The pluperfect

Used when we want to order two events chronologically in the past. The earlier action is expressed in the Past Perfect Compound. Used in the same way as the Past Perfect in English.

Formation

Subject + imperfect indicative of ter + past participle of the main verb:

• Eu tinha comprado - I had bought

  • NOT continuous

• Eu tinha-o comprado - I had bought it

• Eu não o tinha comprado - I had not bought it

• Eu já o tinha comprado - I hadn’t bought it yet

More examples:

• Quando cheguei em casa, o Pedro já tinha chegado

• Não comprei pão porque a Rita já o tinha comprado de manhã

• Pedi-lhe a chave emprestada, porque não tinha encontrado a minha

Past Participle

There are verbs that have a double past participle: a regular form is used with the auxiliary verb ter (compound tenses) and an irregular form is used with the auxiliary verbs estar and ser (passive voice). There a various verbs with two past past participles, called “verbos abundantes”. These are the most common ones:

Examples:

• Ela tem sempre aceitado as minhas sugestões - She has always accepted my suggestions

• As minhas sugestões foram aceites - My suggestions were/have been accepted

• Elas foram expulsas por mau comportamento - They were expelled for bad behaviour

• Esta epidemia de gripe tem matado algumas pessoas - This flu epidemic has been killing people

• Ele foi morto por uma mina en Angola - He was killed by a landmine in Angola

• Não vale a pena chamar uma ambulância. Ele está morto. - It’s not worth it to call an ambulance. He’s dead.