Karamö, le prof virtuelLeçon 5 sur 19
Past perfect
Je sais utiliser le past perfect (simple et progressif) pour exprimer qu'une action passée a eu lieu avant une autre action passée, et l'employer dans un récit et au discours indirect.
- 50 min
- 5 exercices corrigés
- 1 schéma
- QCM de 5 questions
À la fin de la leçon, tu sauras :
- Former le past perfect simple et progressive
- Exprimer l'antériorité dans le passé avec before, after, when, by the time, already
- Distinguer past simple et past perfect dans un récit
- Utiliser le past perfect après wish, if only et au discours indirect
Avant de commencer : Le past simple, le present perfect et les participes passés des verbes irréguliers.
1Je découvre
Kadiatou raconte à sa classe, à Mamou, un voyage raté :
*« Last Sunday, I went to the bus station to take the bus to Conakry. When I arrived, the bus had already left! I had forgotten that the timetable had changed. I was very angry, because I had been waiting for this trip for weeks. »*
Le professeur écrit au tableau deux phrases :
- *When I arrived, the bus left.*
- *When I arrived, the bus had left.*
« Dans la première phrase, dit-il, Kadiatou arrive et ensuite le bus part devant elle : elle peut encore courir ! Dans la seconde, le bus était déjà parti avant son arrivée : il n'y a plus rien à faire. » Toute la classe comprend que le choix du temps change complètement l'histoire.
En français, on utilise le plus-que-parfait : « le bus était déjà parti ». En anglais, c'est le past perfect.
Comment former le past perfect, et comment l'utiliser pour montrer qu'une action passée s'est produite avant une autre ?
2Je comprends
1. La forme du past perfect simple
had + participe passé, à toutes les personnes.
| Forme | Exemple |
|---|---|
| Affirmative | I had (I'd) finished. She had (she'd) left. |
| Négative | I hadn't finished. She hadn't left. |
| Interrogative | Had you finished? Had she left? |
| Réponse courte | Yes, I had. / No, she hadn't. |
Attention : she'd peut être she had ou she would. Si un participe passé suit, c'est had : She'd gone. Si une base verbale suit, c'est would : She'd go.
2. L'emploi principal : le passé du passé
Le past perfect sert à situer une action avant un autre moment du passé. Il faut donc toujours deux repères passés : un moment passé de référence (souvent au past simple) et une action encore plus ancienne (au past perfect).
- 1Action 1, la plus ancienne : le bus part (past perfect : the bus had left).
- 2Action 2, moment de référence dans le passé : Kadiatou arrive (past simple : I arrived).
- 3Maintenant : Kadiatou raconte l'histoire.
*When we reached the field, the rain had destroyed the maize.* (la pluie avant notre arrivée)
*She had never seen the sea before she visited Conakry.* (expérience jusqu'à un moment passé)
Le past perfect est en quelque sorte le present perfect transposé dans le passé : I have finished (maintenant) → I had finished (à ce moment-là).
3. Les mots qui accompagnent le past perfect
| Mot | Exemple |
|---|---|
| already | The film had already started when we arrived. |
| just | He had just gone out when you called. |
| never … before | I had never flown before that trip. |
| by the time | By the time the firemen came, the house had burnt down. |
| before / after | After he had finished his work, he went home. |
| when | When she had cooked the rice, she called the children. |
| by + moment | By 2010, my father had built his house. |
| for / since | They had lived in Kindia for ten years when they moved. |
Remarque : avec before et after, l'ordre des actions est déjà clair, donc le past simple est souvent accepté : After he finished, he went home. Le past perfect reste plus précis. Avec when, en revanche, le choix change le sens (voir l'exemple de Kadiatou).
4. Le past perfect progressive
Forme : had been + verbe en -ing.
Il insiste sur la durée d'une activité qui a duré jusqu'à un moment du passé (ou juste avant) :
- *I had been waiting for an hour when the taxi finally arrived.*
- *The ground was wet because it had been raining all night.* (trace visible dans le passé)
Comme toujours, pas de progressif avec les verbes d'état : *I had known him for years* (et non ~~had been knowing~~).
5. Autres emplois importants en 12e
- Discours indirect : un past simple ou un present perfect du discours direct devient souvent past perfect quand le verbe introducteur est au passé.
*« I lost my bag, » said Alpha. → Alpha said that he had lost his bag.*
*« I have finished, » she said. → She said that she had finished.*
- Regret sur le passé après *I wish* et *if only* : *I wish I had studied harder. If only we had left earlier!* (voir la leçon sur le regret)
- Conditionnel irréel du passé : *If you had come, you would have met him.*
Méthode
Pour savoir s'il faut un past perfect :
- Je repère le moment passé de référence du récit (souvent un verbe au past simple).
- Je cherche si une autre action s'est produite AVANT ce moment.
- Si oui, je mets cette action antérieure au past perfect (had + participe passé).
- Si j'insiste sur la durée de cette action antérieure : had been + V-ing (sauf verbe d'état).
- Je vérifie les mots signal : already, just, never before, by the time, when, after.
Exemple
Put the verbs in the past simple or the past perfect.
« When Fanta (get) to school, the lesson (already / begin). She (forget) her alarm clock and she (wake up) late. »
Moment de référence : Fanta arrive → got (past simple).
Le cours a commencé avant son arrivée, avec already → had already begun.
Elle avait oublié son réveil avant de se réveiller en retard → had forgotten.
Elle s'est réveillée en retard (succession dans le récit) → woke up.
Answer: When Fanta got to school, the lesson had already begun. She had forgotten her alarm clock and she woke up late.
Exemple
Join the sentences with the word given, using the past perfect.
a) The farmers harvested the rice. Then the rains came. (before)
→ The farmers had harvested the rice before the rains came.
b) Ousmane worked in the mine for twenty years. Then he retired. (for… when)
→ Ousmane had worked (ou had been working) in the mine for twenty years when he retired.
c) « I have never visited Nzérékoré, » Mariama said. (reported speech)
→ Mariama said that she had never visited Nzérékoré.
3Je retiens
Je retiens
Past perfect simple = had + participe passé (had left, hadn't seen, Had you finished?).
Emploi : action passée ANTÉRIEURE à un autre moment passé (le « passé du passé »).
Mots signal : already, just, never… before, by the time, before, after, when, by + date.
When I arrived, the bus left (après mon arrivée) ≠ When I arrived, the bus had left (avant).
Past perfect progressive = had been + V-ing : durée d'une activité jusqu'à un moment passé.
Autres emplois : discours indirect (said that he had lost…), regret (I wish I had…), If + had + participe passé.
4Erreurs fréquentes
- Utiliser le past perfect sans second repère passé : « I had eaten rice yesterday » est faux s'il n'y a pas d'autre moment ; on dit « I ate rice yesterday ».
- Oublier le participe passé irrégulier : « She had gone », pas « She had went ».
- Confondre she'd = she had (+ participe passé) et she'd = she would (+ base).
- Mettre un verbe d'état au progressif : « He had known her », pas « He had been knowing her ».
5Je m’exerce
1Exercice 1
Put the verbs in the past perfect.
a) When we arrived, the guests (leave).
b) She (never / see) snow before she went to Europe.
c) By the time the doctor came, the patient (fall) asleep.
d) (you / finish) your homework before the power cut?
Voir le corrigéCacher le corrigé
a) When we arrived, the guests had left.
b) She had never seen snow before she went to Europe.
c) By the time the doctor came, the patient had fallen asleep. (fall, fell, fallen ; by the time appelle le past perfect)
d) Had you finished your homework before the power cut?
2Exercice 2
Past simple or past perfect?
a) When Sékou (open) the door, he (realise) that someone (steal) his bicycle.
b) After they (eat), they (go) to the mosque.
c) I (not / recognise) Hawa because she (change) a lot.
d) The shop (close) when I (get) there, so I (go) home.
Voir le corrigéCacher le corrigé
a) When Sékou opened the door, he realised that someone had stolen his bicycle. (le vol a eu lieu avant)
b) After they had eaten, they went to the mosque.
c) I didn't recognise Hawa because she had changed a lot.
d) The shop had closed when I got there, so I went home.
3Exercice 3
Past perfect simple or progressive?
a) Ibrahima was exhausted because he (study) all night.
b) By noon, Aïssatou (sell) all her oranges.
c) We (wait) for two hours when the ferry finally arrived.
d) They (know) each other for years before they got married.
Voir le corrigéCacher le corrigé
a) He had been studying all night. (durée, trace : épuisement)
b) By noon, Aïssatou had sold all her oranges. (résultat, quantité)
c) We had been waiting for two hours when the ferry finally arrived. (durée)
d) They had known each other for years. (know : verbe d'état)
4Exercice 4
Report these sentences.
a) « I lost my phone, » said Lansana.
b) « We have finished the project, » the students said.
c) « I didn't understand the question, » Mariama explained.
Voir le corrigéCacher le corrigé
a) Lansana said that he had lost his phone.
b) The students said that they had finished the project.
c) Mariama explained that she hadn't understood the question.
5Exercice 5
(Type BAC, reading and writing) Read the text and answer.
*When Mr Camara returned to his native village near Dabola in 2020, he hardly recognised it. He had left thirty years before, as a young man. In the meantime, the villagers had built a health post and a new school, and a road had replaced the old path. However, many young people had gone to the mines of Siguiri. Mr Camara, who had been working as a teacher in Conakry all those years, decided to open a library for the children.*
a) When had Mr Camara left his village?
b) What changes had taken place in the village?
c) Why does the writer use "had been working" and not "had worked"?
d) What did Mr Camara decide to do?
e) Write four sentences about a place you visited again after a long time. Use the past perfect at least twice.
Voir le corrigéCacher le corrigé
a) He had left thirty years before, in 1990 (2020 − 30 = 1990).
b) The villagers had built a health post and a new school, a road had replaced the old path, and many young people had gone to the mines.
c) Because the writer insists on the duration of the activity (all those years) until 2020.
d) He decided to open a library for the children.
e) Example answer: *Last year I went back to my grandparents' village near Pita. I hadn't been there since I was eight. Everything had changed: they had built a new mosque and the market had become much bigger. I was happy because my grandmother had prepared my favourite dish.*
Cherche d’abord seul, sur ton cahier, puis ouvre le corrigé pour comparer.
6Je vérifie
Choisis une réponse pour chaque question : la correction s’affiche aussitôt.
Crée ton compte élève gratuit pour cocher les leçons terminées, suivre ta progression et gagner des points au QCM.
