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".
Example
Finir : (to finish).
Affirmative
form :
j'avais
fini :
I had finished.
tu avais
fini :
you had finished.
il avait
fini :
he had finished.
elle avait
fini :
she had finished.
nous avions
fini :
we had finished.
vous aviez
fini :
you had finished.
ils avaient
fini :
they had finished.
elles avaient
fini :
they had finished.
Negative
form :
je n'avais pas fini
:
I had not finished.
tu n'avais pas fini
:
you had not finished.
il n'avait pas fini
:
he had not finished.
elle n'avait pas fini
:
she had not finished.
nous n'avions pas fini
:
we had not finished.
vous n'aviez pas fini
:
you had not finished.
ils n'avaient pas fini
:
they had not finished.
elles n'avaient pas
fini
:
they had not finished.
Interrogative
form:
avais-je
fini ? :
had I finished ?
avais-tu
fini ? :
had you finished ?
avait-il
fini ? :
had he finished ?
avait-elle
fini ? :
had she finished ?
avions-nous
fini ?
:
had we finished ?
aviez-vous
fini ? :
had you finished ?
avaient-ils
fini ? :
had they finished ?
avaient-elles
fini ?
:
had they finished ?
Interronegative
form:
n'avais-je
pas fini
?
:
had I not finished ?
n'avais-tu
pas fini
?
:
had you not finished ?
n'avait-il
pas fini
? :
had he not finished ?
n'avait-elle
pas fini ? :
had she not finished ?
n'avions-nous
pas fini ?
:
had we not finished ?
n'aviez-vous
pas fini ? :
had you not finished ?
n'avaient-ils
pas fini ? :
had they not finished ?
n'avaient-elles
pas fini ?
:
had they not finished ?
Affirmative
form :
j'eus
fini :
I had finished.
tu eus
fini :
you had finished.
il eut
fini :
he had finished.
elle eut
fini :
she had finished.
nous eûmes
fini :
we had finished.
vous eûtes
fini :
you had finished.
ils eurent
fini :
they had finished.
elles eurent
fini :
they had finished.
Negative
form :
je n'eus pas fini
:
I had not finished.
tu n'eus pas fini
:
you had not finished.
il n'eut pas fini
:
he had not finished.
elle n'eut pas fini
:
she had not finished.
nous n'eûmes pas fini
:
we had not finished.
vous n'eûtes pas fini
:
you had not finished.
ils n'eurent pas fini
:
they had not finished.
elles n'eurent pas
fini
:
they had not finished.
Interrogative
form:
eus-je
fini ? :
had I finished ?
eus-tu
fini ? :
had you finished ?
eut-il
fini ? :
had he finished ?
eut-elle
fini ? :
had she finished ?
eûmes-nous
fini ?
:
had we finished ?
eûtes-vous
fini ? :
had you finished ?
eurent-ils
fini ? :
had they finished ?
eurent-elles
fini ?
:
had they finished ?
Interronegative
form:
n'eus-je
pas fini
?
:
had I not finished ?
n'eus-tu
pas fini
?
:
had you not finished ?
n'eut-il
pas fini
? :
had he not finished ?
n'eut-elle
pas fini ? :
had she not finished ?
n'eûmes-nous
pas fini ?
:
had we not finished ?
n'eûtes-vous
pas fini ? :
had you not finished ?
n'eurent-ils
pas fini ? :
had they not finished ?
n'eurent-elles
pas fini ?
:
had they not finished ?
