BASIC GRAMMAR
The "plus-que-parfait" or "passé antérieur" is just one tense in English : past perfect. But in french, "Le plus-que-parfait" ist the past perfect of "imparfait" and "passé antérieur" is the past perfect of "passé simple". The rule is the same as we have seen when conjugating the simple past here : simple past tense. However, in English, most of the time, we use what French calls "plus-que-parfait".
Here, the auxiliary is conjugated in imparfait. Learn how to conjugate auxiliaries in imparfait here : the past
tense of auxiliaries.
Example
Paler : (to speak).
Affirmative
form :
J'avais parlé
: I had
spoken.
tu avais parlé
: you had
spoken.
il avait parlé
: he had
spoken.
elle avait parlé
: she had
spoken.
nous avions parlé
: we had
spoken.
vous aviez parlé
: you had
spoken.
ils avaient parlé
: they had
spoken.
elles avaient parlé
: they had
spoken.
Negative
form :
Je n'avais pas parlé
: I had not
spoken.
tu n'avais pas parlé
: you had not
spoken.
il n'avait pas parlé
: he had not
spoken.
elle n'avait pas parlé
: she had not
spoken.
nous n'avions pas
parlé
: we had not
spoken.
vous n'aviez pas parlé
: you had not
spoken.
ils n'avaient pas
parlé
: they had not
spoken.
elles n'avaient pas
parlé
: they had not
spoken.
Interrogative
form :
avais-je parlé ?
: had I
spoken ?
avais-tu parlé ?
: had you
spoken ?
avait-il parlé ?
: had he
spoken ?
avait-elle parlé ?
: had she
spoken ?
avions-nous parlé ?
: had we
spoken ?
aviez-vous parlé ?
: had you
spoken ?
avaient-ils parlé ?
: had they
spoken ?
avaient-elles parlé ?
: had they
spoken ?
Interronegative
form :
n'avais-je pas parlé ?
: had I not
spoken ?
n'avais-tu pas parlé ?
: had you not
spoken ?
n'avait-il pas parlé ?
: had he not
spoken ?
n'avait-elle pas parlé
?
: had she not
spoken ?
n'avions-nous pas
parlé ?
: had we not
spoken ?
n'aviez-vous pas parlé
?
: had you not
spoken ?
n'avaient-ils pas
parlé ?
: had they not
spoken ?
n'avaient-elles pas
parlé ?
: had they not
spoken ?
Notice :
Most first-group verbs are conjugated with the auxiliary to have, except
for the following: rester (to stay) , tomber (to fall), retourner (to return), arriver (arrive), passer (to walk by).
Example
J'étais tombé
: I had
fallen.
tu étais tombé
: you had
fallen.
il était tombé
: he had
fallen.
elle était tombée
: she had
fallen.
You noticed that at "elle", we have just added "e".
This is because in French, in compound tenses, the past participle agrees with the subject
in gender and number. To understand this, click here:
subject-verb agreement.
Here, the auxiliary is conjugated in passé
simple. Learn how to conjugate auxiliaries in passé simple here : the
past tense of auxiliaries.
Example
Paler : (to speak).
Affirmative
form :
J'eus parlé
: I had
spoken.
tu eus parlé
: you had
spoken.
il eut parlé
: he had
spoken.
elle eut parlé
: she had
spoken.
nous eûmes parlé
: we had
spoken.
vous eûtes parlé
: you had
spoken.
ils eurent parlé
: they had
spoken.
elles eurent parlé
: they had
spoken.
Negative
form :
Je n'eus pas parlé
: I had not
spoken.
tu n'eus pas parlé
: you had not
spoken.
il n'eut pas parlé
: he had not
spoken.
elle n'eut pas parlé
: she had not
spoken.
nous n'eûmes pas parlé
: we had not
spoken.
vous n'eûtes pas parlé
: you had not
spoken.
ils n'eurent pas parlé
: they had not
spoken.
elles n'eurent pas
parlé
: they had not
spoken.
Interrogative
form :
eus-je parlé ?
: had I
spoken ?
eus-tu parlé ?
: had you
spoken ?
eut-il parlé ?
: had he
spoken ?
eut-elle parlé ?
: had she
spoken ?
eûmes-nous parlé ?
: had we
spoken ?
eûtes-vous parlé ?
: had you
spoken ?
eurent-ils parlé ?
: had they
spoken ?
eurent-elles parlé ?
: had they
spoken ?
Interronegative
form :
n'eus-je pas parlé ?
: had I not
spoken ?
n'eus-tu pas parlé ?
: had you not
spoken ?
n'eut-il pas parlé ?
: had he not
spoken ?
n'eut-elle pas parlé ?
: had she not
spoken ?
n'eûmes-nous pas parlé
?
: had we not
spoken ?
n'eûtes-vous pas parlé
?
: had you not
spoken ?
n'eurent-ils pas parlé
?
: had they not
spoken ?
n'eurent-elles pas
parlé ?
: had they not
spoken ?
Notice :
Most first-group verbs are conjugated with the auxiliary to have, except
for the following: rester (to stay) , tomber (to fall), retourner (to return), arriver (arrive), passer (to walk by).
Example
Je fus tombé
: I had
fallen.
tu fus tombé
: you had
fallen.
il fut tombé
: he had
fallen.
elle fut tombée
: she had
fallen.
Among these two French past pefects, the one used in the English, is the first one :
"plus-que-parfait".
