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For the most part, the Pluperfect Tense is employed to state a fact or action that happened before another past action took place.

The Pluperfect Tense

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

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

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

When you called I'd looked at you.

Even though in English we tend to use the preterite to express two successive steps in the past, in Spanish this really is rarely the case. Instead, the Pluperfect Tense is employed.

In Spanish, the aforementioned sentence is translated to:

Hey haba pensado en usted cuando llam.

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

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

Trabajar (to work)

yo haba trabajado (I'd worked) nosotros habamos trabajado (we'd worked)

t habas trabajado (you'd worked) ellos haban trabajado (they had worked)

l haba trabajado (he'd worked) ellas haban trabajado (they'd worked)

ella haba trabajado (she had worked) ustedes haban trabajado (you had worked)

usted haba trabajado (you had worked)

Notice how the conjugation with this tense is easily produced by the addition of -a to hab--the auxiliary verb haber's stem. The past participle for the main verb is then put into complete the conjugation.

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

Comer (to consume)

yo haba comido (I'd eaten) nosotros habamos comido (we'd eaten)

t habas comido (you'd eaten) ellos haban comido (they'd eaten)

l haba comido (he had eaten) ellas haban comido (they'd eaten)

ella haba comido (she had eaten) ustedes haban comido (you'd eaten)

usted haba comido (you had enjoyed)

Salir (to head out)

Hey haba salido (I'd gone out) nosotros habamos salido (we had gone out)

t habas salido (you had gone out) ellos haban salido (they had gone out)

l haba salido (he had gone out) ellas haban salido (they'd gone out)

ella haba salido (she had gone out) ustedes haban salido (you had gone out) my farmacia de manipulacao

usted haba salido (you'd gone out)

Below certainly are a few samples of the PluPerfect Tense in Spanish:

Telfono son is eled by yo haba salido cuando.

when the telephone rang.) (I had gone out

Juan y yo ya habamos cenado cuando Sra. Patricia nos ofreci comida.

(We'd already had supper when Mrs. Patricia offered us food.)

Mauricio haba hablado disadvantage su smear cuando lleg su mam.

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

Roberto b Julio haban bebido ralph antes de llegar a manhattan project fiesta.

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

Josefina number haba dormido mucho antes de entrarse en el avin.

a lot had not been slept by Josefina before she joined the airplane.)

Now lets try a few exercises. Convert the next into Spanish. The exercise is followed by the answers.

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

2. I had used my Spanish before I was called by Juan.

3. once the dessert came, We had eaten an excessive amount of.

4. Paco and Enrique had completed the exam once the bell rang.

5. You'd changed your dollars to pesos prior to the bank closed.

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

7. Marisol and I had eaten break fast before we went along to college.

8. We'd learned before we moved to Puerto Rico how to dance salsa.

9. I had met Diego before he came here.

10. Humberto had written to Carmen when he received her letter.

1. Clara haba limpiado manhattan project casa cuando llegaron sus amigas.

2. Yo haba practicado mi Espaol antes p Juan llamarme.

3. Habamos comido demasiado cuando lleg el postre.

4. Paco y Enrique haban terminado el examen cuando son la campana.

5. T habas cambiado tus dlares a antes de cerrar el banco.

6. Ellos haban ido a manhunter playa antes de llover.

7. Marisol y yo habamos desayunado antes de ir a manhattan project escuela.

8. Habamos aprendido como bailar manhunter salsa antes de viajar a Puerto Rico.

9. Yo haba conocido a antes de venir m aqu.

10. Humberto le haba escrito a cuando recibi su carta.