Stage 16 About the Language: The Pluperfect Tense

Part I: English has a lot of tenses Use these exercises to practice the multiple past tenses of English. The Perfect vs. the Pluperfect in English Read about how to distinguish between these two tenses. caveat:She calls the "did" kind of past tense "simple past". This is our "perfect tense." She calls the "had done" kind "past perfect." That's our "pluperfect." Practice: English Perfect vs. Pluperfect Tenses Use this exercise to practice with when English is supposed to use the simple past tense (what we call the perfect in Latin) vs. the "had done" type of past tense (what we call the pluperfect in Latin).If you do well on this exercise, the Latin grammar below will be much easier. The Latin Companion Part II: The Latin versionClick here to access the glossary to help you with vocabulary. In Stage 16, we've met a new way of talking about things in the more distant past:in aulā erat ursa ingēns, quam rēx ex Ītaliā importāverat.In the palace there was a huge bear, which the king had imported from Italy.sacerdōtēs, quī ad āram prōcesserant, victimās sacrificāvērunt.The priests, who had proceeded to the altar, sacrificed the victims. Which happened first? prīmum rēx ursam ex Ītaliā importāverat. secundum ursa ingēns erat in aulā. Which happened first? prīmum sacerdōtēs ad āram prōcesserant. secundum sacerdōtēs victimās sacrificāvērunt. This tense is called the pluperfect because it is plūs quam perfect -- more perfect than the perfect. We use the pluperfect to make clear which of two things in the past tense happened even earlier than the other. We translate the pluperfect using the English auxiliary verb had. The forms of the Pluperfect There are two ways that you can think about how the pluperfect is formed.Both ways start the same way: take the perfect tense of the verb, which is your third principal part. Then remove the endings (-ī, -istī, -it, -imus, -istis, -ērunt).Method I: Add the new pluperfect endings (-eram, -erās, -erat, -erāmus, -erātis, -erant).Method II: Add the word you already know as the imperfect of est (= erat). Notice, it's identical to the endings in Method I! What the full chart looks like Try putting the forms for "had praised" in the chart below.Here are your principal parts: laudō, laudāre, laudāvīhint: you can always find verb charts in the language information section at the back of the book. ego laudāveram nōs laudāverāmus tū laudāverās vōs laudāverātis (3rd person singular) laudāverat (3rd person plural) laudāverant Try conjugating the following verbs in the 3rd person singular in the perfect and pluperfect tenses. Principal parts: aedificō, aedificāre, aedificāvī:perfect: aedificāvit "he built"pluperfect: aedificāverat "he had built"Principal parts: dīmittō, dīmittere, dīmīsī:perfect: dīmīsit "he sent away"pluperfect: dīmīserat "he had sent away" More practice: Translate the following sentences, paying close attention the tenses of the verbs. Rūfilla ancillās, quae cubiculum parāverant, laudāvit.Rufilla praised the slave girls, who had prepared the bedroom.in ātriō sedēbant hospitēs, quōs rēx ad aulam invītāverat.In the atrium were sitting the guests who the king had invited to the palace.agricola nōs laudāvit, quod per tōtum diem labōrāverāmus.The farmer praised us, because we had worked through the whole day.Belimicus, quī nāvem āmīserat, īrātissimus erat.Belimicus, who had lost his ship, was very angry.