Plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb rater

ByMichael Burns

Introduction to the verb rater

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The English translation of the French verb rater is “to miss” or “to fail.” The infinitive form is pronounced “rah-tey.”

Rater comes from the Old French word “rat,” which means “to spoil” or “to damage.” In everyday French, it is commonly used in the plus-que-parfait tense to indicate an action or event that had already happened in the past and was not successful.

  1. J’avais raté mon train, donc je suis arrivé en retard au travail. (I had missed my train, so I was late for work.)

  2. Elle avait raté son examen parce qu’elle n’avait pas étudié. (She had failed her exam because she didn’t study.)

  3. Nous avions raté notre chance d’acheter des billets pour le concert, ils étaient tous vendus. (We had missed our chance to buy tickets for the concert, they were all sold out.)

Table of the Plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect) Tense Conjugation of rater

Pronoun Conjugation Short Example English Translation
je j’avais raté J’avais raté le bus. I had missed the bus.
tu tu avais raté Tu avais raté ton examen. You had failed your exam.
il il avait raté Il avait raté son tir. He had missed his shot.
elle elle avait raté Elle avait raté sa chance. She had missed her chance.
on on avait raté On avait raté la recette. One had ruined the recipe.
nous nous avions raté Nous avions raté le concert. We had missed the concert.
vous vous aviez raté Vous aviez raté le train. You had missed the train.
ils ils avaient raté Ils avaient raté leur rendez-vous. They had missed their appointment.
elles elles avaient raté Elles avaient raté leur vol. They had missed their flight.

Other Conjugations for Rater.

   
    Le Present (Present Tense) Conjugation of the French Verb rater
   

    Imparfait (Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb rater
   

    Passé Simple (Simple Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb rater
   

    Passé Composé (Present Perfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb rater
   

    Futur Simple (Simple Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb rater
   

    Futur Proche (Near Future) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb rater
   

    Plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb rater     (this article)

    Passé Antérieur (Past Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb rater

    Futur Antérieur (Future Anterior) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb rater

    Subjonctif Présent (Subjunctive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb rater

    Subjonctif Passé (Subjunctive Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb rater
   

    Subjonctif Imparfait (Subjunctive Imperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb rater

    Subjonctif Plus-que-parfait (Subjunctive Pluperfect) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb rater
   

    Conditionnel Présent (Conditional Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb rater
   

    Conditionnel Passé (Conditional Past) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb rater

    L’impératif Présent (Imperative Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb rater

    L’infinitif Présent (Infinitive Present) Tense Conjugation of the French Verb rater

    Struggling with French verbs or the language in general? Why not use our free French Grammar Checker – no registration required!
   

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Rater – About the French Plus-que-parfait (Pluperfect) Tense

The French “plus-que-parfait” tense is a past tense used to express actions or events that occurred before another past action or event. It is often translated to English as the “pluperfect” tense. The name “plus-que-parfait” literally means “more than perfect,” indicating that it is a tense used to describe actions that were completed before a specific point in the past.
NOTE: To take a deep dive into all the French tenses then see my article on Mastering French Tense Conjugation.

Tense Formation

To form the plus-que-parfait tense, you typically use the auxiliary verb “avoir” (to have) or “être” (to be) in the imperfect tense, followed by the past participle of the main verb. Here are the conjugations for both auxiliary verbs:
1. With “avoir” as the auxiliary verb:
   – J’avais mangé (I had eaten)
   – Tu avais parlé (You had spoken)
   – Il/elle/on avait fini (He/She/One had finished)
   – Nous avions lu (We had read)
   – Vous aviez choisi (You had chosen)
   – Ils/elles avaient joué (They had played)
2. With “être” as the auxiliary verb (usually for intransitive verbs or verbs indicating a state):
   – J’étais parti(e) (I had left)
   – Tu étais arrivé(e) (You had arrived)
   – Il/elle/on était tombé(e) (He/She/One had fallen)
   – Nous étions resté(e)s (We had stayed)
   – Vous étiez né(e)(s) (You had been born)
   – Ils/elles étaient monté(e)s (They had gone up)

Common everyday usage patterns

Sequencing of past events

The plus-que-parfait is used to express a past action that happened before another past action. For example, “J’avais mangé avant qu’il ne soit arrivé” (I had eaten before he arrived).

Background information

It is also used to provide background information or set the stage for a main past event. For instance, “Quand je suis arrivé, ils avaient déjà fini de manger” (When I arrived, they had already finished eating).

Hypothetical or reported speech

In indirect speech, the plus-que-parfait is used to report what someone had said or thought in the past. For example, “Il avait dit qu’il viendrait demain” (He had said that he would come tomorrow).

Interactions with other tenses

– The plus-que-parfait is often used in conjunction with the passé composé (simple past) to establish the sequence of past events. The passé composé describes the more recent action, while the plus-que-parfait describes the action that occurred earlier.
– It can also be used with the conditional mood to express a hypothetical past event, like “Si j’avais su, j’aurais agi différemment” (If I had known, I would have acted differently).
– When used in reported speech, it can be combined with the conditional mood or the imperfect subjunctive to reflect the original mood and tense of the reported statement.

Summary

The French plus-que-parfait tense is an essential part of the language for expressing past actions that occurred before other past actions, providing background information, and reporting past statements or thoughts. It is an integral component of constructing complex and accurate narratives in French.

I hope you enjoyed this article on the verb rater. Still in a learning mood? Check out another TOTALLY random French verb conjugation!

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