Le Plus-que-parfait in French is the direct equivalent of the Pluperfect in English. It could be described as the past of the past:
e.g. When I had finished my homework, I went for a walk.
Of course, English speakers are likely to make contractions: I'd finished, etc.
Look at these examples of the Plus-que-parfait:
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
Elle avait eu deux chats au cours de sa vie.
She'd had two cats over the course of her life.
Ils avaient été heureux ensemble.
They had been happy together.
Avais-tu pris ton appareil photo quand tu es allé en vacances ?
Had you taken your camera when you went on holidays?
Tu avais voulu le gifler ce jour-là.
You had wanted to slap him that day.
Nous avions eu froid cette nuit-là.
We'd been cold that night.
Ils l'avaient fait, mais personne ne le savait !
They had done it, but no one knew!
Si j'avais voulu...
If I had wanted....
Ils avaient eu la grippe cet hiver-là.
They'd had the flu that winter.
Elle avait fait ses devoirs avant qu'il n'arrive.
She had done her homework before he arrived.
J'avais pris le train.
I had taken the train.
Elles avaient juste voulu aider.
They had just wanted to help.
J'avais déjà été déçu par elle avant.
I'd already been disappointed by her before.
Nous avions été prévenus.
We had been warned.
Vous aviez fait un gâteau pour l'occasion.
You'd made a cake for the occasion.
Il n'avait jamais voulu que ça arrive.
He had never wanted that to happen.
Nous avions pris nos places en avance mais nous n'avons pas pu y aller au final.
We had booked our tickets in advance but we couldn't go in the end.
Nous avions toujours voulu acheter une maison.
We had always wanted to buy a house.
Aviez-vous jamais voulu être actrice avant de décrocher ce rôle ?
Had you ever wanted to be an actress before getting that role?
avoir
être
faire
prendre
vouloir
Q&A
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
19/05/17
When you express an hypothesis with an "if" clause, the verb following "if" is in the Simple Past, not Conditional:
"If I *bought* a house, I would be happy."
You don't say "If I *would buy* a house..."
It's the same in French, where we use L'Imparfait after "si":
"Si j'*achetais* une maison, je serais heureux."
See the related lesson:
https://french.kwiziq.com/revision/grammar/l-imparfait-usage-in-hypothetical-clauses-introduced-by-si-if-followed-by-le-conditionnel-present
I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !
Jennifer
Kwiziq community member
19/05/17
Chris
Kwiziq community member
22/05/17
With the imperfect in the main clause and the conditionel présent in the si-clause it translates as: If I WERE smaller I WOULD BE a jockey.
This is actually completely parallel to English.
-- Chris.
Jennifer
Kwiziq community member
22/05/17
Steven
Kwiziq community member
11 November 2016
1 reply
Pourquoi explétif ne dans "Elle avait fait ses devoirs avant qu'il n'arrive." Merci.
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
16/11/16
The expression "avant que" is always followed by the "ne explétif".
Have a look at the related lesson: https://french.kwiziq.com/revision/grammar/how-to-use-avant-que-ne-expletif-subjonctif-before-i-do
I hope that's helpful! À bientôt !
Laura
Kwiziq language super star
24/09/16
No, froid is a noun in French, even though it's an adjective in English. That's why we say "avoir froid" (literally, "to have cold") rather than using être.
Jennifer
Kwiziq community member
24/09/16
helen
Kwiziq community member
3 October 2017
3 replies
Isn't the second half of this sentence conditional?
Here's the sentence that you wrote: Nous avions pris nos places en avance mais nous n'avons pas pu y aller au final." Stated translation was: "We had taken our seats in advance but we could not go in the end." Wouldn't we use the conditional for the second half of that sentence: "...nous ne pourions pas y aller au final."
Ron
Kwiziq community member
4 October 2017
4/10/17
I think that you may be onto something with your question: here is how I would have stated it --> Nous avions pris nos places à l’avance, mais nous ne pourrions pas aller au final. The thing to keep in mind with this lesson is this: it is about the plus-que-parfait and not le conditionnel.
The issue that I have with the phrase is this, I would have used the verb «acheter» --> Nous avions acheté nos places à l'avance . . . the reason being that we had our ticket in advance but were unable to attend. prendre nos places, to me, has the sense that we went to the venue before the show began. Perhaps this is a French locution, prendre nos places, that I have not heard of before.
J'espère que ma réponse vous aiderait.
Bonne chance et bonne continuation dans vos études en français, la langue de Molière et qui a été utilisé par le monde français depuis l’époque d’Hugues Capet
Chris
Kwiziq community member
17 October 2017
17/10/17
-- Chris (not a native speaker).
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
1 August 2018
1/08/18
Bonjour à tous !
Yes, here the expression "prendre ses places" in French means "to buy/book one's tickets" :)
I've now amended the EN in the example to make it clearer!
Bonne journée !