Past Perfect Continuous
El Past Perfect Continuous Tense se utiliza para describir una acción que comenzó y continuó durante un tiempo antes de otra acción o momento en el pasado. Este tiempo enfatiza la duración o el progreso de una acción hasta un momento específico en el pasado.
Formación
El past perfect continuous se forma usando los verbos auxiliares "had been" + la forma -ing del verbo principal.
| Subject | Auxiliary Verbs (had been) | Verb Example (to eat) |
|---|---|---|
| I / You / We / They / He / She / It | had been | eating |
- Afirmativa: I had been eating, They had been eating
- Negativa: I had not been eating, She had not been eating (o She hadn’t been eating)
- Interrogativa: Had you been eating?, Had they been eating?
Uso
- Acciones en progreso antes de un evento pasado: Describe una acción que estaba en curso hasta que ocurrió otra acción en el pasado.
- She had been reading for two hours before she went to bed.
- Causa y efecto en el pasado: Explica la razón de algo en el pasado mostrando qué había estado ocurriendo antes.
- They were tired because they had been working all day.
- Duración de una acción pasada: Enfatiza cuánto tiempo había estado ocurriendo algo antes de otro evento.
- He had been living there for five years when he moved.
Ejemplos:
- Afirmativa: We had been waiting for hours when the bus finally arrived.
- Negativa: He hadn’t been studying, so he didn’t pass the test.
- Interrogativa: Had they been traveling for long before they settled down?
Notas
- El past perfect continuous suele usar expresiones de tiempo como for, since, before y until para indicar la duración o el periodo de la acción.
- Este tiempo enfatiza la naturaleza continua de la acción antes de otro momento en el pasado.
Expresiones de tiempo comunes
| Expresión | Ejemplo |
|---|---|
| For | He had been working for hours. |
| Since | They had been living there since 2005. |
| Before | She had been cooking before they arrived. |
| Until | They hadn’t been talking until last week. |
