How is the pluperfect tense formed?

The pluperfect tense is a past tense used to refer to something further back in time than when using the perfect tense. It is often translated as 'had done something'. To form this tense you use the imperfect tense form of the auxiliary verb, in most cases avoir, followed by the past particple. For example, j'avais fait (I had done) or tu avais voulu (You had wanted) This is the general rule, however if verbs use etre as their auxiliary verb in the perfect tense then the same applies for the pluperfect tense. For example - j'étais allé (I had gone) or il était parti (He had left)