Francisez | Learn to conjugate verbs in the plus-que-parfait tense of the indicative

Learn to conjugate verbs in the plus-que-parfait tense of the indicative

Le plus-que-parfait de l'indicatif

When to use

The indicative plus-que-parfait tense in French is used to express that an action was completed before or after another action in the past. The plus-que-parfait tense is used for whichever action happened first, while a regular perfect or imperfect tense is used for the second. The plus-que-parfait tense is the written equivalent of the past perfect tense. This means, this tense is only to be used when speaking. Its English equivalent is as follows:

Past perfect tense
The tense that is composed as had plus the past participle.

Eg. I had just finished eating when my mother called.

Examples of use

Eg. 1)

Il a eu mal à l'estomac parce qu'il avait trop mangé.

He had a stomach ache because he had eaten too much.

Eg. 2)

Elle avait donné le livre à son ami quand sa sœur a téléphoné.

She had given the book to her friend when her sister called.

Eg. 3)

Vous aviez fini tout le travail quand j'y suis arrivé.

You had finished all the work when I got there.

How to conjugate

Conjugate the verb avoir (to have) in the indicative imperfect tense and use the past participle.

J'	avais + PP	I
Tu	avais + PP	you (s.)
Il	avait + PP	he, she, it
Nous	avions + PP	we
Vous	aviez + PP	you (p., pol.)
Ils	avaient + PP	they

With some verbs you will need to conjugate the verb être (to be), instead of avoir (to have), in the indicative imperfect tense and use the past participle. There are only a small handfull of these verbs, find all être verbs and more information here.

J'	étais + PP	I
Tu	étais + PP	you (s.)
Il	était + PP	he, she, it
Nous	étions + PP	we
Vous	étiez + PP	you (p., pol.)
Ils	étaient + PP	they

Examples of conjugation

-er verb
parler to speak
J'	avais parlé
Tu	avais parlé
Il	avait parlé
Nous	avions parlé
Vous	aviez parlé
Ils	avaient parlé

-ir verb
choissir to choose
J'	avais choisi
Tu	avais choisi
Il	avait choisi
Nous	avions choisi
Vous	aviez choisi
Ils	avaient choisi

-re verb
vendre to sell
J'	avais vendu
Tu	avais vendu
Il	avait vendu
Nous	avions vendu
Vous	aviez vendu
Ils	avaient vendu

Requiring être
aller to go
J'	étais allé(e)
Tu	étais allé(e)
Il	était allé(e)
Nous	étions allé(e)s
Vous	étiez allé(e)(s)
Ils	étaient allé(e)s

Test your skills in the 'Conjugation game' with DELF A1 verbs!

Notable points

Overuse in U.S. American English
The plus-que-parfait is used in French the same as the plus-que-parfait is used in English. The plus-que-parfait is to be used in English and French when two actions are linked in the past that have both been completed. You do not use the plus-que-parfait when listing unrelated actions. There is a tendancy in the U.S. to overuse the had construction. A U.S. American may say: 'I had been in pain. I had gone to the doctor. The doctor had said to me that it was nothing. So I had decided to go home'. This is an overuse of the had construction and is not needed in French or English. The plus-que-parfait is only used when linking actions that happened simultaneously in a main clause and a subordinate clause. The only exception to this rule is when the verbs are link by a conditional, would.

Other moods and tenses

Participles	Present Past
Indicative	Present Imperfect Simple Future Simple Past Passé composé Plus-que-parfait Past Perfect Future Perfect	-ER -IR -RE -ER -IR -RE
Subjunctive	Present Imperfect Plus-que-parfait Past
Conditional	Present Past Past (2^nd)
Imperative	Present Past

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├ Participles

├ Indicative

├ Present ( -ER | -IR | -RE )

├ Simple Future

├ Simple Past ( -ER | -IR | -RE )

├ Passé composé

├ Plus-que-parfait

├ Past Perfect

└ Future Perfect

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├ Plus-que-parfait

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Learn irregularities

├ Participles

├ Indicative

├ Present ( -ER | -IR | -RE )

├ Simple Future

└ Simple Past ( -ER | -IR | -RE )

├ Subjunctive

├ Conditional

└ Imperative

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