The Pluperfect Tense
Conceptual Overview
The pluperfect tense indicates an action that occurred prior to an action in the past. So, we usually translate the pluperfect with the auxiliary verb “had”.
- frātrēs vīdī. eī ex urbe vēnerant. I saw the brothers. They had come out of the city.
- mea uxor laeta erat. carmen eī cecineram. My wife was happy. I had sung a song for her.
Note the difference between the translation of the perfect and the translation of the pluperfect. The perfect tense uses “has” or “have”; the pluperfect tense uses “had”. This difference in translation indicates two different time periods, so it’s important to be accurate!
Pluperfect Active
To form the pluperfect active indicative, we begin by taking the perfect stem (the third principal part minus the final -ī) and add the pluperfect active endings. They look exactly like the imperfect forms of sum, esse:
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | -eram | -erāmus |
| 2nd | -erās | -erātis |
| 3rd | -erat | -erant |
So, if we wanted to form the 3rd person singular pluperfect active indicative of videō:
vīdī -> vīd- (perfect active stem) -> (add personal ending) vīderat, “he/she/it had seen”
Pluperfect Passive
We form the pluperfect passive indicative in a manner very similar to that of the perfect passive indicative. We use the 4th principal part as a 2-1-2 adjective that matches the subject in gender, case, and number, and then we conjugate a form of sum, esse in the appropriate person and number; in this case, with the pluperfect passive, we will use the imperfect forms of sum.
For instance, for the verb videō:
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | vīsus/vīsa/vīsum eram | vīsī/vīsae/vīsa erāmus |
| 2nd | vīsus/vīsa/vīsum erās | vīsī/vīsae/vīsa erātis |
| 3rd | vīsus/vīsa/vīsum erat | vīsī/vīsae/vīsa erant |
The Future Perfect Tense
Conceptual Overview
The future perfect tense indicates an action that occurs in the future but before an action further in the future. Take a look at this example in English:
- We will have arrived before you will wake up. (The action of our arriving occurs BEFORE the action of your waking up.)
So, we usually translate the pluperfect with the auxiliary verbs “will have”. The “will” part conveys the future part of the tense; the “have” part conveys the perfect part of the tense.
Future Perfect Active
To form the future perfect active indicative, we begin by taking the perfect stem (the third principal part minus the final -ī) and add the future perfect active endings. They look almost exactly like the future forms of sum, esse EXCEPT for the 3rd plural:
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | -erō | -erimus |
| 2nd | -eris | -eritis |
| 3rd | -erit | -erint |
So, if we wanted to form the 3rd person plural future perfect active indicative of regō:
rexī -> rex- (perfect active stem) -> (add personal ending) rexerint, “they will have ruled”
Future Perfect Passive
We form the future perfect passive indicative in a manner very similar to that of the perfect passive indicative. We use the 4th principal part as a 2-1-2 adjective that matches the subject in gender, case, and number, and then we conjugate a form of sum, esse in the appropriate person and number; in this case, with the future perfect passive, we will use the future forms of sum. (Note that we use the normal 3rd pl. form, erunt, rather than the -i- present in the future perfect active ending.)
For instance, for the verb moneō:
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | monitus/monita/monitum erō | monitī/monitae/monita erimus |
| 2nd | monitus/monita/monitum eris | monitī/monitae/monita eritis |
| 3rd | monitus/monita/monitum erit | monitī/monitae/monita erunt |