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7.1.5 Formation of the plus-que-parfait

The plus-que-parfait is formed the same way the English past perfect. We take the auxiliary in the past form and add the perfect participle. Now, we know that French uses the auxiliaries to be (être) and to have (avoir), according to the type of the verb (intransitive / transitive).

transitive verbs						intransitive verbs
French			English			French			English
subject	auxiliary	perfect  particple	subject	auxiliary	perfect participle	subject	auxiliary	perfect  participle	subject	auxiliary	perfect  participle
J' (m)	avais	acheté	I (m)	had	bought	J' (m)	étais	venu.	I (m)	had	come.
J' (f)	avais	acheté	I (f)	had	bought.	J' (f)	étais	venue.	I (f)	had	come.
Tu (m)	avais	acheté	You (m)	had	bought.	Tu (m)	étais	venu.	You (m)	had	come.
Tu (f)	avais	acheté	You (f)	had	bought.	Tu (f)	étais	venue.	You (f)	had	come.
Il	avait	acheté	He	had	bought.	Il	était	venu.	He	had	come.
Elle	avait	acheté	She	had	bought.	Elle	était	venue.	She	had	come.
Nous (m)	avions	acheté	We (m)	had	bought.	Nous (m)	étions	venus.	We (m)	had	come.
Nous (f)	avions	acheté	We (f)	had	bought.	Nous (f)	étions	venues.	We (f)	had	come.
Vous (m)	aviez	acheté.	You (m)	had	bought.	Vous (m)	étiez	venus.	You (m)	had	come.
Vous (f)	aviez	acheté.	You (f)	had	bought.	Vous (f)	étiez	venues.	You (f)	had	come.
Ils	avaient	acheté	They	had	bought.	Ils	étaient	venus.	She	had	come.
Elles	avaient	acheté	They	had	bought.	Elles	étaient	venues.	She	had	come.

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