Introduction to the plus-que-parfait du subjonctif (pluperfect subjunctive) in French
The pluperfect subjunctive in French, or le plus-que-parfait du subjonctif, is a compound tense used to express actions or events that are uncertain and that occurred before another action or event in the past. It’s It combines the subjunctive form of the auxiliary verbs avoir (to have) or être (to be) with the past participle of the main verb. Here’s how it’s formed:
Plus-que-parfait = imperfect subjunctive of avoir and être + past participle of main verb
For example:
- Il fallait que j’eusse fini avant midi
- It was necessary that I had finished before noon
- Je doutais qu’elle fût venue
- I doubted that she had come
The pluperfect subjunctive is used in the same types of subordinate clauses as the present and past subjunctive, especially after verbs expressing a wish, a doubt, a possibility, or an emotion, when referring to events that were completed before another past action. It’s essentially used to convey past actions that are completed prior to another past point in time, often in hypothetical or unreal situations.
Forming plus-que-parfait subjonctif in French
The imperfect subjunctive of avoir and être
| Personne | Être | Avoir |
| Je | eusse | fusse |
| Tu | eusses | fusses |
| Il/Elle | eût | fût |
| Nous | eussions | fussions |
| Vous | eussiez | fussiez |
| Ils/Elles | eussent | fussent |
The past participle
Forming the past participle (participe passé) is not that difficult. It is a kind of non-conjugated form of a verb. It’s very simple to make for most regular conjugating verbs. Just remove the last two letters and add an “é”, “i” or “u” on it. So for -re verbs you add an “é”, for -ir verbs an “i” and for -re verbs an “u”.
| Regular verbs | Parler (To speak) | Manger (To eat) | Aimer (To love) |
| Past participle | parlé | mangé | aimé |
| Finir (To finish) | Choisir (To choose) | Établir (To establish) | |
| Past participle | fini | choisi | établi |
Learn more on the past participle here
More example sentences with the plus-que-parfait du subjonctif
- J’aurais aimé que tu aies fini ton travail avant mon arrivée
- I would have liked you to have finished your work before my arrival
- Elle aurait préféré que nous ayons lu le livre avant la réunion.
- She would have preferred us to have read the book before the meeting
- Il aurait fallu que vous ayez terminé votre projet avant la date limite.
- It would have been necessary for you to have completed your project before the deadline.
- Nous aurions souhaité que vous ayez déjà mangé avant de partir
- We would have wished you to have already eaten before leaving
- Il aurait été mieux que je me sois levé plus tôt ce matin
- It would have been better if I had gotten up earlier this morning
- Elle aurait aimé que je lui aie téléphoné hier soir
- She would have liked me to have called her last night
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