The anterior remote past is used only in the active form and only in temporal subordinates introduced by conjunctions, that is, when the action expressed by the anterior remote past immediately precedes that of the regent and when the regent is in the remote past.
- Appena ebbe vinto il premio, smise di lavorare.
- As soon as he won the prize, he stopped working.
- Solo dopo che gli ebbi restituito la macchina, mi sentii tranquilla.
- Only after I had returned the car to him did I feel calm.
- Una volta che ebbi visto di che si trattava, me ne andai.
- Once I saw what it was, I left.
- Appena ci ebbero dato il permesso, lasciammo l’aula.
- As soon as we were given permission, we left the classroom.
- Appena ebbi ricevuto la sua telefonata, uscii.
- As soon as I received his phone call, I went out.
Here is some conjunctions that express the anterior remote past:
- Subito/ immediatamente (right away/immediately).
- Dopo che (after that)
- Come (as).
- (non) Appena (as soon as).
- Quando (when).
- Allorché (when/as soon as).
- Una volta che (once).
- Finché (non) (until), etc.
Other (more used) forms that replace the anterior remote past
- Dopo + past infinite.
- Dopo aver vinto il premio, smise di lavorare.
- After winning the prize, he stopped working.
- Una volta + past participle.
- Una volta vinto il premio, smise di lavorare.
- Once he won the prize, he stopped working.
- With two remote past tenses joined by an [e (and)] or by putting the remote past in place of the anterior remote past.
- Vinse il premio e smise di lavorare.
- He won the prize and stopped working.
- Non appena vinse il premio, smise di lavorare.
- As soon as he won the prize, he stopped working.
In the first two examples (a,b), both sentences’ subject [the person, thing, etc. who does the action] must be the same.