1. Alphabet & Pronunciation
1.1. Vowels
1.2. Syllable Stress
2. Similarities to English
2.1. Negation, Punctuation, & Written Accents
3. Gender & Plural
4. Cardinal Numbers
5. Subject Personal Pronouns
6. Present Indicative Tense I
7. The Articles
8. Interrogative Pronouns & Adjectives
1. Prepositions
2. Present Indicative Tense II – Irregular Verbs
3. Possessive Adjectives & Pronouns
4. Demonstrative Pronouns & Adjectives
5. Object Personal Pronouns
6. Relative Pronouns
7. Ordinal Numbers I
8. Basic Phrases
9. Times & Seasons
1. Verbs like “Piacere”
2. Present Perfect Tense
3. The Verb “To Know”: “Sapere” vs. “Conoscere”
4. Indefinite Adjectives & Pronouns
5. Conjunctions
6. Simple Future Tense
7. Telling Time & Describing Weather
8. Adverbs
8.1. Other Adverbs & Adverbial Phrases
9. Directions
1. Degrees of Comparison: Comparatives & Superlatives
2. Partitives
3. Reflexive Pronouns & Verbs
4. Expressions Using “Avere” & “Fare”
5. Present Subjunctive Tense I
6. Present Progressive Tense
7. Future Perfect Tense
8. Interjections
1. The Pronouns “Ci” & “Ne”
2. Past Absolute Tense
3. Imperative Mood & Giving Commands
4. The Conditional Tenses
5. Present Subjunctive Tense
6. Present Perfect Subjunctive Tense
7. Imperfect Indicative Tense
8. Past & Conditional Progressive Tenses
1. Ordinal Numbers II
2. The Past Infinitive
3. Imperfect Subjunctive Tense
4. Pluperfect Indicative Tense
5. Pluperfect Subjunctive Tense
6. Passive Voice & Impersonal “Si”
7. Idiomatic Pronominal Verbs
8. Diminutives & Augmentatives
The pluperfect indicative tense, literally the more than perfect, describes the past before the simple past. If two actions took place in the past, the one that occurred before is often described in the pluperfect indicative tense in Italian.
The pluperfect indicative is formed as follows:
| “avere” or “essere” in the imperfect indicative + past participle |
Conjugation
Depending on the verb, the pluperfect indicative in Italian uses the auxiliary “avere” or “essere” in the imperfect, which are conjugated as follows:
| “avere” in the imperfect indicative | “essere” in the imperfect indicative | |
| io | avevo | ero |
| tu | avevi | eri |
| lui/lei | aveva | era |
| noi | avevamo | eravamo |
| voi | avevate | eravate |
| loro | avevano | erano |
Examples
Here are some examples of the pluperfect indicative tense in Italian:
| Prima che ci conoscessimo, non ero mai stato in Spagna. | Before we met, I had never been to Spain. |
| Quando sono andato a trovare mia madre, mia sorella era già arrivata. | When I visited my mom, my sister had already arrived. |
| Dopo che la sicurezza aveva chiuso la porta, la folla è tornata a casa. | After the security had closed the door, the crowd went home. |
Quiz: Pluperfect Indicative Tense
Next: Pluperfect Subjunctive Tense
Other lessons in Level VI: