Hollinger

For the absolute most part, the Pluperfect Tense can be used expressing a fact or action that occurred before another past action took place.

The Pluperfect Tense

In this Spanish lesson, we shall understand the Pluperfect Tense. Whether you're learning Spanish on-line, with CDs, or Learning Spanish software, you'll find this lesson helpful in your journey to master how exactly to speak Spanish.

For the absolute most part, the Pluperfect Tense can be used to express a reality or action that happened before place was taken by another past action.

In English, this is expressed in the following manner:

I had thought of you when you called.

While in English we have a tendency to use the preterite to state two successive actions in the past, in Spanish that is rarely the case. As an alternative, the Pluperfect Tense is employed.

In Spanish, the above sentence is interpreted to:

Hey haba pensado en usted cuando llam.

Notice how a auxiliary verb haber (to possess) is just a prominent element of this anxious, both in Spanish and in English. The primary verb parallels the past participle.

Let us have a closer look at the conjugation for the Pluperfect Tense for -ar, -er, and -ir verbs in Spanish.

Trabajar (to work)

yo haba trabajado (I'd worked) nosotros habamos trabajado (we'd worked)

t habas trabajado (you had worked) ellos haban trabajado (they'd worked)

l haba trabajado (he had worked) ellas haban trabajado (they had worked)

ella haba trabajado (she had worked) ustedes haban trabajado (you had worked)

usted haba trabajado (you'd worked)

Notice the way the conjugation because of this tense is easily produced by the addition of -a to hab--the auxiliary verb haber's base. The past participle for the main verb is then added to complete the conjugation.

That conjugation format is repeated for -er and -ir verbs as well.

Comer (to eat)

yo haba comido (I'd eaten) nosotros habamos comido (we'd eaten)

t habas comido (you'd eaten) ellos haban comido (they had eaten)

l haba comido (he had eaten) ellas haban comido (they had eaten)

ella haba comido (she had eaten) ustedes haban comido (you'd eaten)

usted haba comido (you'd eaten)

Salir (to venture out)

yo haba salido (I'd gone out) nosotros habamos salido (we'd gone out)

t habas salido (you had gone out) ellos haban salido (they'd gone out)

M haba salido (he had gone out) ellas haban salido (they'd gone out)

ella haba salido (she had gone out) ustedes haban salido (you had gone out)

usted haba salido (you'd gone out)

Below certainly are a few examples of the PluPerfect Tense in Spanish:

Yo haba salido cuando el telfono boy.

(I had gone out when the telephone rang.)

Juan y yo ya habamos cenado cuando Sra. Patricia nos ofreci comida.

(We had already had dinner when Mrs. Patricia provided us food.)

Mauricio haba hablado con su pap cuando lleg su mam.

(Mauricio had talked to his father when his mother arrived.)

Roberto y Julio haban bebido ralph antes de llegar a la fiesta.

(Roberto and Julio had drank rum before they arrived at the party.)

Josefina no haba dormido mucho antes de entrarse en el avin.

a lot had not been slept by Josefina before she entered the airplane.)

Now lets get one of these few exercises. Translate these in to Spanish. The exercise is followed by the answers.

1. Clara had cleaned the house when her friends arrived.

2. I had used my Spanish before I was called by Juan.

3. if the dessert came, We had eaten too much.

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4. Paco and Enrique had finished the examination if the bell rang.

5. You'd altered your dollars to pesos ahead of the bank closed.

6. They had gone to the beach before it rained.

7. Marisol and I'd eaten break fast before we went along to college.

8. We had learned how to dance salsa before we moved to Puerto Rico.

9. I had met Diego before he came here.

10. Humberto had written to Carmen when he received her letter.

1. Clara haba limpiado la casa cuando llegaron sus amigas.

2. Yo haba practicado mi Espaol antes p Juan llamarme.

3. Habamos comido demasiado cuando lleg el postre.

4. Paco y Enrique haban terminado el examen cuando daughter manhattan project campana.

5. T habas cambiado tus dlares a antes de cerrar el banco.

6. Ellos haban ido a manhattan project playa antes de llover.

7. Marisol b hey habamos desayunado antes de ir a manhunter escuela.

8. Habamos aprendido como bailar la salsa antes de viajar a Puerto Rico.

9. Yo haba conocido a antes de venir l aqu.

10. Humberto le haba escrito a cuando recibi su carta.