Apprenez à conjuguer les verbes au plus-que-parfait de l'indicatif
Le plus-que-parfait de l'indicatif
Quand employer
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.
Ex. I had just finished eating when my mother called.
Exemples d'emploi
Ex. 1)
Il a eu mal à l'estomac parce qu' trop .
He had a stomach ache because too much.
Ex. 2)
le livre à son ami quand sa sœur a téléphoné.
the book to her friend when her sister called.
Ex. 3)
tout le travail quand j'y suis arrivé.
all the work when I got there.
Comment conjuguer
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
Exemples de conjugaison
-er verb
parler
J'
avais parlé
Tu
avais parlé
Il
avait parlé
Nous
avions parlé
Vous
aviez parlé
Ils
avaient parlé
-ir verb
choissir
J'
avais choisi
Tu
avais choisi
Il
avait choisi
Nous
avions choisi
Vous
aviez choisi
Ils
avaient choisi
-re verb
vendre
J'
avais vendu
Tu
avais vendu
Il
avait vendu
Nous
avions vendu
Vous
aviez vendu
Ils
avaient vendu
Requiring être
aller
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
Points d'intérêt
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.