An Overview of the Plus-que-parfait
The plus-que-parfait is used to describe a past action that precedes another past action. In grammar the words "parfait" and "perfect" simply mean "past". So, the term plus-que-parfait simply means "further back in the past (than some other past action)". English uses this as well, for example, "When I arrived he had already finished eating".
How to form the plus-que-parfait
The plus-que-parfait is formed by using the imperfect of avoir, followed by the past participle. This is illustrated in the following table:
| plus-que-parfait |
Translation |
| j'avais parlé |
"I had spoken" |
| tu avais parlé |
"you had spoken" |
| il,elle, on avait parlé |
"he, she, one had spoken" |
| nous avions parlé |
"we had spoken" |
| vous aviez parlé |
"you had spoken" |
| ils/elles avaient parlé |
"they had spoken" |
Given the meaning of the plus-que-parfait, it is not uncommon to finding is used alongside the word déjà ("already"), e.g.: Quand il est arrivé, j'avais déjà réglé le problème.
Another common structure is the use of the past conditional verb used after an instance of the plus-que-parfait, e.g.: Si je l'avais su, je ne l'aurais pas fait.
Note that the auxiliary used for the plus-que-parfait is that same as for the passé composé. Most verbs take avoir, but a small number take être, e.g.: J'étais parti, il était allé (see here for the verbs that take être versus avoir).
Questions about the Plus-que-parfait
Q: Why is it Si j'avais su ... and NOT Si j'aurais su ...?
After the word Si, you can use the present, the imperfect or the future. However, it cannot be followed by the conditional or the past conditional. It is true that English uses the structure "would have" , e.g.: "If I would have known", but this can't be a conditional in French. Rather, you should use the plus-que-parfait.
Often, you will find the past conditional used after an instance of the plus-que-parfait, e.g.: Si je l'avais su, je ne l'aurais pas fait.
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