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. |
Next: Pluperfect Subjunctive Tense
Other lessons in Level VI:
Level VI – Fluent
3. Imperfect Subjunctive Tense
4. Pluperfect Indicative Tense
5. Pluperfect Subjunctive Tense
