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The pluperfect is traditionally described as a tense; in modern linguistic terminology it may be said to combine tense with grammatical aspect; namely past tense (reference to past time) and perfect aspect. It is used to refer to an occurrence that at a past time had already been started (but not necessarily completed), (e.g.
The pluperfect represents any meaning which the perfect tense can have, but transferred to a reference time in the past. Prior event The pluperfect can be used as in English to describe an event that had happened earlier than the time of the narrative:
The pluperfect and future perfect forms combine perfect aspect with past and future tense respectively. This analysis is reflected more explicitly in the terminology commonly used in modern English grammars, which refer to present perfect, past perfect and future perfect (as well as some other constructions such as conditional perfect).
The tertiary past is realised by a 'pluperfect indicative' auxiliary in either the "sum" perfect periphrasis or the "habeō" perfect periphrasis. Both the compound tertiary past with fueram and the compound tertiary past with habueram are uncommon tenses. [xxxiii]
The past perfect, sometimes called the pluperfect, combines past tense with perfect aspect; it is formed by combining had (the past tense of the auxiliary have) with the past participle of the main verb. It is used when referring to an event that took place prior to the time frame being considered. [10]
The three past tenses (imperfect, aorist, and pluperfect), in the classical period, are made by adding a prefix ἐ-(e-), called an "augment", on the beginning of the verb. [36] Thus from γράφω (gráphō) "I write" are made: ἔγραφον (égraphon) "I was writing" ἔγραψα (égrapsa) "I wrote" ἐγεγράφη (egegráphē) "I ...
Virgil has a short i for both tenses; Horace uses both forms for both tenses; Ovid uses both forms for the future perfect, but a long i in the perfect subjunctive. [10] The -v-of the perfect active tenses sometimes drops out, especially in the pluperfect subjunctive: amāssem for amāvissem. Forms such as amārat and amāstī are also found.
The usual tense used with postquam is the perfect indicative, when the length of time is given the tense is usually pluperfect: [121] (Hamilcar) nōnō annō postquam in Hispāniam vēnerat occīsus est (Nepos) [122] "Hamilcar was killed in the ninth year after he came to Spain."