The Pluperfect and Future Perfect Tenses Magister Henderson Latin II

The Tenses of the Perfect System The perfect system is made up of three tenses: the perfect, pluperfect, and future perfect. All three of these tenses are built off the third principal part of the verb. The method used to form the pluperfect and future perfect tenses is the same for all verbs, even irregular ones.

Forming the Pluperfect Tense Take the third principal part of the verb and drop the -ī. Add the following endings, which are identical to the imperfect tense of esse:

About the Pluperfect Tense The pluperfect tense shows a past action that has been complete even from a past perspective. It is translated with the helping verbs “had” or “had been”. The word “pluperfect” is a contraction of the Latin phrase: plūs quam perfectum (“more than complete”).

Forming the Future Perfect Tense Take the third principal part of the verb and drop the -ī. Add the following endings, which are nearly identical to the future tense of esse:

About the Future Perfect Tense The future perfect tense shows a future action that has yet to be completed, but will be from a future perspective. It is translated with the helping verbs “will have” or “will have been”. It is the only of the six tenses that can not be the main verb of main clause; it can only be used in subordinate clauses.

Pluperfect and Future Perfect Forms amō, amāre, amāvī, amātus = to love