Plusquamperfekt - The past perfect tense

📌 The Plusquamperfekt tense (also called the Past Perfect) is used to express an action that happened and was completed before another action in the past.

This tense is often used in writing, storytelling, or describing past events that have a time connection.

1. How to form the Plusquamperfekt tense

ℹ️ Formula:

💡 📌 Formula:

haben/sein in the Präteritum + Partizip II

Person	haben + Partizip II	sein + Partizip II
Ich	hatte gemacht	war gegangen
Du	hattest gemacht	warst gegangen
Er/sie/es	hatte gemacht	war gegangen
Wir	hatten gemacht	waren gegangen
Ihr	hattet gemacht	wart gegangen
Sie/sie	hatten gemacht	waren gegangen

Example:

Ich hatte mein Frühstück gegessen, bevor er ankam.
(I had finished eating breakfast before he arrived.)

Nachdem sie nach Hause gekommen war, rief sie mich an.
(After she had come home, she called me.)

Important note:

The Plusquamperfekt always goes together with another action in the past (Präteritum or Perfekt).
Without another clause, this tense is rarely used.
haben is used with most verbs, sein with verbs of movement or change of state (gehen, kommen, bleiben...).

2. Typical conjunctions used with the Plusquamperfekt tense

The Plusquamperfekt often appears in sentences with two clauses, expressing a sequence in time.
🔹 The two most important conjunctions are "nachdem" and "bevor".

2.1. "Nachdem" (After...)

ℹ️ Formula:

💡 📌 Formula:

Nachdem + Plusquamperfekt, Präteritum/Perfekt

Plusquamperfekt (Earlier action)	Präteritum/Perfekt (Later action)
Nachdem ich gegessen hatte,	ging ich ins Bett.
Nachdem sie angekommen war,	rief sie mich an.

Example:

Nachdem ich die Prüfung bestanden hatte, feierte ich mit meinen Freunden.
(After I had passed the exam, I celebrated with my friends.)

Nachdem sie nach Hause gekommen war, machte sie das Abendessen.
(After she had come home, she made dinner.)

Note:

"Nachdem" always goes together with the Plusquamperfekt to indicate the action that happened first.
The main clause (the later action) can be in the Präteritum or Perfekt.
In spoken language, Germans often simplify and use the Perfekt instead of the Plusquamperfekt.

2.2. "Bevor" (Before...)

ℹ️ Formula:

💡 📌 Formula:

Plusquamperfekt + bevor + Präteritum/Perfekt

(The action that happens first uses the Plusquamperfekt, the action that happens later uses the Präteritum/Perfekt)

Plusquamperfekt (Earlier action)	bevor + Präteritum/Perfekt (Later action)
Ich hatte gefrühstückt,	bevor ich zur Schule ging.
Sie hatte alles vorbereitet,	bevor die Gäste kamen.

Example:

Ich hatte gefrühstückt, bevor ich zur Schule ging. (I had finished breakfast before I went to school.)

Er hatte den Bericht geschrieben, bevor er nach Hause ging. (He had finished writing the report before he went home.)

Note:

The main clause uses the Plusquamperfekt to indicate the action that happened first.
The "bevor" clause uses the Präteritum/Perfekt to indicate the action that happened later.
"Bevor" helps emphasize the time sequence between the two actions.

The Plusquamperfekt tense expresses an action that happened before another action in the past.
Formula: haben/sein in the Präteritum + Partizip II.
Use "nachdem" (after) with the Plusquamperfekt in the subordinate clause, and "bevor" (before) with the Plusquamperfekt in the main clause.
This tense is common in writing, storytelling, and describing past events.

ℹ️ Exercise

Practice exercise

Apply what you've just learned about the Plusquamperfekt:

📝 A2 exercise overview

Practice distinguishing the Perfekt and Plusquamperfekt in narrative sentences.

Plusquamperfekt - The past perfect tense

1. How to form the Plusquamperfekt tense

2. Typical conjunctions used with the Plusquamperfekt tense

2.1. "Nachdem" (After...)

2.2. "Bevor" (Before...)

🎯 3. Summary