LiramiLirami

Pluscuamperfecto · había + participio

The pluscuamperfecto — the "had done" past. había + a past participle (the -ado / -ido form, like English "eaten"), for what had already happened before some other past moment.

Examples

  • Cuando llegué, ya había salido.When I arrived, he had already left.
  • Nunca había visto eso.I had never seen that.
  • Ya habíamos comido.We had already eaten.

How it works

The pluscuamperfecto = imperfect of haber + past participle (the -ado / -ido form, like English "eaten"). It expresses an action completed BEFORE another past event.

Conjugation (the verb's forms for each person):

había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían + past participle

Past participle reminders

-ar → -ado (hablar → hablado)
-er/-ir → -ido (comer → comido, vivir → vivido)
Irregulars: hecho, dicho, visto, puesto, abierto, escrito, vuelto…
Past participle is INVARIABLE after haber (no gender/number).

Examples

Cuando llegué, ya había salido.

When I arrived, he had already left.

Habíamos comido antes de venir.

We had eaten before coming.

Nunca había visto algo así.

I had never seen anything like that.

Common time markers

ya, todavía no, antes (de que), nunca, jamás.

Compare to indefinido / imperfecto:

Llegué a las cinco. — I arrived at 5.
Cuando llegué, ya habían comido.

When I arrived, they had already eaten.

Estaba cansado porque había trabajado mucho.

I was tired because I had worked a lot.

What you'll practise

  1. 1. Imperfect of haber (había, habías, había…)

    Pick the right form of haber's imperfect.

    • Había estudiado.I had studied.
    • Habíamos llegado.We had arrived.

  2. 2. Use the right past participle (regular + irregular)

    Same participle (the -ado / -ido form, like English "eaten") as in pretérito perfecto. Watch the irregulars.

    • Había hecho la tarea.I had done the homework.
    • Habíamos visto la película.We had seen the film.

  3. 3. Use it for an earlier past relative to another past

    Mark anteriority before a past reference point.

    • Cuando llegué, ya se habían ido.When I arrived, they had already gone.

Practise it until it sticks

Short drills built on these 3 skills, with instant feedback on every answer. Free to start.

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