J'avais fini, elle était partie: one step further back in time.
The plus-que-parfait in French describes an action that was already finished before another moment in the past. It matches the English "had done": quand je suis arrivé, le film avait commencé, when I arrived, the film had started.
This guide shows how to form it, how its past participle agrees, and the situations where French needs it, including the si clauses where learners most often slip.
The plus-que-parfait sets an action one step further back than another past action. In il m'a dit qu'il avait fini, the finishing happened before the telling.
It is a compound tense, built like the passé composé, and in English it almost always translates as had plus a past participle: j'avais mangé, I had eaten.
Take avoir or être in the imparfait and add the past participle of the verb. The choice between avoir and être is exactly the same as in the passé composé.
| Subject | With avoir (manger) | With être (partir) |
|---|---|---|
| je | j'avais mangé | j'étais parti(e) |
| tu | tu avais mangé | tu étais parti(e) |
| il, elle, on | il avait mangé | elle était partie |
| nous | nous avions mangé | nous étions parti(e)s |
| vous | vous aviez mangé | vous étiez parti(e)(s) |
| ils, elles | ils avaient mangé | elles étaient parties |
If the imparfait of avoir and être is not automatic yet, the guide to the French imparfait covers it.
Most verbs take avoir: j'avais lu, nous avions compris. Verbs of movement and change of state such as aller, venir, arriver, partir, naître and mourir take être: elle était née, ils étaient venus.
Pronominal verbs always take être: nous nous étions levés tôt, elle s'était trompée. If a verb takes être in the passé composé, it takes être here too.
The agreement rules do not change. With être, the participle agrees with the subject: elles étaient arrivées la veille. With avoir, it agrees with a direct object placed before the verb: la lettre que j'avais écrite, les clés que tu avais perdues.
The page on past participle agreement with être goes through the cases where the subject is mixed or plural.
Use it whenever one past action comes before another, stated or implied.
| Use | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| An earlier past action | Quand je suis arrivé, le film avait commencé. | When I arrived, the film had started. |
| Reported speech | Il m'a dit qu'il avait fini. | He told me he had finished. |
| An unreal past condition | Si j'avais su, je serais venu. | If I had known, I would have come. |
| A regret | Si seulement tu m'avais prévenu ! | If only you had warned me! |
For had just, French uses venir de in the imparfait rather than the plus-que-parfait: je venais de partir quand tu as appelé, I had just left when you called.
The passé composé tells what happened; the plus-que-parfait tells what had already happened by then. Compare j'ai perdu mes clés, I lost my keys, with j'avais perdu mes clés, I had lost my keys, which needs another past moment for reference.
The imparfait completes the picture as the tense of background and habit: the rule page imparfait or passé composé shows how the three past tenses share the work in a story.
Avoir or être in the imparfait, plus the past participle: j'avais fini, elle était partie. Use it for an action that came before another past moment, in reported speech, and after si for an unreal past.
How do you form the plus-que-parfait?
Put avoir or être in the imparfait and add the past participle: j'avais mangé, elle était partie. The verbs that take être are the same as in the passé composé.
Is the plus-que-parfait the same as the English pluperfect?
Yes, in most cases. The French pluperfect, plus-que-parfait, matches the English had plus a past participle: j'avais fini, I had finished.
What is the difference between the plus-que-parfait and the passé composé?
The passé composé reports a completed event. The plus-que-parfait places an action before another moment in the past.
Why is it si j'avais su and not si j'aurais su?
After si expressing a condition, French never uses the conditional. The unreal past takes the plus-que-parfait after si and the past conditional in the result: si j'avais su, je serais venu.
Does the past participle agree in the plus-que-parfait?
Yes, with the same rules as the passé composé: with être it agrees with the subject, with avoir it agrees with a direct object placed before the verb.
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