Gramática › Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Past perfect continuous: preguntas con wh-
450 ejercicios de huecos, 45 tests de diez
Palabra interrogativa, después had, después el sujeto, después been y la forma en -ing.
Practica esta forma
Cargando…
Preparando tu primera pregunta.
El orden habitual
Cinco huecos: palabra interrogativa — had — sujeto — been — la forma en -ing.
Why had the alarm been ringing?
How long had
La pregunta para la que existe este tiempo. Pregunta por un tramo que ya había corrido hasta un punto del pasado:
By the time he resigned, how long had he been working there?
La respuesta lleva for con una duración o since con un punto de partida.
Cuando who es el sujeto
No se intercambia nada, y la pregunta suele llevar una acusación dentro:
- Who had been smoking in here?
- What had been causing the noise?
En estilo indirecto
Al contarla, la pregunta vuelve al orden normal, y el tiempo ya no puede retroceder más: está tan atrás como el inglés permite.
- directa: How long had they been waiting?
- contada: She asked how long they had been waiting.
Dónde se tuerce para un hispanohablante
«¿Cuánto tiempo llevaba trabajando allí?» es How long had she been working there?, y el calco How long she had been working? se queda sin intercambio.
Y con verbos de estado el continuous desaparece: «¿cuánto tiempo lo conocías?» es How long had you known him?, no been knowing.
Todas las formas
| Palabra interrogativa | Ejemplo | Pregunta por |
|---|---|---|
| How long | How long had she been working there? | la duración |
| What | What had they been doing? | la actividad |
| Where | Where had he been staying? | el lugar |
| Why | Why had she been crying? | el motivo |
| Who | Who had been using the car? | la persona — ver abajo |
Ejemplos
Tomados de las 450 frases de este ejercicio. La respuesta va resaltada.
- What had the band been playing before the power went off?
- How long had you been doing this job before you quit?
- Who had she been living with before moving to a new city?
- How long had they been waiting for the bus before it finally arrived?
- How long had they been working on the project before they realized they were doing it wrong?
- Where had you been studying before you fell asleep?
- Who had he been traveling with before he traveled solo?
- Why had he been looking for hours before he finally found his keys?
- Who had he been practicing with before he started his own band?
- Who had she been staying with before she moved to another city?
- When had the class been preparing for the test before the exam?
- How long had she been writing letters to him before they met?
Errores que evitar
Incorrecto: How long you had been waiting? correcto: How long had you been waiting?
Had va delante del sujeto.
Incorrecto: How long had you been knowing him? correcto: How long had you known him?
Know es verbo de estado y lleva el past perfect normal.