Reporting past events
When you report what someone said using a past-tense reporting verb (like dijo or explicó), original statements in the pretérito indefinido or pretérito perfecto shift one step further back into the past: the pluscuamperfecto (pluperfect).
Form the pluperfect using the imperfect of haber (había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían) and a past participle. For example, "Hice el árbol" (I made the tree) becomes "había hecho el árbol" (had made the tree).
| He told me that my great-grandmother had made the genealogical tree. | Me dijo que mi bisabuela había hecho el árbol genealógico. |
| My aunt explained to them that the search for the origin had finished. | Mi tía les explicó que la búsqueda del origen había terminado. |
Ancestors and family history
You will frequently use this shift when recounting stories about your ancestors (los antepasados) and family roots (las raíces). Different reporting verbs like contar (to tell) and responder (to answer) trigger the same tense change.
| She told us that our ancestor had emigrated from his town of origin. | Ella nos contó que nuestro antepasado había emigrado de su pueblo de origen. |
| My relative answered that he had not found the census during the search. | Mi pariente respondió que no había encontrado el censo durante la búsqueda. |
Matching the subject
Remember to conjugate haber for the person who originally performed the action. If "they" did the action, use habían; if "he" or "she" did it, use había.
| They said that they had seen my great-grandmother in the census before emigrating. | Dijeron que habían visto a mi bisabuela en el censo antes de emigrar. |
| You explained to them that your great-grandfather had studied your genealogical roots. | Les explicaste que tu bisabuelo había estudiado tus raíces genealógicas. |
| She said that she had emigrated when the war started. | Ella dijo que había emigrado cuando empezó la guerra. |