Learning spanish and the pluperfect tense

Learning Spanish and the Pluperfect Tense

In this Spanish lesson, we will learn the Pluperfect Tense. Whether you are learning Spanish online, with CDs, or Learning Spanish software, you will find this lesson helpful in your journey to learn how to speak Spanish.
For the most part, the Pluperfect Tense is used to express a past fact or action that occurred before another past action took place.

Learning Spanish Like Crazy

The Pluperfect Tense

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

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

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

I had thought of you when you called.

Although in English we tend to use the preterite to express two consecutive actions in the past, in Spanish this is rarely the case. Instead, the Pluperfect Tense is used.

In Spanish, the above sentence is translated to:

Yo haba pensado en usted cuando llam.

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

Let us take 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 had worked) nosotros habamos trabajado (we had worked)

t habas trabajado (you had worked) ellos haban trabajado (they had worked)

l haba trabajado (he had worked) ellas haban trabajado (they had worked)

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

usted haba trabajado (you had worked)

Notice how the conjugation for this tense is easily formed by adding -a to hab--the auxiliary verb haber's stem. The past participle for the main verb is then added to complete the conjugation.

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

Comer (to eat)

yo haba comido (I had eaten) nosotros habamos comido (we had eaten)

t habas comido (you had eaten) ellos haban comido (they had eaten)

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

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

usted haba comido (you had eaten)

Salir (to go out)

yo haba salido (I had 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 had gone out)

ella haba salido (she had gone out) ustedes haban salido (you had gone out)

usted haba salido (you had gone out)

What follows are a few examples of the PluPerfect Tense in Spanish:

Yo haba salido cuando el telfono son.

(I had gone out when the telephone rang.)

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

(We had already had dinner when Mrs. Patricia offered us food.)

Mauricio haba hablado con su pap cuando lleg su mam.

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

Roberto y Julio haban bebido ron antes de llegar a la fiesta.

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

Josefina no haba dormido mucho antes de entrarse en el avin.

(Josefina had not slept a lot before she entered the airplane.)

Now lets try a few exercises. Translate the following into Spanish. The answers follow the exercise.

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

2. I had practiced my Spanish before Juan called me.

3. We had eaten too much, when the dessert arrived.

4. Paco and Enrique had finished the exam when the bell rang.

5. You had changed your dollars to pesos before the bank closed.

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

7. Marisol and I had eaten breakfast before we went to school.

8. We had learned how to dance salsa before we traveled to Puerto Rico.

9. I had met Diego before he came here.

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

1. Clara haba limpiado la casa cuando llegaron sus amigas.

2. Yo haba practicado mi Espaol antes de 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 pesos antes de cerrar el banco.

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

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

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

9. Yo haba conocido a Diego antes de venir l aqu.

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

 

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