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. After I had been able to buy a car, traveling to work was no longer an issue.
Of course, English speakers are likely to make contractions: I'd been able to, etc.
Look at these examples of "pouvoir" in the Plus-que-parfait :
Tu avais pu leur dire au revoir avant qu'ils ne partent.You had been able to say goodbye to them before they left.
Si nous avions pu, nous n'aurions jamais commencé.If we had been able to, we would have never started.
If we could have, we would have never started.
If we could have, we would have never started.
Notice that the Plus-que-parfait of "pouvoir" follows this construction:
Verb avoir in the Imparfait + pu (past participle of pouvoir)
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