When traveling, one delay often causes another. To clarify the sequence of events—specifically, to talk about an action that had already happened before another past event or reference point—you use the past perfect tense (el pretérito pluscuamperfecto).
Use the past perfect to describe an action that concluded before a specific reference point in the past.
| The plane had landed before the scheduled time. | El avión había aterrizado antes de la hora prevista. |
Often, you will use it alongside another past tense verb to show which action happened first. The earlier action takes the past perfect. Words like cuando (when) frequently link these events.
| When the passenger arrived, the flight had already taken off. | Cuando la pasajera llegó, el vuelo ya había despegado. |
| We had already boarded when the rain started. | Ya habíamos embarcado cuando empezó la lluvia. |
The past perfect is useful for explaining the cause of a past problem. Use it after porque (because) to explain why a connection was missed or a claim was made.
| We couldn't make the transfer because the plane had landed late. | No pudimos hacer el transbordo porque el avión había aterrizado tarde. |
| She claimed the compensation because she had already missed the connection. | Ella reclamó la compensación porque ya había perdido el transbordo. |
Finally, use this tense to report what someone had said or done prior to another past event.
| They had told me that the flight had taken off early. | Me habían dicho que el vuelo había despegado temprano. |
| The airline had not informed us of the delay. | La aerolínea no nos había informado del retraso. |
