# 40. Past Perfect Tense

> Source: [A Complete Guide To Every Fundamental In Spanish (The Conclusion)](https://youtube.com/watch?v=YHDZSHCt1DE&t=11170s)

The past perfect (`pluscuamperfecto`) talks about what someone **had** done before another past action. It uses the imperfect of `haber` + a past participle.

## Key Rules
- Formula: **imperfect `haber`** (`había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían`) + **past participle**.
- Often pairs with `ya` (already), placed *before* `haber`: `Ella ya había salido`.
- Often pairs with `antes de` + noun/infinitive (= "before"): `Antes de llegar a la escuela, yo ya había comido`.
- Like the present perfect, `haber + participle` is inseparable; negatives, DOPs, IOPs, and reflexive pronouns go before `haber`.
- Spanish has three "had"s in English: preterite (`tuve`), imperfect (`tenía`), past perfect (`había tenido`).

## Conjugation / Pattern Tables

### `haber` (imperfect)
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había |
| tú | habías |
| él/ella | había |
| nosotros | habíamos |
| vosotros | habíais |
| ellos | habían |

## Examples
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Ella ya había salido. | She had already left. |
| Yo ya había estudiado. | I had already studied. |
| Antes de llegar a la escuela, yo ya había comido. | Before arriving at school, I had already eaten. |
| Antes de este mes, yo había trabajado mucho. | Before this month, I had worked a lot. |
| Él me lo había mostrado. | He had shown it to me. |
| Él nunca me lo había mostrado. | He had never shown it to me. |
| Él no me lo había mostrado. | He had not shown it to me. |
| Antes de ir al trabajo, me había duchado. | Before going to work, I had taken a shower. |
| Yo había comido antes de la fiesta. | I had eaten before the party. |
| Nosotros habíamos visto la película. | We had seen the movie. |

## Notes & Gotchas
- Same inseparability rule as the present perfect.
- "I had a dog" (state in the past) = `Yo tenía un perro` (imperfect of `tener`), not the past perfect.
- "I had to study" (obligation) = `Yo tuve que estudiar` (preterite of `tener`).
- "I had eaten" (action before another past action) = `Yo había comido` (past perfect).
- Conversationally, the simple past is often used instead of the past perfect.
