pluperfect

[ ploo-pur-fikt ]

/ pluˈpɜr fɪkt /

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adjective

Grammar.

perfect with respect to a point of reference in past time, as had done in He had done it when I came.
designating a tense or other verb formation or construction with such meaning, as Latin portāveram “I had carried.”

more than perfect: He spoke the language with pluperfect precision.

noun Grammar.

the pluperfect tense, or other verb formation or construction with such meaning.
a form in the pluperfect.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of pluperfect

1520–30; <Latin plū(s quam) perfectum (more than) perfect, translation of Greek hypersyntelikós

Words nearby pluperfect

Plunket, Plunket baby, Plunket nurse, Plunket Society, pluot, pluperfect, plupf., PLUR, plural, pluralism, pluralistic

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How to use pluperfect in a sentence

Note that in forming the pluperfect subjunctive certain writers often use fuisset for esset.
Selections from Viri Romae|Charles Franois L'Homond
The verbal forms in-ara and-iera were used then as now as the equivalent of the pluperfect or the preterit indicative.
Modern Spanish Lyrics|Various
The same applies to similar citations under Perfect and Pluperfect.
A Latin Grammar for Schools and Colleges|George M. Lane
The perfect tense value is often represented by the present (and the pluperfect by the imperfect) after despus or hace (ago).
Novelas Cortas|Pedro Antonio de Alarcn

In the earliest Latin the pluperfect is not uncommonly used with the value of the aorist perfect.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 14, Slice 4|Various

British Dictionary definitions for pluperfect

pluperfect

/ (pluːˈpɜːfɪkt) /

adjective, noun

grammar another term for past perfect

Word Origin for pluperfect

C16: from the Latin phrase plūs quam perfectum more than perfect

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012