past anterior

noun

A compound tense used in literary French, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian, in function a pluperfect, and in form composed of the conjunction of the simple past tense of an auxiliary verb (avoir, être) with the past participle. Example: Après que la femme et l'homme l'eurent remercié = After the woman and the man had thanked him

Similar
past perfect
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Meanings

nounpast anterior (uncountable)
  1. uncountablegrammarA compound tense used in literary French, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian, in function a pluperfect, and in form composed of the conjunction of the simple past tense of an auxiliary verb (avoir, être) with the past participle. Example: Après que la femme et l'homme l'eurent remercié = After the woman and the man had thanked him

    Synonyms: past perfect

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA compound tense used in literary French, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian, in function a pluperfect, and in form composed of the conjunction of the simple past tense of an auxiliary verb (avoir, être) with the past participle. Example: Après que la femme et l'homme l'eurent remercié = After the woman and the man had thanked him

Similar
past perfect

Translations

Catalan passat anterior, pretèrit anterior
  • passat anteriora compound tense used in literary French, Spanish, and Italian
  • pretèrit anteriora compound tense used in literary French, Spanish, and Italian
French passé antérieur
  • passé antérieura compound tense used in literary French, Spanish, and Italian
Italian trapassato remoto
  • trapassato remotoa compound tense used in literary French, Spanish, and Italian
Polish czas przeszły uprzedni
  • czas przeszły uprzednia compound tense used in literary French, Spanish, and Italian
Portuguese passado anterior
  • passado anteriora compound tense used in literary French, Spanish, and Italian
Russian прошедшее отдалённое
  • прошедшее отдалённое (prošedšeje otdaljónnoje)a compound tense used in literary French, Spanish, and Italian
Spanish pretérito anterior
  • pretérito anteriora compound tense used in literary French, Spanish, and Italian
Cite this entry
APA

past anterior. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/past%20anterior

MLA

“past anterior.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/past%20anterior. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “past anterior,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/past%20anterior.

Source: past anterior on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.