Le past perfect exprime un lien entre deux moments passés.
I. Le past perfect simple
|
affirmation |
interrogation |
négation |
|
I had lived you had lived he/she/it had lived we had lived you had lived they had lived |
had I lived? had you lived? had he/she/it lived? had we lived? had you lived? had they lived? |
I had not lived you had not lived he/she/it had not lived we had not lived you had not lived they had not lived |
Forme contractée : had not hadn’t
Le past perfect (ou pluperfect) sert à décrire un événement antérieur à un autre événement passé ou à une période passée.
She had left when I arrived. Elle était partie quand je suis arrivée.
Il sert à parler de situations non réelles dans le passé.
If only I had told him… Si seulement je lui avais dit…
II. Le past perfect en be + V-ing
|
affirmation |
interrogation |
négation |
|
I had been living you had been living he/she/it had been living we had been living you had been living they had been living |
had I been living? had you been living? had he/she/it been living? had we been living? had you been living? had they been living? |
I had not been living you had not been living he/she/it had not been living we had not been living you had not been living they had not been living |
Le past perfect en be + V-ing permet de décrire une action commencée dans le passé et qui est toujours en cours à un autre moment du passé. On l’utilise généralement avec for ou since. Il correspond à l’imparfait français.
She had been reading for one hour when we arrived.
Elle lisait depuis une heure quand nous sommes arrivés.