The plus-que-parfait
The plus-que-parfait is what's known as a compound tense. It is formed with an auxiliary verb (the imperfect form of être or avoir) plus a past participle of the main verb.
Victor n’avait pas dormi. dormir, plus-que-parfait Victor hadn't slept.
Muriel et Marcel étaient arrivés en avance. arriver, plus-que-parfait Muriel and Marcel had arrived early.
Muriel et Marcel étaient arrivés en avance. arriver, plus-que-parfait Muriel and Marcel had arrived early.
The plus-que-parfait is the equivalent of the past perfect or pluperfect tense in English ('had + past participle'). We use it:
• For actions in the past which are completed (irreversibly)
• For actions in the past which are completed (irreversibly)
Nous avions parlé de notre mission pour l’AIGF. parler, plus-que-parfait We had talked about our assignment for the AIGF.
Muriel avait travaillé toute la nuit. travailler, plus-que-parfait Muriel had worked all night long.
Muriel avait travaillé toute la nuit. travailler, plus-que-parfait Muriel had worked all night long.
• For actions which occur before other past actions (those that use the passé composé, imperfect, or passé simple tenses)
Quand je me suis réveillée, Victor était déjà parti travailler. partir, plus-que-parfait When I woke up, Victor had already left for work.
Le jardin était inondé, il avait plu pendant une semaine. pleuvoir, plus-que-parfait The garden was flooded, it had rained for a week.
Le jardin était inondé, il avait plu pendant une semaine. pleuvoir, plus-que-parfait The garden was flooded, it had rained for a week.
• For hypothetical situations in the past, when expressing wishes about the past.
Si j’avais eu une voiture, je serais allé beaucoup plus vite. If I'd had a car, I would have gone much faster. avoir, plus-que-parfait
Nous aurions pris l’ascenseur s’il n’avait pas été en panne. We would have taken the lift, if it hadn't been out of order.être, plus-que-parfait
Nous aurions pris l’ascenseur s’il n’avait pas été en panne. We would have taken the lift, if it hadn't been out of order.être, plus-que-parfait
Note: To respect the correct sequence of tenses, we use the Si + past perfect → past conditional construction.
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