UNIT NINETEEN

The past perfect tense

Use of the past perfect
1 The past perfect (or pluperfect) normally indicates a past event which
happened before another past event, as in the English I had nished shower-
ing when I heard the doorbell, By the time it nished, I had had enough. It is
thus normally used in sentences where there is another past tense, or some
other reference to a past event:
It is also often used on its own, where a more recent event is referred to, or
implied, in the context:
2 Sometimes, when the past perfect is used on its own, the event nearer to the
present is purely implicit:
Quando sono arrivato [present
perfect] avevano appena nito
[past perfect] di cenare.
Quel giorno ero [imperfect] molto
contenta perch avevo passato
[past perfect] lesame.
Prima di imprestare [innitive]
lauto a Marco, avevo fatto
[past perfect] il pieno.
When I arrived they had just nished
dinner.
That day I was very happy because Id
passed the exam.
Before lending the car to Marco, Id
lled up.
Avevo fatto quella torta per te, non
per Paolo.
Tullio aveva portato i CD.
Francesca era uscita.
I made that tart for you, not for Paolo.
[e.g. thats why Im so annoyed that
Paolos eaten it]
Tullio had brought the CDs. [e.g. the
ones I told you we were listening to]
Francesca had gone out. [e.g. which is
why I didnt see her last night]
Implied here is something like (Ora ti ho visto, ma prima) non ti avevo visto [i.e.
Ive seen you now, but I hadnt before].
Implied here is something like Non ti avevo sentito (ma ora ti ho sentito) [i.e. I
hadnt heard you before, but I have now].
Forming the past perfect
3 The past perfect in Italian is formed with the imperfect indicative of avere
or essere (auxiliary verbs) followed by the past participle of the verb. Here are
two examples, one using avere and the other essere:
4 As regards agreement of the past participle, the past perfect obeys exactly
the same rules as the present perfect: if the auxiliary is avere the past parti-
ciple does not change; but if it is essere the past participle behaves like an
adjective, agreeing in gender and number with the subject of the verb, as in
these examples:
Scusa, non ti avevo visto! molto
che aspetti?
Sorry, I didnt see you. Have you been
waiting long?
Scusa, non ti avevo sentito. Sorry, I didnt hear you.
Imperfect of avere
(io) avevo
(tu) avevi
(lui/lei) aveva
(noi) avevamo
(voi) avevate
(loro) avevano
Past participle of scrivere
scritto
scritto
scritto
scritto
scritto
scritto
I had written
you had written
he/she/it had written
we had written
you had written
they had written
Imperfect of essere
(io) ero
(tu) eri
(lui/lei) era
(noi) eravamo
(voi) eravate
(loro) erano
Past participle of andare
andato/andata
andato/andata
andato/andata
andati/andate
andati/andate
andati/andate
I had gone
you had gone
he/she/it had gone
we had gone
you had gone
they had gone
Avere
Livia aveva guardato la televisione.
Avevi comprato il pane?
Aveva prenotato, Signor Ferro?
Livia had watched television.
Had you bought the bread?
Had you booked, Mr Ferro?
138 Unit 19
* When the polite form is used and the auxiliary is essere, the past participle
agrees with the gender of the person being spoken to, not with Lei.
Past perfect of avere and essere
5 Avere forms the past perfect with the auxiliary avere:
Essere forms the past perfect with the auxiliary essere:
Essere
Monica era uscita. [fs]
Pietro era stato malato. [ms]
Fabia e Silvia erano rimaste a casa.
[fp]
Giulia e Sebastiano erano partiti.
[mp]
Ero andata al cinema. [fs]
Eravamo arrivati tardi. [mp]
Signor Poli, Lei quando era
arrivato?* [ms]
Signora Poli, Lei quando era
arrivata?* [fs]
Monica had gone out.
Pietro had been ill.
Fabia and Silvia had stayed at home.
Giulia and Sebastiano had left.
I had been/gone to the cinema. [the
speaker is female]
We had arrived late. [the speakers are
males or a mixed group]
When had you arrived, Mr Poli?
When had you arrived, Mrs Poli?
avevo avuto
avevi avuto
aveva avuto
avevamo avuto
avevate avuto
avevano avuto
I had had
you had had
he/she/it had had
we had had
you had had
they had had
ero stato/stata
eri stato/stata
era stato/stata
eravamo stati/state
eravate stati/state
erano stati/state
I had been
you had been
he/she/it had been
we had been
you had been
they had been
Non aveva avuto tempo di nire il
lavoro.
Tanya aveva avuto la varicella.
He hadnt had time to nish the job.
Tanya had had chickenpox.
Unit 19 139
Negative form
6 The negative is formed in the same way as for the present perfect, by
placing non before the verb:
7 As with the present perfect, the adverbs mai (ever), pi (more/again) and
gi (already) are normally placed between the auxiliary and the verb (e.g.
Avevo gi risposto, Id already replied). With the negatives non . . . ancora
(not . . . yet), non . . . mai (never), non . . . pi (not . . . any more/not . . .
again/no . . . longer), non is placed before the auxiliary:
Exercise 1
Supply the past perfect of the verb in brackets.
Example: Dove (tu comprare) quelle scarpe?: avevi comprato
Nina era stata malata.
Des era stato mio studente.
Nina had been ill.
Des had been a student of mine.
Non ero andato a scuola.
Lisa non era riuscita a nire quel
lavoro.
Non avevi telefonato la settimana
prima?
I hadnt been/gone to school.
Lisa hadnt managed to nish that job.
Had you not phoned the previous
week?
Eravate mai stati su un ghiacciaio?
Avevi pi visto i tuoi amici?
Non avevamo ancora preso il
biglietto.
Paola non era mai stata a Venezia.
Carlo non aveva pi telefonato.
Had you ever been on a glacier?
Had you (ever) seen your friends
again?
We hadnt bought the ticket yet.
Paola had never been to Venice.
Carlo hadnt (ever) phoned again.
1 Maria (nire) di cenare.
2 Anna (arrivare) il giorno prima.
3 Scusi, Signora, non La (io vedere)!
4 (tu spegnere) la luce?
5 (voi prendere) il giornale?
6 Prima di lavorare in Italia, Jim
(lavorare) in Francia.
7 Hai perso la lettera che ti
(scrivere) Antonio?
8 Alessandro non (preparare)
lesame.
9 Non (tu riuscire) a nire il lavoro?
10 Gli (noi chiedere) dei CD.
11 Caterina (stare) male.
140 Unit 19
Exercise 2
Complete the following sentences, using the correct tense of the verb in
brackets (present perfect, imperfect or past perfect).
Example: Carlo (raccontare) che (lui passare) lesame, ma non (essere)
vero: Carlo ha raccontato che aveva passato lesame, ma non
era vero.
1 Quando (io arrivare) i miei amici (uscire) da poco.
2 Silvia non (conoscere) la persona che le (telefonare).
3 (tu fare) un dolce? Ma ti (io dire) che sono a dieta!
4 Ernestina (essere) stanca perch (camminare) molto.
5 Carlo non (venire) con noi perch (dovere) fare un lavoro che gli (loro
dare) la sera prima.
6 Silvio (essere) molto contento perch (vincere) la gara di sci.
7 Carla (portare) sempre la maglia che le (regalare) suo fratello.
8 (io comprare) i libri che mi (voi consigliare).
9 Mauro (spendere) tutti i soldi che (lui guadagnare).
10 Francesca (invitare) tutti gli amici che (andare) in vacanza con lei lanno
prima.
Exercise 3
Translate into Italian:
1 Paola still hadnt been to Scotland.
2 Id nished the job, but I was very tired.
3 The girls had never gone into that church.
4 Arianna nished the tart her grandmother had made.
5 What had you [sing.] said to Fabio? I hadnt said anything to him.
6 Maria had had to stay at home.
7 How much had your [pl.] car cost?
12 (io mangiare) un panino, ma
avevo ancora fame.
13 Ti (piacere) la partita?
14 Cecilia (andare) in vacanza.
15 Le mie amiche (uscire).
16 Non (io capire) nulla.
17 Il treno (partire) in orario.
18 Sergio (rimanere) in ucio.
19 Paolo non (volere) lavorare con
noi.
20 Gina (essere) contenta di vedermi.
Unit 19 141
8 Theyd bought the ticket the previous day.
9 I hadnt got the bike any longer, because Id given it to Anna.
10 She was born in Russia, but shed been living in Italy for many years
when I met her.
142 Unit 19