The past subjunctive and sequence of tenses
CEFR B2 · part 2
edumaterial's parts within the level. The European framework does not subdivide them.
Reflexive verbs and their agreementConjugating reflexive verbs with être and deciding whether the participle agrees…The conditional for unconfirmed informationRecognising the conditional French journalism uses for unconfirmed information, and not…Nominalisation in written FrenchTurning a verb into a noun with French suffixes, and rewriting a spoken sentence the way…Faire, prendre, mettre and avoir beauLearning French fixed combinations whole, instead of translating them word by word.Accents and the cedillaPlacing é, è, ê and ç correctly, and knowing that in French an accent changes the sound…Gender that does not match your languageChoosing le or la for nouns whose gender does not match your own language.The rule, in three lines
The past subjunctive is the subjunctive of the auxiliary plus the participle: que j'aie fait, que je sois parti. It is used when the event is earlier than the main clause. If it is later or simultaneous, the present subjunctive goes.
The usual slip. Leaving everything in the present subjunctive even when the event has already happened: «je suis content qu'il vienne hier».
Why it catches you out. English has almost no subjunctive left, so the whole system is new. The good news is there is nothing to unlearn; the bad news is that nothing in the English sentence tells you when French needs one.