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Je m'étais trompé et j'avais confondu les fichiers.

Je m'étais trompé et j'avais confondu les fichiers.
I had made a mistake and I had confused the files.
From Lesson 170:The pluperfect tense formation (j'avais fait)·French

Questions & Answers about Je m'étais trompé et j'avais confondu les fichiers.

Why is it m'étais here instead of m'avais?
Se tromper (to make a mistake) is a reflexive verb. In compound tenses like the plus-que-parfait, all reflexive verbs use être as their auxiliary (helping) verb. So you combine the reflexive pronoun m' with étais to form je m'étais trompé.
Why does the second half of the sentence switch to using avais?
The verb confondre (to confuse or mix up) is a standard verb that uses avoir as its auxiliary. It isn't reflexive, and it isn't one of the verbs of motion or change of state that require être. This sentence is a great reminder that you often have to switch between être and avoir when telling a story in the plus-que-parfait!
If a woman were saying this, would the spelling of trompé or confondu change?
Yes, trompé would become trompée. Because se tromper uses the auxiliary être, the past participle must agree with the subject. However, confondu would not change. It uses avoir, and since the direct object (les fichiers) comes after the verb, there is no agreement.
How does trompé end up meaning 'made a mistake'?
The base verb tromper actually means to deceive or to trick. When used reflexively as se tromper, it literally means to deceive oneself — which is the standard French way to say you made a mistake or got something wrong!

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