Past perfect continuous
Functies van de past perfect continuous
De past perfect continuous komt overeen met de present perfect continuous, maar met verwijzing naar een tijd die eerder is dan 'voorafgaand aan nu'. Net als bij de present perfect continuous, zijn we meer geïnteresseerd in het proces.
Voorbeelden
- Had you been waiting long before the taxi arrived?
- We had been trying to open the door for five minutes when Jane found her key.
- It had been raining hard for several hours and the streets were very wet.
- Her friends had been thinking of calling the police when she walked in.
Deze vorm wordt ook gebruikt in indirecte rede. Het is het equivalent van de past continuous en de present perfect continuous in directe rede:
- Jane said, "I have been gardening all afternoon." = Jane said she had been gardening all afternoon.
- When the police questioned him, John said, "I was working late in the office that night." = When the police questioned him, John told them he had been working late in the office that night.
Het maken van de past perfect continuous
De past perfect continuous bestaat uit twee elementen - de past perfect van het werkwoord to be (=had been) + het tegenwoordig deelwoord (base+ing).
| Onderwerp | had been | werkwoord + ing |
|---|---|---|
| I | had been | walking |
| Bevestigend | ||
| She | had been | trying |
| Ontkennend | ||
| She | hadn't been | sleeping |
| Vragend | ||
| Had you | been | eating? |
| Vragend ontkennend | ||
| Hadn't they | been | living? |
To buy, past perfect continuous
| Bevestigend | Ontkennend | Vragend |
|---|---|---|
| I had been buying | I hadn't been buying | Had I been buying? |
| You had been buying | You hadn't been buying | Had you been buying? |
| She had been buying | She hadn't been buying | Had she been buying? |
| We had been buying | We hadn't been buying | Had we been buying? |
| They had been buying | They hadn't been buying | Had they been buying? |