Breakdown of Nous nous étions installés ici avant l'hiver.
ici
here
nous
we / us (object pronoun)
l'hiver
the winter (m)
avant
before
s'installer
to settle down
Questions & Answers about Nous nous étions installés ici avant l'hiver.
Why don't we use a duration phrase like ça fait... que or il y a... que here?
Those phrases, when used with the present tense, describe an action that started in the past and is still ongoing. In this sentence, the action of settling down was completely finished in the past (before winter), so we use a past tense instead.
What tense is nous étions installés?
It is the Plus-que-parfait (pluperfect), which translates to 'had [done something]'. You form it with the imperfect tense of the helper verb (étions) plus the past participle (installés). It is used to talk about an action that happened further back in the past than another past event.
Why are there two nous words, and why use étions instead of avions?
The verb is s'installer (to settle down), which is a reflexive verb. In compound tenses, all reflexive verbs use être as their helper verb. The first nous is the subject ('we'), the second nous is the reflexive pronoun ('ourselves'), and étions is the helper verb.
Why does installés have an -s at the end?
Why do we need the article l' in avant l'hiver?
While English just says 'before winter', French requires a definite article (le, la, l', les) before seasons, general concepts, and days of the week.
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