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pluperfect
[ ploo-pur-fikt ]
noun
Grammar.
- Also past perfect. a verb construction, in English made up of the past tense auxiliary verb had followed by the past participle of the main verb, used to express an action or state that was already complete before a particular point of reference in the past, such as He had cleaned the place up before I arrived and Yesterday she told me she had been in the hospital for a week.
adjective
- past perfect. Grammar. designating a verb construction used to express an action or state that was already complete before a particular point of reference in the past.
- more than perfect:
He spoke the language with pluperfect precision.
pluperfect
/ ːˈɜːɪ /
adjective
- grammar another term for past perfect
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51Թ History and Origins
Origin of pluperfect1
First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin plū(s quam) perfectum “(more than) perfect,” translation of Greek Գٱó; plus ( def ), perfect ( def )
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51Թ History and Origins
Origin of pluperfect1
C16: from the Latin phrase plūs quam perfectum more than perfect
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Example Sentences
Examples have not been reviewed.
Gable is pluperfect and gives a brilliant performance.
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I can accurately conjugate most any verb, including “to lie,” which gets pretty complex in the pluperfect.
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He seems to have as many friends as his pluperfect self-centeredness allows, and as he has earned in an entirely transactional life.
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The past-of-the-past is called the pluperfect, and it is formed with the auxiliary had, as in I had already eaten.
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Poutine seems like the pluperfect beer sponge — squeaky cheese curds and hot gravy spilled over a Jenga pile of crispy fries.
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