PAST PERFECT CONTINOUS

Carlos Ramos
 DEFINITION
El Past Perfect Continous se utiliza para una acción que
se estaba realizando en el pasado antes de otra acción
ya pasada. Similar al Past Perfect Simple, su uso
principal, por así decirlo, es darle un orden al pasado,
pero específicamente a una acción continua.
 DEFINITION
Al ser el último tiempo para referirnos al pasado podemos
hablar de exactitud, Past Perfect Continous nos ayuda para
hablar del estado de una acción, cómo y cuando una acción
sucedió en el pasado. Si esa acción ya había empezado, si estaba
en progreso o ya se había completado.

• Last week I talked with my friend I had been running when I talked with
Andrei my friend Andrei
• I went running

The kitty had been playing

when it was caught red handed
 DIFFERENCE
El Past Perfect Continuous se diferencia por poner
énfasis en una acción en desarrollo, mientras que el
Past Perfect Simple contempla las acciones como
terminadas.

PAST PERFECT
PAST PERFECT
CONTINUOUS

PAST PRESENT FUTURE

 USES
Usamos Past Perfect Continuous para referirnos a algo
que habíamos estado haciendo (en proceso) cuando
otra acción lo interrumpió. En éste sentido solemos
usar las preposiciones de tiempo FOR o SINCE.
Otro uso es demostrar causa y efecto.

She was tired because she’d been working too much.

They were angry because they’d been waiting for me
for hours.
 STRUCTURE
Entonces el Past Perfect Continuous nos ayuda para
una acción o actividad que se había estado realizando
por cierto tiempo. Ayudandose del verbo HAD como
auxiliar significando HABER (había) y la forma en
pasado participio del Verb to Be.

☺ + HAD + been + action verb + ING + complement

I had been doing exercise last month
(Yo había estado haciendo ejercício el mes pasado)
 (+) STRUCTURE
☺ + HAD + been + action verb + ING + complement

I’d been drinking a lot of beer for a week

She had been swimming in the stars
He had been trying to win the giveaway
We’d been dancing all night
It had been playing with its ball

HABÍAN ESTADO ENVIADO MUCHOS CORREOS

PPC: THEY HAD BEEN SENDING A LOT OF EMAILS
 (-) STRUCTURE
☺ + HAD + NOT + been + action verb + ING + complement

I had not been smoking that year

You hadn’t been texting in the party
She had not been dating anyone
He hadn’t been paying attention

NO HABÍA ESTADO COCINANDO CONMIGO, ESTABA OCUPADA.

PPC: SHE HADN’T BEEN COOKING WITH ME, SHE WAS BUSY.
 (?) STRUCTURE
HAD + ☺ + been + action verb + ING + complement + ?

Had you been fighting with your sister?

Yes, we had | No, we had not
Had she been being rude to you?
Yes, she had | No, she hadn’t
Had they been stealing your cigarretes?
Yes, they had | No, they hadn’t

¿Te había estado molestando últimamente ella?

PPC: HAD SHE BEEN BOTHERING YOU LATELY?
 DIFFERENCES
PAST SIMPLE: An action that already finished.
PAST CONTINUOUS: A continuous past action
that already finished.
PAST PERFECT: An action that happened first
before another past actions.
PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS: A continuous past
action that happened before another past
actions.
 DIFFERENCES
Yesterday I was playing a videogame and I did
my homework. I had started to watch my
favorite series again while my brother had been
calling his best best friend.

PAST SIMPLE – PAST CONTINUOS – PAST PERFECT –

PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS