Pluperfect
The pluperfect says that something had already happened before a past moment.
How It Works
| Person | aver + participle | èsser + participle |
|---|---|---|
| ieu | aviái manjat | èri partit (partida) |
| tu | aviás manjat | èras partit (partida) |
| el, ela | aviá manjat | èra partit (partida) |
| nosautres | aviam manjat | èrem partits (partidas) |
| vosautres | aviatz manjat | èretz partits (partidas) |
| eles, elas | avián manjat | èran partits (partidas) |
The pluperfect names an action that was finished before another past moment. That moment is often in the simple past or the imperfect: Aviái ja manjat quand Joan arribèt. (I had already eaten when Joan arrived.) The word ja (already) often goes with it.
Only the èsser forms change with the subject: Maria èra partida, los dròlles èran partits. With aver the participle stays the same.
Examples (5)
- Aviái ja manjat quand Joan arribèt.
I had already eaten when Joan arrived.
Aviái manjat: the imperfect of aver and the participle.
- Maria èra partida quand telefonèri.
Maria had left when I called.
Èra partida: èsser with an agreeing participle.
- Aviam acabat lo trabalh.
We had finished the work.
Aviam acabat: aver, so the participle does not change.
- Los dròlles èran ja tornats.
The children had already come back.
Èran tornats: the participle takes the plural -s.
- Aviá plogut tota la nuèch.
It had rained all night.
Aviá plogut: plòure takes aver.
Common Mistakes
Choosing aver for a verb of movement
Aviá vengut abans nosautres.Èra vengut abans nosautres.Venir takes èsser, so the pluperfect is èra vengut.
Leaving out the agreement with èsser
Maria èra partit.Maria èra partida.With èsser, the participle agrees with the subject: partida.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The pluperfect combines the imperfect of aver or èsser with a participle, so the compound past with èsser and the imperfect of aver come first.
Related Patterns
Words in This Pattern
Practice Pluperfect in Bubblegum
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