Before I ate lunch (Past), I had cooked it (Plus-que-parfait).
Imparfait (Avoir/Être) + Past Participle
J'avais mangé. (I had eaten)
Tu étais parti. (You had left)
A detective questions a suspect.
Où étiez-vous à 20h00 quand le vol a eu lieu ?
(Where were you at 8:00 PM when the robbery took place?)J'étais déjà parti. J'avais fini mon travail à 19h00.
(I had already left. I had finished my work at 7:00 PM.)C'est faux ! La caméra montre que vous n'étiez pas encore sorti.
(That's false! The camera shows that you had not yet gone out.)French speakers love a good story. To tell one effectively, you need three layers of past tense: Passé Composé for the main actions, Imparfait for the background/setting, and Plus-que-parfait for the backstory (what had happened before stories started). Master all three to captivate your audience!
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