The Past Perfect (Plusquamperfekt)
The past perfect has the use of expressing something that happened in the past before another event. It is used when events are talked about in the past simple and also events talked about in the present perfect.
In some cases, it is used to express something that happened before the present.
a) Used in conjunction with the past simple
| Wir fuhren mit dem Auto ins Gebirge. Wir waren alle sehr müde, denn wir hatten die ganze Woche gearbeitet. |
| We went by car through the mountain. We were all very tired because we had worked the whole week. |
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| Die Kinder hatten den ganzen Sommer Ferien gehabt. Nun mussten sie wieder in die Schule gehen. |
| The children had had holidays during the whole summer. Now they had to go again to school. |
b) Used in conjunction with the perfect
| Gestern war ich im Kino. Auf einmal ist mir eingefallen, dass ich einen Termin beim Zahnarzt vergessen hatte. |
| Yesterday I was in the cinema. Suddenly I remembered that I had forgotten an appointment with the dentist. |
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| Letzte Woche habe ich einen Ausflug aufs Land gemacht. Da war ich schon lange nicht mehr gewesen. |
| Last week I did a trip to the countryside. I hadn't been there for a long time. |
| - |
| Wir fuhren mit dem Auto ins Gebirge. Ich war besorgt, weil es die ganze Nacht geschneit hatte. |
| We went by car to the mountain. I was worried because it had rained all night. |
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Exercises
Translate the following sentences:
(Click in the box to see the answers, double click to return to the original)
