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Pluperfect - Reported Speech

• When telling what someone said, the imperfect is generally used to report on stated ongoing conditions, intentions, habits or actions in progress (see §32-33):
Me contó que hacía muchos años que vivía (ongoing condition) en un pueblo pequeño, y que quería (intention) estudiar en una gran ciudad. Dijo que por eso estudiaba (habit) mucho siempre, porque se estaba preparando (action in progress) para un ambiente competitivo. He told me that he had lived in a small town for many years, and that he wanted to study in a large city. He said that for that reason he always studied a lot, because he was preparing for a competitive environment.
Note that hace muchos años is also a description reported in the imperfect (hacía).

• The pluperfect is used to report on a past statement that describes a previous occurrence:
Dijo: "Salí de mi pueblo hace varios años, y ahora vivo en Chicago".
Dijo que había salido de su pueblo hacía varios años, y que ahora vivía en Chicago.
He said he (had) left his town several years ago, and he now lived in Chicago.
• Again, surrounding circumstances are reported in the imperfect:
Dijo: "Me fui cuando tenía veintidós años"
Dijo que se había ido cuando tenía veintidós años.
He said he (had) finished his studies when he was twenty-two and then he came to this city.
• Unlike colloquial English, in this context the pluperfect is widely used in Spanish. Compare:
Dijeron que se habían divertido mucho. They said they had a great time.
Me contó que había ido a Perú hacía dos años. He told me he went (had been) to Perú two years earlier (ago).