MINISTRE DE LDUCATION NATIONALE

MINISTRE DE LENSEIGNEMENT SUPRIEUR ET DE LA RECHERCHE

Chapeau

Institut de Vanves

MATIERE : Anglais
MISE EN LIGNE : 2011
AUTEUR : Marie CLAUDEL

RUBRIQUE : Le groupe verbal

Le plus-que-parfait
(Past perfect or pluperfect)

SOMMAIRE :

1. Le past perfect (simple et en be-ing) :

formation et emplois
2. Exercices
3. Correction

p. 2
p. 3
p. 4

Comme tous les temps en anglais, le past perfect peut avoir deux formes :

Past perfect (or pluperfect) simple

Past perfect (or pluperfect) continuous
Conseil :
Nous vous conseillons de naborder ltude de cette fiche quaprs avoir travaill
les deux fiches sur le present perfect simple et le present perfect continuous.

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1. Formation
Past perfect simple

Past perfect continuous

Il se forme toujours avec:

Il se forme toujours avec:

Lauxiliaire had + participe pass

Pour les verbes rguliers le participe pass se
forme en ajoutant ed la base verbale.
Il faut apprendre par cur la liste des verbes
irrguliers (annexe 5 du cours).

Had been + base verbale + ing

I had been waiting for him for hours when he
arrived: je lattendais depuis des heures quand il est
arriv.

We hadnt finished yet : nous navions pas encore

fini
Had you ever been to London ? Etais-tu dj all
Londres ?
Attention : en franais le plus-que-parfait se forme
soit avec lauxiliaire tre au pass, soit avec
lauxiliaire avoir au pass.
I had lost my keys : javais perdu mes cls
I had fallen: jtais tomb.

2. Emplois
Past perfect simple

Past perfect continuous

A. Le past perfect simple correspond, en

gnral, au plus-que-parfait franais: lorsquen
parlant dun moment pass (traduit par un
prtrit), on se rfre un pass antrieur
celui-ci. On emploie le past perfect simple pour
parler du moment le plus loign dans le
pass.
When she arrived, Paul had already gone:
Quand elle est arrive, Paul tait dj parti.
We didnt know what had happened:
On ne savait pas ce qui tait arriv.
He said that he had lost his keys:
Il a dit quil avait perdu ses cls.

B. Pour les verbes dtat ou daction ponctuelle

le past perfect simple semploie avec for ou
since pour exprimer la dure.
We hadnt met for years :
Nous ne nous tions pas vus depuis des annes.

Pour les verbes daction, le past perfect

continuous semploie avec for ou since pour
traduire limparfait franais
I had been learning English for ten years when I
first went to London :
Japprenais langlais depuis dix ans quand je suis
all pour la premire fois Londres.

Le past perfect simple met laccent sur lobjet :

Le past perfect continuous permet de faire un

commentaire apprciatif sur le sujet :

I had painted the ceiling when she arrived:


Javais termin de peindre le plafond quand elle est

I had been painting the ceiling when she arrived :

Je peignais le plafond quand elle est arrive.

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arrive.
Cette phrase mettra laccent sur le rsultat de
laction sur le complment : le plafond est beau.

Cette phrase mettra plus laccent sur les

consquences de laction sur le sujet : jtais donc
extnu ou ravi.

Are you ready for the exercises?

Exercises
1. Put the verbs into the past perfect simple:
a. When I got home last night, I found that somebody into my flat (to break).
b. She didnt want to come to the cinema because she already . the film (to see).
c. The lady sitting next to me on the plane was so nervous! She . never .before (to fly).
d. Mary .. just .. home when I arrived. She to Paris (to get to be).
e. My room was upside down, I it for ages (not to clean).
2. Put the verbs into the past perfect continuous
a. I was very tired, I all day (to work).
b. When I got into the room there was a smell of cigarettes. Somebody . (to smoke).
c. I was so late! She . for over one hour (to wait).
d. Peter came in with a black eye, he (to fight)
e. She . for one hour when her guests arrived (to cook).
3. Translate
a. Javais dj pay ma montre quand je
me suis aperu quelle tait abme (to
realize damaged).
b. On venait de terminer de manger quand
il y a eu une panne de courant (the
electricity to go off).
c. JF Kennedy tait prsident depuis 1961
quand il fut assassin (assassinated).

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d. Cela faisait des heures que je parlais

quand je me suis rendu compte que
personne ne mcoutait.
e. Ctait la premire fois que je prenais
lavion.

Correction
1. Put the verbs into the past perfect simple:
f.

When I got home last night, I found that somebody had broken into my flat (to break).

g. She didnt want to come to the cinema because she had already seen the film (to see).
h. The lady sitting next to me on the plane was so nervous! She had never flown before (to fly).
i.

Mary had just got home when I arrived. She had been to Paris (to get to be).

j.

My room was upside down, I had not cleaned it for ages (not to clean).

2. Put the verbs into the past perfect continuous

f.

I was very tired; I had been working all day (to work).

g. When I got into the room there was a smell of cigarettes. Somebody had been smoking (to smoke).
h. I was so late! She had been waiting for over one hour (to wait).
i.

Peter came in with a black eye, he had been fighting (to fight).

j.

She had been cooking for one hour when her guests arrived (to cook).

3. Translate
a. Javais dj pay ma montre quand je me
suis aperu quelle tait abme (to realize
damaged).

I had already paid for my watch when I realized it

was damaged.

b. On venait de terminer de dner quand il y a

eu une panne de courant (the electricity to
go off).

We had just finished having dinner when the

electricity went off.

c.

JFK had been a president since 1961 when he was

assassinated.

JF Kennedy tait prsident depuis 1961

quand il fut assassin (assassinated).

d. Cela faisait des heures que je parlais quand

je me suis rendu compte que personne ne
mcoutait.

I had been talking for hours when I realized that

nobody was listening to me.

e. Ctait la premire fois que je prenais

lavion.

It was the first time I had taken a plane.

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