A verb in the pluperfect tense represents an act in the past which has been completed before something else occured, e.g. he had shouted "Go!" before they started the race. The pluperfect tense is immediately recognized in English by the word had. Note that the pluperfect of the verb to have is I had had (enough ice-cream).

The formation of the pluperfect tense in Latin is entirely regular; there are no exceptions for any verb. Simply find the perfect stem (third principal part minus the last -i) and add the following person endings:

You will see immediately that these endings are simply the imperfect indicative of sum, esse, fui, to be. It is easy to spot a pluperfect tense in Latin by looking for these endings.

The First Conjugation.

The first conjugation is where all the a-stem verbs are grouped together. The pluperfect indicative is formed by finding the perfect stem from the third principal part, and adding the pluperfect endings.

Other verbs conjugated like amo are:

rogo, rogare, rogavi, rogatum	to ask
ambulo, ambulare, ambulavi, ambulatum	to walk
clamo, clamare, clamavi, clamatum	to shout
navigo, navigare, navigavi, navigatum	to sail

Practising the First Conjugation Pluperfect Active Indicative.

Practise forming a first conjugation verb in the pluperfect active indicative by studying the table in the previous section, and then applying the rules to the first conjugation verb directly above. Type in the verb forms, and then press << Check Answers >> to see whether you are correct. You can move between the text boxes by using the << Tab >> key.

Be tested on different first conjugation verbs by clicking on the pictures below. You can be tested on either Latin to English, or English to Latin.

Latin to English			English to Latin

The Second Conjugation.

The second conjugation is where all the long-e-stem verbs are grouped together. The pluperfect indicative is formed by finding the perfect stem from the third principal part, and adding the pluperfect endings.

Other verbs conjugated like moneo are:

video, videre, vidi, visum	to see
habeo, habere, habui, habitum	to have
timeo, timere, timui	to fear
maneo, manere, mansi, mansum	to remain

Practising the Second Conjugation Pluperfect Active Indicative.

Practise forming a second conjugation verb in the pluperfect active indicative by studying the table in the previous section, and then applying the rules to the second conjugation verb directly above. Type in the verb forms, and then press << Check Answers >> to see whether you are correct. You can move between the text boxes by using the << Tab >> key.

Be tested on different second conjugation verbs by clicking on the pictures below. You can be tested on either Latin to English, or English to Latin.

Latin to English			English to Latin

The Third Conjugation.

The third conjugation is where all the short-e-stem verbs are grouped together. The pluperfect indicative is formed by finding the perfect stem from the third principal part, and adding the pluperfect endings.

Other verbs conjugated like rego are:

mitto, mittere, misi, missum	to send
dico, dicere, dixi, dictum	to say
duco, ducere, duxi, ductum	to lead
scribo, scribere, scripsi, scriptum	to write

Practising the Third Conjugation Pluperfect Active Indicative.

Practise forming a third conjugation verb in the pluperfect active indicative by studying the table in the previous section, and then applying the rules to the third conjugation verb directly above. Type in the verb forms, and then press << Check Answers >> to see whether you are correct. You can move between the text boxes by using the << Tab >> key.

Be tested on different third conjugation verbs by clicking on the pictures below. You can be tested on either Latin to English, or English to Latin.

Latin to English			English to Latin

The Third-io Conjugation.

The third-io conjugation is is a small sub-branch of the third conjugation. The pluperfect indicative is formed by finding the perfect stem from the third principal part, and adding the pluperfect endings.

Other verbs conjugated like capio are:

facio, facere, feci, factum	to do, make
cupio, cupere, cupivi, cupitum	to desire
accipio, accipere, accepi, acceptum	to receive, accept
interficio, interficere, interfeci, interfectum	to kill

Practising the Third-io Conjugation Pluperfect Active Indicative.

Practise forming a third-io conjugation verb in the pluperfect active indicative by studying the table in the previous section, and then applying the rules to the third-io conjugation verb directly above. Type in the verb forms, and then press << Check Answers >> to see whether you are correct. You can move between the text boxes by using the << Tab >> key.

Be tested on different third-io conjugation verbs by clicking on the pictures below. You can be tested on either Latin to English, or English to Latin.

Latin to English			English to Latin

The Fourth Conjugation.

The fourth conjugation is where all the i-stem verbs are grouped together. The pluperfect indicative is formed by finding the perfect stem from the third principal part, and adding the pluperfect endings.

Other verbs conjugated like audio are:

custodio, custodire, custodivi, custoditum	to guard
finio, finire, finivi, finitum	to finish
venio, venire, veni, ventum	to come
punio, punire, punivi, punitum	to punish

Practising the Fourth Conjugation Pluperfect Active Indicative.

Practise forming a fourth conjugation verb in the pluperfect active indicative by studying the table in the previous section, and then applying the rules to the fourth conjugation verb directly above. Type in the verb forms, and then press << Check Answers >> to see whether you are correct. You can move between the text boxes by using the << Tab >> key.

Be tested on different fourth conjugation verbs by clicking on the pictures below. You can be tested on either Latin to English, or English to Latin.

Latin to English			English to Latin

Summary of the Pluperfect Active Indicative.

Formation: perfect stem (third principal part) + pluperfect endings -eram, -eras, -erat, -eramus, -eratis, -erant.
Meanings: I had loved.
Forms to note: -no exceptions-.

Go to Part V			Return to Main Index			Go to Part VII

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