11.8.1

The Pluperfect Tense with 'Avoir'

Test yourself on The Pluperfect Tense with 'Avoir'

Test your knowledge with free interactive questions on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

Regular ER Verbs in the Pluperfect Tense

The pluperfect tense translates as 'I had done something'. It's formed using the imperfect of 'avoir' and then a past participle. With 'avoir', the past participle only agrees if there's a direct object. Here's the example with 'parler':

Tu =avais= parl=é= - you had spoken

Tu avais parlé - you had spoken

  • 'Tu' means 'you' (singular).
Vous =aviez= parl=é= - you had spoken

Vous aviez parlé - you had spoken

  • 'Vous' means:
    • You (plural).
    • You (singular, formal).

Regular IR Verbs in the Pluperfect Tense

The pluperfect tense translates as 'I had done something'. It's formed using the imperfect of 'avoir' and then a past participle. With 'avoir', the past participle only agrees if there's a direct object. Here's the example with 'finir':

Tu =avais= fin=i= - you had finished

Tu avais fini - you had finished

  • 'Tu' means 'you' (singular).
Vous =aviez= fin=i= - you had finished

Vous aviez fini - you had finished

  • 'Vous' means:
    • You (plural).
    • You (singular, formal).

Regular RE Verbs in the Pluperfect Tense

The pluperfect tense translates as 'I had done something'. It's formed using the imperfect of 'avoir' and then a past participle. With 'avoir', the past participle only agrees if there's a direct object. Here's the example with 'vendre':

Tu =avais= vend=u= - you had sold

Tu avais vendu - you had sold

  • 'Tu' means 'you' (singular).
Vous =aviez= vend=u= - you had sold

Vous aviez vendu - you had sold

  • 'Vous' means:
    • You (plural).
    • You (singular, formal).
Jump to other topics
1

The Changing Nature of Family

2

The 'cyber-society'

3

The Place of Voluntary Work

4

Diverse Society

5

The Marginalised

6

How Criminals Are Treated

7

A Culture Proud of its Heritage

8

Cinema: the 7th Art Form

9

Demonstrations, strikes – who holds the power?

10

Politics & Immigration

11

Conjugation & Use of Tenses

11.1

Present Tense

11.2

Perfect Tense

11.3

Imperfect Tense

11.4

Future Tense

11.5

Conditional Tense

11.6

Future Perfect Tense

11.7

Conditional Perfect Tense

11.8

Pluperfect Tense

12

Extra Grammar

Practice questions on The Pluperfect Tense with 'Avoir'

Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
Answer all questions on The Pluperfect Tense with 'Avoir'

Unlock your full potential with Seneca Premium

  • Unlimited access to 10,000+ open-ended exam questions

  • Mini-mock exams based on your study history

  • Unlock 800+ premium courses & e-books

Get started with Seneca Premium