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Example 2: Aller (to go) – Uses Être

• Identify the auxiliary: The verb aller uses être.
• Imparfait of être: For "elle" (she), the imparfait of être is elle était.
• Form the past participle: The past participle of aller is allé.
• Add agreement: Since the subject is feminine, add e to the past participle.
• Combine:
  • Elle + était + allée = Elle était allée (She had gone)

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Example 3: Finir (to finish) – Uses Avoir

• Identify the auxiliary: The verb finir uses avoir.
• Imparfait of avoir: For "nous" (we), the imparfait of avoir is nous avions.
• Form the past participle: The past participle of finir is fini.
• Combine:
  • Nous + avions + fini = Nous avions fini (We had finished)

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Example 4: Partir (to leave) – Uses Être

• Identify the auxiliary: The verb partir uses être.
• Imparfait of être: For "ils" (they, masculine or mixed group), the imparfait of être is ils étaient.
• Form the past participle: The past participle of partir is parti.
• Add agreement: Since the subject is plural, add s to the past participle.
• Combine:
  • Ils + étaient + partis = Ils étaient partis (They had left)

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Example 5: Se laver (to wash oneself) – Reflexive verb, Uses Être

• Identify the auxiliary: The reflexive verb se laver uses être.
• Imparfait of être: For "je" (I), the imparfait of être is j'étais.
• Form the past participle: The past participle of se laver is lavé.
• Add agreement: Since the subject is "je" and if the speaker is female, add e to the past participle.
• Combine:
  • Je + m'étais + lavée = Je m'étais lavée (I had washed myself)

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To form negatives in the plus-que-parfait:

• Place "ne" before the auxiliary verb (avoir or être in the imparfait).
• Place "pas" (or another negative word) after the auxiliary verb.

Positive: J'avais mangé (I had eaten)

Negative: Je n'avais pas mangé (I had not eaten)

Just wrap "ne... pas" around the conjugated auxiliary verb.