Learning spanish and the pluperfect tense

The Pluperfect Tense

In this Spanish lesson, we will learn the Pluperfect Tense. Whether you are learning Spanish online, with CDs, or Learning Spanish software, you will find this lesson helpful in your journey to learn how to speak Spanish.

For the most part, the Pluperfect Tense is used to express a past fact or action that occurred before another past action took place.

In English, this can be expressed in the following manner:

I had thought of you when you called.

Although in English we tend to use the preterite to express two consecutive actions in the past, in Spanish this is rarely the case. Instead, the Pluperfect Tense is used.

In Spanish, the above sentence is translated to:

Yo habнa pensado en usted cuando llamу.

Notice how the auxiliary verb haber (to have) is a prominent part of this tense, both in Spanish and in English. The main verb parallels the past participle.

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

Trabajar (to work)

yo habнa trabajado (I had worked) nosotros habнamos trabajado (we had worked)

tъ habнas trabajado (you had worked) ellos habнan trabajado (they had worked)

йl habнa trabajado (he had worked) ellas habнan trabajado (they had worked)

ella habнa trabajado (she had worked) ustedes habнan trabajado (you had worked)

usted habнa trabajado (you had worked)

Notice how the conjugation for this tense is easily formed by adding - нa to hab--the auxiliary verb haber's stem. The past participle for the main verb is then added to complete the conjugation.

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

Comer (to eat)

yo habнa comido (I had eaten) nosotros habнamos comido (we had eaten)

tъ habнas comido (you had eaten) ellos habнan comido (they had eaten)

йl habнa comido (he had eaten) ellas habнan comido (they had eaten)

ella habнa comido (she had eaten) ustedes habнan comido (you had eaten)

usted habнa comido (you had eaten)

Salir (to go out)

yo habнa salido (I had gone out) nosotros habнamos salido (we had gone out)

tъ habнas salido (you had gone out) ellos habнan salido (they had gone out)

йl habнa salido (he had gone out) ellas habнan salido (they had gone out)

ella habнa salido (she had gone out) ustedes habнan salido (you had gone out)

usted habнa salido (you had gone out)

What follows are a few examples of the PluPerfect Tense in Spanish:

Yo habнa salido cuando el telйfono sonу.

(I had gone out when the telephone rang.)

Juan y yo ya habнamos cenado cuando Sra. Patricia nos ofreciу comida.

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

Mauricio habнa hablado con su papб cuando llegу su mamб.

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

Roberto y Julio habнan bebido ron antes de llegar a la fiesta.

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

Josefina no habнa dormido mucho antes de entrarse en el aviуn.

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

Now let’s try a few exercises. Translate the following into Spanish. The answers follow the exercise.

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

2. I had practiced my Spanish before Juan called me.

3. We had eaten too much, when the dessert arrived.

4. Paco and Enrique had finished the exam when the bell rang.

5. You had changed your dollars to pesos before the bank closed.

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

7. Marisol and I had eaten breakfast before we went to school.

8. We had learned how to dance salsa before we traveled 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 habнa limpiado la casa cuando llegaron sus amigas.

2. Yo habнa practicado mi Espaсol antes de Juan llamarme.

3. Habнamos comido demasiado cuando llegу el postre.

4. Paco y Enrique habнan terminado el examen cuando sonу la campana.

5. Tъ habнas cambiado tus dуlares a pesos antes de cerrar el banco.

6. Ellos habнan ido a la playa antes de llover.

7. Marisol y yo habнamos desayunado antes de ir a la escuela.

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

9. Yo habнa conocido a Diego antes de venir йl aquн.

10. Humberto le habнa escrito a Carmen cuando recibiу su carta.