French Past Anterior

The French past anterior is the literary equivalent of the past perfect. It is used in literature and historical accounts to indicate an action in the past that occurred before another action in the past. Because it is a literary tense, you don't need to practice conjugating it, but it is important for you to be able to recognize it.

The French past anterior is usually introduced by one of these conjunctions: après que, aussitôt que, dès que, lorsque, or quand.

   Quand nous eûmes fini, nous mangeâmes.
   When we had finished, we ate.

   Dès qu'elle fut arrivée, le téléphone sonna.
   As soon as she arrived, the phone rang.

   Je partis après que vous fûtes tombé.
   I left after you fell.

(Note that the verb tense in the other clause is the passé simple.)

Since the past anterior is a literary tense, it is usually replaced by another tense/mood in everyday speech - either the pluperfect (for habitual actions), the past infinitive, or the perfect participle.

Go on to page 2 to learn how to conjugate the past anterior.