The past perfect tense indicates an action or fact from the past that occurred before another action or another fact, which can also be placed in the past:
- Io avevo amato.
- I had loved.
- Io ero partito.
- I had left.
- Avevo appena preso il tram quando mi accorsi di non avere il biglietto
- I had just taken the tram when I realized I hadn’t have the ticket.
- Ci eravamo addormentati da pochi minuti, quando sentimmo un forte boato.
- We had fallen asleep for a few minutes when we heard a loud bang.
Here are some common expressions that indicate the past perfect:
- Dopo che (after that)
- Appena (appena)
- Già (already)
1. The form of the past perfect
The past perfect is formed with the imperfect of the verb (avere)/(essere) and the past participle of the verb.
[The imperfect of essere / avere + P.P]
| Finire (to finish) | Arrivare (to arrive) |
| Avevo finito Avevi finito Aveva finito Avevamo finito Avevate finito Avevano finito | Ero arrivato/arrivata Eri arrivato/arrivata Era arrivato/arrivata Eravamo arrivati/arrivate Eravate arrivati/arrivate Erano arrivati/arrivate |
2. Uses of the past perfect.
Expresses a past action that occurred before the facts expressed in (any) of the foure past tenses (passato prossimo/imperfetto/passato remoto/trapassato remoto).
- Ho saputo solo ieri che ti eri sposata.
- I only found out yesterday that you were married.
- Io lo sapevo che Maria era partita.
- I knew that Maria had left.
- Il professore capì che il ragazzo non aveva studiato.
- The professor understood that the boy had not studied.
The past perfect can also be syntactically independent, and have a relationship of logical dependence on an implied action of the past.
- Non ci avevo mai pensato.
- I had never thought about it.
- Questo me l’avevi già detto.
- You already told me this.
- Non avevo mai mangiato ostriche.
- I had never eaten oysters.
The past perfect (syntactically dependent or independent) can also be related to a present or a future. In this case, the action it expresses is felt to be distant in time, totally detached from the present.
- Verranno presto pubblicati i racconti che il padre aveva scritto da giovane.
- The stories that his father had written as a young man will soon be published.
- Questo è l’anello che mi aveva regalato il nonno (tanto tempo fa; forse ora il nonno è morto).
- This is the ring that my grandfather gave me (a long time ago; perhaps my grandfather is dead now).
- Ecco il libro del quale ti avevo parlato (quella volta, tanto tempo fa).
- Here is the book I told you about (that time, a long time ago).