»Es gibt« im Plusquamperfekt

Question

I need to use es gibt in the pluperfect, for an essay that I’m writing, but I’m not sure how to do it.

Present: Es gibt etwas
Past: Es gab etwas
Pluperfect: ?

Es war etwas gegeben sounds wrong to me, but I don’t just want to write Es gab, because then the tenses won‘t match. How do I do this?

Voting to close because the answer can easily be found in your average grammar book. — Jan, Apr 28 '15 at 07:53

score 10 · Answer 1 · edited Apr 28 '15 at 11:49

10

Es war etwas gegeben is past passive voice.

Present: Es gibt
Past: Es gab
Present perfect: Es hat gegeben
Pluperfect: Es hatte gegeben

Es hatte etwas gegeben is pluperfect.

edited Apr 28 '15 at 11:49

Jan

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answered Apr 28 '15 at 02:24

Robert

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score 8 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 28 '15 at 05:16

8

You are right that the past participle of geben is gegeben, but the auxiliary verb to use with it is not sein, it is haben. Therefore the correct form is:

Es hatte gegeben.

answered Apr 28 '15 at 05:16

Carsten S

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»Es gibt« im Plusquamperfekt

2 Answers2