Is it the same as the English past perfect?

Almost exactly, had done maps onto avais fait in nearly every case. The one difference is frequency: French reaches for it slightly more readily in reported speech, where English often lets a past simple stand.

Do I need it in conversation?

Less than you might think. Ordinary speech tells events in order and uses passés composés throughout, so the plus-que-parfait surfaces mainly in storytelling, reported speech and si clauses. Recognising it matters more than producing it early.

What is the passé antérieur then?

A literary equivalent, quand il eut fini. That belongs with the passé simple in novels and formal history. You will meet it in reading and never need to produce it; the plus-que-parfait covers everything in speech and ordinary writing.

Which one to useB1

Passé composé vs plus-que-parfait

The short answer

The passé composé reports an event in the past. The plus-que-parfait marks an event that happened before it. You only need the plus-que-parfait when the sentence mentions two past moments out of order: if events are told in sequence, the passé composé alone is enough.

Or skip ahead and practise it now: futur proche & plus-que-parfait, free, no signup.

At a glance

Passé composé or Plus-que-parfait?

Compare	Passé composéThe event, at the story's own moment.	Plus-que-parfaitAn event before that moment.
Position in time	The moment the story is at	Before that moment
Auxiliary tense	Present: j’ai, je suis	Imparfait: j’avais, j’étais
When it is needed	Always, for any past event	Only when the order is not obvious
With quand	The later event	The earlier one
In si clauses	Not used	Required: si j’avais su
In reported speech	The original tense	What a passé composé becomes

How to choose

Ask these, in order

1
Are the events mentioned in the order they happened?
Passé composé throughout. Nothing needs marking.
Je suis rentré, j’ai mangé et je me suis couché.
I got home, ate and went to bed.
NBThree passés composés, adding a plus-que-parfait here would be heavy and unnatural.
2
Is one event mentioned second but happened first?
Plus-que-parfait for the earlier one.
Quand je suis arrivé, elle était déjà partie.
When I arrived, she had already left.
3
Is it a si clause about a past that did not happen?
Plus-que-parfait, with a past conditional in the other half.
Si j’avais su, je serais venu.
If I’d known, I’d have come.
4
Are you reporting what someone said?
A passé composé in the original becomes a plus-que-parfait.
« J’ai fini » → Il a dit qu’il avait fini.
“I’ve finished” → He said he had finished.

Side by side

Each one, in full

Passé composé

When the passé composé is enough

The event, at the story's own moment.

Most past narration needs only the passé composé. If you tell events in the order they occurred, the sequence itself carries the information and no extra marking is required.

Words like puis, ensuite and après make the order explicit, which removes any need for the plus-que-parfait: j’ai fini le travail, puis je suis sorti. Adding had-forms there makes the sentence heavier without making it clearer.

Elle a ouvert la lettre et a commencé à lire.

In order, so no marking needed.

On a dîné, puis on a regardé un film.

Puis states the order.

Il a plu toute la journée.

A single event, no second time frame.

Plus-que-parfait

When the plus-que-parfait is needed

An event before that moment.

It earns its place when the order in the sentence differs from the order in time. Quand je suis arrivé, elle était déjà partie: the leaving happened first and is mentioned second, and the tense is what says so.

It is also obligatory in the third si pattern and after si seulement, and it is what a passé composé becomes in reported speech. Those three uses are rules rather than choices.

Je me suis rendu compte que j’avais oublié mon passeport.

The forgetting came first.

Si nous étions partis plus tôt, nous aurions eu le train.

A past that did not happen.

Elle a expliqué qu’elle n’avait pas reçu le message.

Reported speech, shifted back.

Mistakes to avoid

What learners actually get wrong

J’avais mangé et puis j’avais fait la vaisselle.
J’ai mangé et puis j’ai fait la vaisselle.
Events in order need only the passé composé. Over-using the plus-que-parfait is far commoner than omitting it, and it makes narration sound laboured.
Si j’aurais su, je serais venu.
Si j’avais su, je serais venu.
Si never takes a conditional. This exact sentence is a well-known error among French speakers too, which is why it sounds acceptable and is still wrong.
Elle avait partie avant midi.
Elle était partie avant midi.
Partir takes être, in this tense as in every other compound one. The auxiliary is inherited from the passé composé and does not change with the tense.
Après que j’avais fini, je suis sorti.
Après que j’ai eu fini, je suis sorti. / Après avoir fini, je suis sorti.
Après que already states the order, so the plus-que-parfait is not what it takes. In practice French avoids the whole problem with après avoir plus a participle, which is what a native speaker would write.

Now use it

Futur proche & plus-que-parfait

The near future and the past-before-the-past, side by side. Reading a rule and being able to apply it are different skills, and only one of them shows up when you speak.

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Questions

Asked and answered

Is it the same as the English past perfect?: Almost exactly, had done maps onto avais fait in nearly every case. The one difference is frequency: French reaches for it slightly more readily in reported speech, where English often lets a past simple stand.
Do I need it in conversation?: Less than you might think. Ordinary speech tells events in order and uses passés composés throughout, so the plus-que-parfait surfaces mainly in storytelling, reported speech and si clauses. Recognising it matters more than producing it early.
What is the passé antérieur then?: A literary equivalent, quand il eut fini. That belongs with the passé simple in novels and formal history. You will meet it in reading and never need to produce it; the plus-que-parfait covers everything in speech and ordinary writing.

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