Verbs:Das Plusquamperfekt
The past perfect tense serves the same general purpose in German as it does in English: to link two events that happened in the past. The event that happened first is described using the past perfect, whereas the later event is described using either the simple past or the present perfect.
Nachdem eine große Teuerung ins Land gekommen war, hatte die Familie des armen Holzhackers nicht mehr genug zu essen. | After a great inflation had come into the land, the poor woodcutter's family did not have enough to eat. |
Nachdem eine große Teuerung ins Land gekommen waren, <------------------ earliest event ------------------> (past perfect tense) |
hatte die Familie des armen Holzhackers nicht mehr genug zu essen. <---------------------- latest event ----------------------> (simple past or present perfect tense) |
This sentence could easily be written in the reverse order (i.e., the latest event first, followed by the earlier event) as long as the earlier event is described using the past perfect tense. It is up to you to decide which event you want to emphasize.
Die Familie des armen Holzhackers hatte nicht mehr genug zu essen, nachdem eine große Teuerung ins Land gekommen war. | The poor woodcutter's family did not have enough to eat after a great inflation had come into the land. |
Forming the Plusquamperfekt
Not surprisingly, the past perfect is formed like the present perfect, with the appropriate auxiliary verb (sein for verbs of motion or physical change in person or haben with verbs that can take a direct object) and the past participle of the main verb.
The only difference lies in the conjugation of the auxiliary verb. In the past perfect, the auxiliary is conjugated in the simple past (i.e., war or hatte) rather than the present tense.
Der Holzhacker hatte sich nichts ausgedacht, bis seine Frau ihm etwas Grausames vorschlug: die Kinder im Wald zu lassen! | The woodcutter had thought of no ideas until his wife gave him a terrible suggestion: abandon the children in the woods! |
Aber Hänsel und Gretel waren noch nicht eingeschlafen, als ihre Stiefmutter den Vorschlag machte. Sie hörten alles! | But Hänsel and Gretel had not yet fallen asleep when their stepmother made the suggestion. They heard everything! |
sein | haben | ||
ich war | + participle | ich hatte | + participle |
du warst | du hattest | ||
er/sie/es war | er/sie/es hatte | ||
wir waren | wir hatten | ||
ihr wart | ihr hattet | ||
sie/Sie waren | sie/Sie hatten |
Narrative adverbs
Narratives commonly make use of the past perfect tense to relate a series of past events. Narrative adverbs connect these past events together, creating a logical, cohesive narrative.
Some narrative adverbs that may be used in conjunction with the past perfect tense include zuerst (first, first of all), dann (then), danach (thereafter), and zuletzt (lastly).
Zuerst hatte Hänsel einige weiße Kieselsteine auf den Weg geworfen, damit er und Gretel mit ihrer Hilfe nach Hause zurückkehren konnten. | At first Hänsel had thrown some white pebbles on the path so that he and Gretel could return to their house. |
Aber dann schloss die Stiefmutter die Haustür zu, und Hänsel konnte keine Kieselsteine mehr holen! Anstatt Kieselsteine musste er Brotkrümel benutzen. | But then the stepmother locked the front door of the house, and Hänsel could fetch no more pebbles! Instead of pebbles he had to use bread crumbs. |