Past Perfect Simple & PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

1. Past Perfect (had + past participle) = I had worked
2. Past Perfect Continuous (had been + -ing verb) = I had been working

🔹 Usamos el past perfect simple con verbos de acción para enfatizar la finalización de un evento.

• She had finished her homework before dinner. (Ella ya había terminado los deberes antes de la cena).

• By the time we arrived, the film had started. (Cuando llegamos, la película ya había empezado).

🔹 Usamos el past perfect continuous para mostrar que un evento o acción en el pasado seguía en curso o desarrollándose, enfatizando la duración de la actividad.

• They had been studying for two hours before the exam started. (Llevaban estudiando durante dos horas antes de que empezara el examen).

• I was tired because I had been working all day. (Estaba cansado porque había estado trabajando todo el día).

3. Comparación directa

• She had read the book before the class. (Había leído el libro → acción terminada, resultado).

• She had been reading the book before the class. (Había estado leyendo el libro → acción en proceso, se enfatiza el tiempo invertido).

• The builders had put up the scaffolding around the house ➡️ la acción se completó (el andamio ya está colocado).

• The builders had been putting up the scaffolding when the roof fell in ➡️ la acción estaba en progreso.

• I’d waited an hour for the bus ➡️ la actividad finalizó (la espera terminó).

• I’d been waiting an hour for the bus ➡️ se centra en la duración de la espera.

• She’d always lived with her parents ➡️ No sabemos durante cuánto tiempo (puede ser permanente).

• She’d been living with her parents ➡️ Sugiere una situación temporal.

¡RECUERDA! Hay verbos que normalmente no usamos en forma continua

❌ No usamos la forma continua con:

• Verbos de procesos mentales (know, like, understand, believe).

• Verbos de los sentidos (hear, smell, taste).

  • We’d known for a long time that the company was going to close. (Not: We’d been knowing …)

  • We’d tasted the milk and had decided it was bad, so we threw it away. (Not: We’d been tasting the milk …)

❌ Tampoco usamos la forma continua con acciones puntuales (que suceden de una vez), como start o stop:

• Had they started the game on time? (Not: Had they been starting the game on time?)

En inglés hablado, muchas veces se sustituye por el past simple o el past continuous, y el contexto aclara el significado:

👉 My friend had texted me five times before I answered. = My friend texted me five times before I answered.

👉 We had been waiting for two hours before she arrived. = We were waiting for two hours before she arrived.

• https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/past-perfect-past-perfect-continuous-exercise-1.html

• Oxford Learner’s — Past Perfect Simple / Continuous: oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com