What is and how do I use the pluperfect tense?

Also called the French past perfect, or plus que parfait in French, the pluperfect is a tense which is used to describe an action which happened in reference to another action in the past. For example: we had already finished dinner when he arrived. Here, the pluperfect (we had finished) describes an action which links with another action in the past. The pluperfect describes an action that happens further in the past than the action describes by the perfect tense. The pluperfect also is used in hypothetical situations, e.g. If I had had time, I would have gone to the cinema.

To conjugate the pluperfect, you apply the same rules you use to conjugate the perfect tense, however instead of using the present tense of avoir/etre + past participle, you use the imperfect form of avoir/etre + past participle. E.g. we had already finished dinner when he arrived.Nous avions déjà finit le diner quand il est arrivé.If I had had time, I would have gone to the cinemaSi j'avais eu le temps, je me suis allé(e) au cinema