📖LearnModule 10 · Lesson 2 of 30Independent User · CEFR B1 + B2 mastery, and the C1 bridgeUnit 1 · Los tres pasados, en contraste
El pasado antes del pasado
Module 10 of the free Spanish course (CEFR B1 + B2 mastery, and the C1 bridge), lesson 2 of 30: . On this page: 9 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line, the conjugation table and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's QR.
The words
Spanish
English
Say it
ya habían empezado
they had already started
yah ah-BEE-ahn ehm-peh-SAH-doh
empezar
to start
ehm-peh-SAR
la tercera capa
the third layer
lah tehr-SEH-rah KAH-pah
con moderación
sparingly
kohn moh-deh-rah-SYOHN
el principio
the beginning
ehl preen-SEE-pyoh
vacilar
to hesitate
bah-see-LAR
claro
clear (m)
KLAH-roh
la cronología
the timeline
lah kroh-noh-loh-HEE-ah
nosotros habíamos comido
we had eaten
noh-SOH-trohs ah-BEE-ah-mohs koh-MEE-doh
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
La regla · The rule
The pluscuamperfecto is the third layer and it answers one question: what was ALREADY true when the story started? Cuando llegué, ya habían empezado — when I arrived, they had already started.
Y también · And also
Use it sparingly. A paragraph with a pluperfect in every sentence reads as though the writer cannot decide where the story begins — which is usually exactly what has happened. Nosotros habíamos comido: the same había + participle, in the we-form.
Ojo · Watch out
The pluscuamperfecto answers one question — what was ALREADY true when the story started — and is used sparingly. A pluperfect in every sentence loses the story's beginning.
comer, pluscuamperfecto — the table
yo había comido · tú habías comido · él/ella/usted había comido · nosotros habíamos comido · ustedes habían comido · ellos/ellas habían comido
Do it now — on paper
Say all 9 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with ya habían empezado.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write out comer, pluscuamperfecto in full from memory, every person, and check each form against the table above.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The Spanish Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.