Subjonctif plus-que-parfait

Summary

The subjonctif plus-que-parfait is a literary compound subjunctive formed with the subjonctif imparfait of avoir or être plus the past participle; it expresses a past subjunctive after a past main verb and, in literature, can also stand for the second-form past conditional.

Explanation

The subjonctif plus-que-parfait is formed with the subjonctif imparfait of the auxiliary avoir or être + the past participle: qu'il eût fini, qu'elle fût venue, qu'ils eussent mangé, qu'elles fussent parties. Like the subjonctif imparfait it is built from, it belongs to a very formal literary register and is essentially absent from spoken French and from everyday writing.

Its primary function is to serve as the past subjunctive of literary register when the main clause verb is itself in a past tense (imparfait, passé simple, plus-que-parfait, or conditionnel): 'Je craignais qu'il ne fût parti' ('I was afraid he had left'). Where modern French follows sequence-of-tense rules loosely and uses the subjonctif passé regardless of the main verb's tense (Je craignais qu'il ne soit parti), classical and literary usage backshifts the subjunctive itself into this compound imperfect-based form.

A second, distinct literary use is as the so-called 'second form' of the conditionnel passé: in refined narrative prose the same form can express an unrealized past conditional, interchangeable with the ordinary conditionnel passé — 'Il eût aimé la revoir' meaning exactly 'Il aurait aimé la revoir' ('He would have liked to see her again'). This dual value (subjunctive and conditional) is a hallmark of this tense and can only be resolved from context.

In all registers below the most formal literary one, this tense has been replaced: the subjonctif passé (que j'aie fini, qu'il soit parti) covers its subjunctive use, and the ordinary conditionnel passé (j'aurais fini, il serait parti) covers its conditional-equivalent use. A modern speaker who wants 'I was afraid he had left' says 'Je craignais qu'il ne soit parti', not 'qu'il ne fût parti'.

The chief pitfall for learners is orthographic and auditory: distinguishing eut/fut (passé simple indicative, no accent) from eût/fût (subjonctif plus-que-parfait, circumflex accent marking the subjunctive), since they are pronounced identically in modern French. Misreading 'il eut fini' as subjunctive, or 'qu'il eût fini' as indicative, is a common comprehension error when reading classic literature.

Rule of thumb: circumflex on eût/fût = subjonctif plus-que-parfait, restricted to formal literature; use it only to recognize and translate texts (past subjunctive after a past main verb, or a literary stand-in for the conditionnel passé), and reproduce the same meaning in modern spoken or written French with the subjonctif passé or the ordinary conditionnel passé.

Examples

Je craignais qu'il ne fût parti. — I was afraid he had left. (Literary past subjunctive after the imperfect craignais; modern French would use 'qu'il ne soit parti'.)

Il eût aimé la revoir avant son départ. — He would have liked to see her again before his departure. ('Second form' literary conditional: eût aimé = aurait aimé.)

On eût dit un rêve. — It looked like a dream. ('Second form' conditional in literary description: on eût dit = on aurait dit. Do not confuse with temporal 'à peine … que' clauses, which take the passé antérieur (eut, no circumflex).)

Elle doutait qu'ils eussent compris la portée de ses paroles. — She doubted that they had understood the significance of her words. (Modern equivalent: qu'ils aient compris (subjonctif passé).)

Si l'on ne l'eût retenu, il fût tombé. — Had he not been held back, he would have fallen. (Classic literary hypothetical: both clauses use the 'second form' in place of plus-que-parfait / conditionnel passé.)

Common mistakes

Prerequisites

• Subjonctif imparfait

Related rules

• Subjonctif imparfait
• Subjonctif passé
• Conditionnel passé