Reminder:
The pluperfect tense is used to describe things/actions that had happened in the distant past before something else happened.
Ex: I had eaten (pluperfect) an hour before so I wasn't hungry at the dinner party. = J'avais mangé une heure auparavant donc je n'avais pas faim au dîner.
To form the pluperfect, you need three parts as for the perfect tense. 1: the subject, 2: the auxiliary, 3: the past participle. To know which auxiliary, être or avoir, is needed, it is exactly the same as for the perfect tense. Most verbs use avoir and Mrs Vandertramp verbs use être.
The only difference is this time, the auxiliary is in the imperfect tense and not present.
Ex: (for avoir) : J'avais déjà lu le livre que nous allions étudier en classe. = I had already read the book we were going to study in class.
Ex: (for être): Je n'étais jamais allé à l'étranger avant ce jour-là. I had never gone abroad before that day.
Note that the same rules of agreements apply when you use a verb which requires être. The past participle will agree with the subject.
Ex: Elle était allée se promener. = She had gone for a walk.
Ex: Ils étaient sortis en courant. = They had gone out running.
Test your understanding below with a quick starter question!