Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Antes de cenar, ya había comprado las entradas para el concierto. - Before dinner, I had already bought the tickets for the concert.

It’s the past perfect (pluscuamperfecto): imperfect of haber + past participle. It marks an action completed before another point in the past (the reference point here is “before dinner”). Forms of haber: había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían.

Could I just say compré las entradas instead of había comprado?

Yes, Antes de cenar, compré las entradas is fine in many narratives. The past perfect emphasizes “by that time, it was already done,” while the preterite just states the completed action before dinner. With ya, the past perfect adds a stronger sense of completion by that reference time.

What does ya add, and where should it go?

Ya means “already,” highlighting completion by the reference time. Most natural placement: ya había comprado. Other acceptable positions: había ya comprado, había comprado ya. With an object pronoun: ya las había comprado is the most common.

Is ya necessary?

No. Antes de cenar, había comprado las entradas is correct. Ya just makes the “already” nuance explicit.

Why is it antes de cenar (infinitive) and not a conjugated verb?

Antes de + infinitive is the standard prepositional phrase meaning “before doing X.” If you explicitly change the subject, use antes de que + subjunctive: e.g., Antes de que cenáramos, ya había comprado… With the infinitive, the subject is implicit/generic.

Could I say antes de la cena or antes de que cenáramos? Do they change the meaning?

Antes de la cena (noun) focuses on the mealtime as an event; meaning is similar.
Antes de que cenáramos (subjunctive) is used when you want a full clause and/or clear subject change. All three are fine; choose for style and clarity.

Do I need the comma after Antes de cenar?

Recommended, yes. Introductory adverbial phrases/clauses are typically followed by a comma in Spanish: Antes de cenar, …

Why las entradas (feminine plural)? Could it be los or unos?

Entrada is feminine, so the plural is las entradas. The definite article las suggests specific, known tickets (the concert we have in mind). Unas entradas would mean “some tickets,” less specific.

Spain vs. Latin America: is entradas the right word?

In Spain, entradas = tickets for events; billetes = tickets for transport/money notes. In much of Latin America, boletos/boletas are common for event tickets. If you’re aiming for Spain usage, entradas is perfect.

Why para el concierto and not por el concierto or del concierto?

Para expresses purpose/destination: tickets intended for the concert. Por would imply cause/reason (not right here). Entradas del concierto is also heard and means “the tickets for that concert” (association), but para is the clearest for purpose.

Should the participle agree with las entradas? Why not había compradas?

No agreement with haber. Past participles used with haber are invariable: había comprado, not había compradas. Agreement happens when the participle is adjectival (e.g., las entradas están compradas).

Can I move parts around, like Ya había comprado las entradas antes de cenar?

Yes. Word order is flexible: Antes de cenar, ya había comprado… / Ya había comprado… antes de cenar. Fronting Antes de cenar foregrounds the time frame; the meaning stays the same.

Where do object pronouns go if I avoid repeating las entradas?

Before the auxiliary: Ya las había comprado antes de cenar. You can also topicalize: Las entradas, ya las había comprado.

Do I need to say yo? Isn’t había ambiguous?

Spanish normally drops subject pronouns. Había could be “I/he/she/it/usted,” so context disambiguates. Add yo only if you need emphasis or clarity: Yo ya había comprado…

Does this sentence imply that the dinner actually happened?

Not necessarily. It sets a past reference time (“before dinner”) and says the buying was completed by then. Whether dinner occurred is inferred from context, not guaranteed by the tense.

How would you say it if dinner hasn’t happened yet (later today)?

Future perfect for a future reference point: Antes de cenar, ya habré comprado las entradas. If you’re speaking now, before dinner, but the purchase is already done, you can also say: Antes de cenar, ya he comprado las entradas.

Could I drop the article and say …había comprado entradas…?

Yes, but it changes the nuance. Las entradas = specific/known set; entradas (no article) = some tickets, newly introduced or not specific.

Why not use the imperfect compraba here?

Compraba describes ongoing/habitual background in the past. You need a completed-before-another-past action, so había comprado (past perfect) or compré (preterite) fits; compraba doesn’t.