Plus-que-parfait To say that a past event happened before another past event, use the past perfect (plus-que-parfait). To form the plus-que-parfait, use the helping verbs avoir or être in the imparfait and the past participle of the main verb. Ex. Elle m’a offert une pomme, mais j’avais mangé. J’étais déjà née quand le onze septembre est arrivé.
Ex. L’explorateur a dit qu’il avait traversé l’océan Atlantique. La princesse était déjà partie quand l’armée est arrivée.
Practice Translations (classwork) When she called, I had already spoken with her sister. My great-grandmother had already passed away when I was born. We had already had dinner when my mom offered us some pizza. They immediately climbed back (remonter) up the mountain after they had descended it.