French/Grammar/Tenses/Past anterior

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[edit] Usage of the Past Anterior

  • The past anterior is used for actions completely terminated before the main past action. It translates as to have done something (before doing something else). Ex: I had gone to the store before I picked him up.

[edit] Formation of the Past Anterior

  • The past anterior is a compound tense- it consists of two verbs, the auxiliary verb and the past participle one seeks to use in this tense.
  • The auxiliary verb is conjugated as if it were being used in the passé simple.
  • The past participle is added immediately after the auxiliary verb.
  • A negative structure such as ne ... pas is always placed around the auxiliary verb, not the past participle.


Tenses & Moods

Auxiliary Verb • Non-finite Forms : Present Participle • Past Participle • Gérondif • Infinitive • Past Infinitive

Indicative Mood :

Simple Tenses : Present • Imperfect • Past Historic • Future
Perfect Tenses : Present Perfect • Pluperfect • Past Anterior • Future Anterior
Other Tenses : Recent Past • Near Future
Subjunctive Mood : Present • Imperfect • Past • Pluperfect
Imperative Mood : Present • Past
Conditional Mood : Present • Past • Second Form of the Past
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