Pourquoi le plus-que-parfait?

Amelie K.C1Kwiziq community member

Pourquoi le plus-que-parfait?

I'm a little bit stumped as to why the text insists on use of the pluperfect instead of le passé composé?

E.g. mes sœurs et moi avions hurlé and nous étions allés à l'église locale.

Why is it not nous avons hurlé and nous sommes allés?

Merci en avance pour la réponse!

Asked 10 months ago
CécileKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Hi Amelie,

This story about an event in the past only uses the imparfait and the plus-que-parfait.

"That year the father had decided that the family would spend Christmas in Switzerland, and on the day that he'd announced the news, the author remembers how she and her sisters (had) cried with joy."

The problem is that often in English, the pluperfect is replaced by a perfect tense but French is much more precise and takes concordance des temps very seriously indeed!

Hope this helps!

Pourquoi le plus-que-parfait?

I'm a little bit stumped as to why the text insists on use of the pluperfect instead of le passé composé?

E.g. mes sœurs et moi avions hurlé and nous étions allés à l'église locale.

Why is it not nous avons hurlé and nous sommes allés?

Merci en avance pour la réponse!

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