The Pluperfect
by Sean Conner
I. Generally:
The pluperfect tense in Latin is employed when the speaker wishes to express
any action already completed at some point in the past:
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spripseram - I had written.
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inceperant - They had begun.
II. Notes:
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Like the English equivalent, the Latin pluperfect tense is properly subordinate
-- without an adverbial element indicating a past reference point, whether
this element be a clause or simply a temporal adverb, the pluperfect is
grammatically fragmentary. Note the following English examples of
the correct and incorrect uses of the pluperfect:
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Correct:
-
Before I went to my first class, I had already purchased my books.
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I had not yet seen her at that time.
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Incorrect:
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I had purchased the books.
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I had not seen her.
The examples of incorrect pluperfect usage are fragments. To express
a previously completed action with the pluperfect, a sentence requires
a temporal reference point.
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Note that the subjunctive mood of the Latin pluperfect tense also
represents completed aspect (within secondary sequence) and is likewise
temporally dependent.
III. Conditions:
The pluperfect is commonly found in the following conditions-
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Past, Contrary to Fact: pluperfect subjunctive will appear
in both the protasis and apodosis, suggesting prior action that could have
been completed. (If I had done my best, my parents would have been
proud.)