Forming the pluperfect tense
Like the perfect tense, the pluperfect tense in French has two parts to it:
If a verb takes avoir in the perfect tense, then it will take avoir in the pluperfect too. If a verb takes être in the perfect, then it will take être in the pluperfect too.
Verbs taking avoir
Here are the pluperfect tense forms of donner (meaning to give) in full.
| Pronoun | avoir | Past participle | Meaning |
| j’ | avais | donné | I had given |
| tu | avais | donné | you had given |
| il/elle/on | avait | donné | he/she/it/one had given |
| nous | avions | donné | we had given |
| vous | aviez | donné | you had given |
| ils/elles | avaient | donné | they had given |
J’avais donné ce collier à ma nièce. I’d given this necklace to my niece.
Elle avait porté le sac pendant trois heures et maintenant elle était fatiguée. She’d carried the bag for three hours and now she was tired.
Nous avions oublié de leur donner un plan.
We’d forgotten to give them a map.
Je n’avais pas entendu ce qu’il avait dit. I hadn’t heard what he had said.
The pluperfect tense of -ir verbs like finir (meaning to finish) is formed in the same way, except for the past participle: j’avais fini, tu avais fini and so on.
The pluperfect tense of -re verbs like attendre (meaning to wait) is formed in the same way, except for the past participle: j’avais attendu, tu avais attendu and so on.
Verbs taking être
Here are the pluperfect tense forms of tomber (meaning to fall) in full. When a verb takes être in the pluperfect tense, the past participle always agrees with the subject of the verb; that is, the endings change in the feminine and plural forms.
| Pronoun | être | Past participle | Meaning |
| j’ | étais | tombé (masculine) | I had fallen |
| tombée (feminine) | |||
| tu | étais | tombé (masculine) | you had fallen |
| tombée (feminine) | |||
| il | était | tombé | he/it had fallen |
| elle | était | tombée | she/it had fallen |
| on | était | tombé (singular) | one had fallen |
| tombés (masculine plural) | we had fallen | ||
| tombées (feminine plural) | |||
| nous | étions | tombés (masculine) | we had fallen |
| tombées (feminine) | |||
| vous | étiez | tombé (masculine singular) | you had fallen |
| tombée (feminine singular) | |||
| tombés (masculine plural) | |||
| tombées (feminine plural) | |||
| ils | étaient | tombés | they had fallen |
| elles | étaient | tombées | they had fallen |
Elle était tombée dans l’escalier. She had fallen down the stairs.
Nous étions venus dire au revoir à la famille.
We had come to say goodbye to the family.
Elles étaient arrivées avec un jour de retard. They had arrived a day late.
The pluperfect tense of -ir verbs like partir (meaning to leave, to go) is formed in the same way, except for the past participle: j’étais parti(e), tu étais parti(e)
and so on.
The pluperfect tense of -re verbs like descendre (meaning to come down, to go down, to get off) is formed in the same way, except for the past participle: j’étais descendu(e), tu étais descendu(e) and so on.
Reflexive verbs in the pluperfect tense
Reflexive verbs in the pluperfect tense are formed in the same way as in the perfect tense, but with the imperfect tense of the verb être.
Nous nous étions levés deux heures plus tôt.
We’d got up two hours earlier.
Elle s’était regardée dans le miroir. She had looked at herself in the mirror.
Elle s’était cassé le bras. She’d broken her arm.
Je n’avais pas entendu ce qu’elles s’étaient dit.
I hadn’t heard what they had said to each other.
Irregular verbs in the pluperfect tense
Irregular past participles are the same as for the perfect tense. The pluperfect tense of many irregular verbs is shown in the Verb Tables at the back of the book.