In this comparative grammar lesson of Romance languages, we study the pluperfect indicative tense in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, & French. The pluperfect tense, literally the more than perfect, describes the past before the simple past. If two actions took place in the past, the one that occurred before is often described in the pluperfect.
Table of Contents
Conjugation
The pluperfect indicative is formed as follows:
| SP | “haber” in the imperfect indicative | + past participle |
| PT | “ter” or “haver” in the imperfect indicative | |
| IT | “avere” or “essere” in the imperfect indicative | |
| FR | “avoir” or “être” in the imperfect indicative |
In Spanish, “haber” is conjugated in the imperfect indicative as follows:
| -ar ending hablar | -er ending comer | -ir ending vivir | ||
| yo | había | hablado | comido | vivido |
| tú | habías | |||
| él/ella/usted | había | |||
| nosotros/-as | habíamos | |||
| vosotros/-as | habíais | |||
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habían |
In Portuguese, both “ter” and “haver” are grammatically correct and can be used interchangeably. However, the use of “haver” is usually limited to writing. In everyday language, the verb “ter” is often used, which is conjugated in the imperfect indicative as follows:
| -ar ending falar | -er ending comer | -ir ending partir | ||
| eu | tinha | falado | comido | partido |
| ele/ela/você | tinha | |||
| nós | tínhamos | |||
| eles/elas/vocês | tinham |
In Italian, depending on the verb, the pluperfect indicative uses the auxiliary “avere” or “essere” in the imperfect, which are conjugated as follows:
| “avere” in the imperfect indicative | “essere” in the imperfect indicative | |
| io | avevo | ero |
| tu | avevi | eri |
| lui/lei | aveva | era |
| noi | avevamo | eravamo |
| voi | avevate | eravate |
| loro | avevano | erano |
In French, depending on the verb, the pluperfect indicative uses the auxiliary “avoir” or “être” in the imperfect, which are conjugated as follows:
| “avoir” in the imperfect indicative | “être” in the imperfect indicative | |
| j’ | avais | étais |
| tu | avais | étais |
| il/elle/on | avait | était |
| nous | avions | étions |
| vous | aviez | étiez |
| ils/elles | avaient | étaient |
Examples
Here are some examples:
| SP | Antes de conocernos, nunca había ido a España. | Before we met, I had never been to Spain. |
| PT | Antes de nos conhecermos, eu nunca tinha ido na Espanha. | |
| IT | Prima che ci conoscessimo, non ero mai stato in Spagna. | |
| FR | Avant notre rencontre, je n’étais jamais allé en Espagne. | |
| SP | Cuando visité a mi mamá, mi hermana ya había llegado. | When I visited my mom, my sister had already arrived. |
| PT | Quando fui visitar minha mãe, minha irmã já tinha chegado. | |
| IT | Quando sono andato a trovare mia madre, mia sorella era già arrivata. | |
| FR | Quand je suis allé voir ma mère, ma sœur était déjà arrivée. | |
| SP | Después de que la seguridad había cerrado la puerta, la multitud se fue a casa. | After the security had closed the door, the crowd went home. |
| PT | Depois que a segurança tinha fechado a porta, a multidão foi para casa. | |
| IT | Dopo che la sicurezza aveva chiuso la porta, la folla è tornata a casa. | |
| FR | Après que la sécurité avait fermé la porte, la foule est rentrée chez elle. |
Next: Pluperfect Subjunctive Tense
Back to: Comparative Grammar Lessons
Other lessons in Level VI:
