Lección 50 · Etapa 4: Tiempos verbales y modales
Past perfect continuous
IntermedioForma y uso
had been + -ing — una actividad que duró un tiempo hasta un momento del pasado
1.Forma
El past perfect continuous = had been + verbo-ing. Had es igual para todos los sujetos, así que no hay nada que cambiar con he / she / it.
| Estructura | Ejemplo | |
|---|---|---|
| Afirmativa | S + had been + V-ing | She had been working. / I'd been waiting. |
| Negativa | S + hadn't been + V-ing | They hadn't been sleeping well. |
| Pregunta | Had + S + been + V-ing? | Had you been waiting long? |
| Cuánto tiempo | How long had + S + been + V-ing? | How long had he been living there? |
| Respuesta corta | Yes, S had. / No, S hadn't. | Yes, I had. / No, she hadn't. |
Al hablar, had se suele contraer en 'd: I'd been, she'd been, they'd been. Cuando 'd va justo antes de been, siempre es had. Pronuncia bien la /d/: sin ella, I'd been suena como I been y quien escucha pierde la idea de pasado.
2.Cuándo se usa
1. Una actividad que duró un tiempo hasta un momento del pasado, a menudo con for, since, all day, how long
By the time the doctor came, we'd been waiting for two hours.
Cuando llegó el médico, llevábamos dos horas esperando.
Minh had been working at the bank since 2018 when he decided to quit.
Minh llevaba trabajando en el banco desde 2018 cuando decidió dejarlo.
How long had you been learning English before you moved to Canada?
¿Cuánto tiempo llevabas aprendiendo inglés antes de mudarte a Canadá?
2. Explicar una situación pasada: una actividad justo antes (puede que acabara de terminar) dejó una señal o un resultado
Her eyes were red. She'd been crying.
Tenía los ojos rojos. Había estado llorando.
The road was wet because it had been raining all night.
La carretera estaba mojada porque había estado lloviendo toda la noche.
I was exhausted when I got home — I'd been standing all day.
Llegué a casa agotado: había estado de pie todo el día.
3. Una actividad que seguía en marcha cuando pasó otra cosa (a menudo ese hecho la interrumpió)
Lan had been driving for six hours when she finally stopped for coffee.
Lan llevaba seis horas conduciendo cuando por fin paró a tomar un café.
They hadn't been dating long when they got engaged.
No llevaban mucho tiempo saliendo cuando se comprometieron.
Este tiempo siempre necesita un momento del pasado (when I arrived, by the time…, una situación de entonces) desde el que mirar atrás. En español decimos “llevaba dos horas esperando”, que encaja con had been -ing. Muchos estudiantes usan por error have been -ing en una historia en pasado: si el momento es ahora → have been -ing; si es un momento del pasado → had been -ing.
3.Comparado con tiempos parecidos
¿Have been -ing o had been -ing? Los dos significan “hacer algo durante un tiempo”; solo cambia el punto final: ahora o un momento del pasado.
I've been waiting for twenty minutes. Where are you?
Llevo veinte minutos esperando. ¿Dónde estás? (hasta ahora)
I'd been waiting for twenty minutes when she finally replied.
Llevaba veinte minutos esperando cuando por fin contestó. (hasta el momento en que contestó)
¿Was -ing o had been -ing? Was -ing = en medio de la actividad en ese momento; had been -ing = la actividad duró antes de ese momento (puede que ya hubiera terminado).
When I got home, Mum was cooking.
Cuando llegué a casa, mamá estaba cocinando. (todavía estaba cocinando)
When I got home, the kitchen smelled of garlic. Mum had been cooking.
Cuando llegué a casa, la cocina olía a ajo. Mamá había estado cocinando. (cocinó antes de que yo llegara)
¿Had been -ing o had + V3? Had been -ing habla de la actividad y de cuánto tiempo; had + V3 (el pasado perfecto) habla de un resultado terminado y de cuánto / cuántos.
| had been + -ing | had + V3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Lo importante | la actividad, cuánto tiempo duró | el resultado, lo que estaba terminado |
| Pregunta | How long…? | How many / How much…? |
| Ejemplo | She'd been writing emails all morning. | She'd written twenty emails by noon. |
| ¿Terminado? | no necesariamente | sí |
Los verbos de estado (know, believe, own, have = poseer…) no suelen usarse en forma continua, así que usa had + V3 aunque hables de un periodo de tiempo.
We had known each other for ten years when we started the company.
Hacía diez años que nos conocíamos cuando montamos la empresa. (no: had been knowing)
4.Errores comunes
He had been work there for ten years.He had been working there for ten years.
Después de had been va -ing.
I was tired because I have been driving all day.I was tired because I had been driving all day.
La historia está en pasado (was) → had, no have.
By noon she had been reading three chapters.By noon she had read three chapters.
Un número terminado → had + V3.
I had been knowing him for years.I had known him for years.
know es un verbo de estado → sin forma continua.
How long you had been living there?How long had you been living there?
En una pregunta, had va delante del sujeto.
She had being waiting for an hour.She had been waiting for an hour.
had + been (el V3 de be), no being.
Ejemplos
- Tuan's eyes were red because he had been crying for hours.
- By the time the bus came, we had been waiting for forty minutes.
- How long had you been looking before you found a job?
- Nam had been repairing his motorbike all morning, but it still didn't start.
