I. Theory
The Plusquamperfekt in German corresponds almost identically to the past perfect in English (the past of the past). This occurs when a point in the past already exists and the events in question happened before that point. Here are some English examples: “We had cancelled the party (further in past) before it began to rain (near past).”. Or: “We hadn’t been to Ireland before last summer.”| Ich erkannte ihn erst, nachdem er mich begrüßt hatte. I only recognized him after he had greeted me. Er erzählte mir erst, dass er und seine Frau sich getrennt haben, nachdem ich auch sie zur Party eingeladen hatte. He only told me that he and his wife were separated after I had invited her to the party as well. Ich war schon einmal in Deutschland gewesen, bevor ich mich entschieden habe, Deutsch zu studieren. Before I decided to study German I had already been to Germany once. |