J'avais déjà fini mes devoirs quand il est arrivé.
English: I had already finished my homework when he arrived.
- Language
- French
- Level
- B1
- Unit
- Temps et modes verbaux
- Practice types
- 0
What this grammar point covers
The 'plus-que-parfait' is a French past tense used to talk about an action that happened before another past action.
When to use it
Use the plus-que-parfait to describe something that had already happened before another event in the past. It helps show the order of past events.
Key forms
- Imperfect tense of 'avoir' or 'être' + past participle of the main verb.
- Example: j'avais mangé, tu étais parti
Examples
Elle était partie avant que je sois arrivé.
English: She had left before I arrived.
Nous avions vu ce film avant.
English: We had seen this movie before.
Ils avaient oublié leurs clés.
English: They had forgotten their keys.
Tips
- Remember to use 'avoir' or 'être' in the imperfect tense, not the present.
- Use 'être' for verbs of movement and reflexive verbs, just like in the passé composé.
- Make sure the past participle agrees in gender and number when using 'être'.
Exceptions and edge cases
- Some verbs use 'être' instead of 'avoir' as the auxiliary (mainly verbs of movement and reflexive verbs).
- Irregular past participles must be memorized (e.g., 'eu', 'été', 'fait').