The Past Perfect (Pluperfect) tense
Learn Spanish: The Past Perfect in Spanish
In this learn Spanish grammar lesson, we go over forming the past perfect in Spanish. The Past Perfect is formed by using the imperfect tense of the auxiliary verb Haber with the past participle of the verb that expresses the action or state.
In Spanish, as in English, the past perfect tense express an action, state or event that was already completed before the start of another past action, state or event.
Formation :
Imperfect tense of haber + Past Participle (regular or irregular)
(yo) había hablado |
had spoken |
(nosotros) habíamos vuelto |
had returned |
(tú) habías comido |
had eaten |
(vosotros) habíais tenido |
had had |
(el,ella,ud) había dicho |
had said |
(ellos,ellas,Uds) habían escrito
|
had written |
Cuando la profesora llegó, ustedes ya habían hecho la tarea.
When the teacher arrived, you had already done your homework.
* Notice that in Spanish the adverb "ya," which means already, is placed before the conjugated verb and never in between verbs as in English.
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