The subjunctive plus-que-parfait tense is used when the main clause is in the past tense and the subjunctive clause, the subordinate, happened before the main clause. Learn when to use the subjunctive here. The subjunctive plus-que-parfait is also a literary tense for the subjunctive past tense, it can only be used when writing newspapers, novels, etc. The English equivalent is as follows:
Subjunctive past perfect tense
The tense that is composed as had plus the past participle.
Eg. She feared that he had died.
Examples of use
Eg. 1)
Elle était contente que venir hier.
She was happy that come yesterday.
Eg. 2)
Tu pouvais t'inscrire, quoique déjà ce cours.
You were able to register, although already this course.
Eg. 3)
Je craignais qu' l'examen.
I was worried that the exam.
How to conjugate
Conjugate the verb avoir (to have) in the subjunctive imperfect tense and use the past participle.
J'
eusse + PP
I
Tu
eusses + PP
you (s.)
Il
eût + PP
he, she, it
Nous
eussions + PP
we
Vous
eussiez + PP
you (p., pol.)
Ils
eussent + PP
they
With some verbs you will need to conjugate the verb être (to be), instead of avoir (to have), in the subjunctive imperfect tense and use the past participle. There are only a small handfull of these verbs, find all être verbs and more information here.
Je
fusse + PP
I
Tu
fusses + PP
you (s.)
Il
fût + PP
he, she, it
Nous
fussions + PP
we
Vous
fussiez + PP
you (p., pol.)
Ils
fussent + PP
they
Examples of conjugation
-er verb
parler
J'
eusse parlé
Tu
eusses parlé
Il
eût parlé
Nous
eussions parlé
Vous
eussiez parlé
Ils
eussent parlé
-ir verb
choissir
J'
eusse choisi
Tu
eusses choisi
Il
eût choisi
Nous
eussions choisi
Vous
eussiez choisi
Ils
eussent choisi
-re verb
vendre
J'
eusse vendu
Tu
eusses vendu
Il
eût vendu
Nous
eussions vendu
Vous
eussiez vendu
Ils
eussent vendu
Requiring être
aller
Je
fusse allé(e)
Tu
fusses allé(e)
Il
fût allé(e)
Nous
fussions allé(e)s
Vous
fussiez allé(e)(s)
Ils
fussent allé(e)s
Notable points
Literary tensesThere are 5 literary tenses in French which all have spoken equivalents and the subjunctive plus-que-parfait is one of them. It is also important to note that written tenses are used in literature, journalism, historical texts and narration. The following is a table of literary and spoken equivalents:
Literary
Spoken
IND. simple past
IND passé composé
IND. past perfect
IND. plus-que-parfait
SUBJ. imperfect*
SUBJ. present
SUBJ. plus-que-parfait**
SUBJ. past
COND. 2nd past
COND. past
* The subjunctive imperfect tense is only the literary form when main clause is in the past tense and the subjunctive clause, the subordinate, didn't happen first.
** The subjunctive plus-que-parfait tense is only the literary form when the main clause is in the past tense and the subjunctive clause happened before the main clause.
Overuse in U.S. American EnglishThe 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.
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