El PLUSCUAMPERFECTO In English we form the PAST perfect (pluperfect) tense by combining had with the past participle of a verb. USE: To refer to an action that preceded another action in the past (occurred before another action in the past).
Por ejemplo… He had seen New York when he planned his trip I had eaten the food when my mom arrived I had already broken the window when the neighbor arrived You hadn’t studied when you found out you had a test
The Past Participle of a Verb: You have already learned to form the past participle of a verb in Spanish by adding –ado to the stem of –ar verbs You add –ido to the stem of most –er and –ir verbs.
To form the Past-Perfect Tense In Spanish: Combine the past participle With the imperfect tense of the verb haber
Imperfect Tense forms of HABER Había Habías Habíamos Habíais Habían
Spanish vs. English: We generally use the Spanish pluscuamperfecto in the same way we use its English equivalent.
The Pluscuamperfecto: Había alquilado escogido decidido Habíamos alquilado Habías alquilado Habíais alquilado Habían alquilado
NOTICE !!! ¡ojo! When the past participle is used with any forms of haber, the final –o never changes Ricardo había grabado su película favorita. Ricardo HAD TAPED Sus hermanos habían grabado una telenovela. His sisters HAD TAPED Sus hermanas habían grabado
NOTICE !!! ¡ojo! Certain verbs that have a double vowel in the infinitive form (except those with the double vowel ui) require an accent mark on the í in the past participle. For example: Caer caído Leer leído Oír oído Creer creído
Irregular Past Participles abrir abierto volver vuelto decir dicho romper roto escribir escrito poner puesto hecho hacer ver visto
The PLUSCUAMPERFECTO The pluscuamperfecto is often used in Spanish with the word YA – already – to express that someone HAD ALREADY DONE SOMETHING. A las 8:00 de la mañana, los estudiantes YA habían llegado a la escuela At 8:00 the students HAD ALREADY ARRIVED at the school.
YA = ALREADY!! Yo ya había limpiado mi dormitorio. Tú ya habías termindado tu tarea. Ellos ya habían salido para México.