Plusquamperfekt Verlaufsform (past perfect continuous)
Die Funktionsweisen des 'past perfect continuous'
Der 'past perfect continuous' entspricht dem 'present perfect continuous' und bezieht sich auf eine Zeit 'vor jetzt'. Wie beim 'present perfect continuous' interessiert uns vor allem der Prozess.
Beispiele
- 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.
Diese Zeitform wird auch in der indirekten Rede verwendet. Sie entspricht dem 'past continuous' und dem 'present perfect continuous' in der direkten 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.
Die Bildung des 'past perfect continuous'
Das 'past perfect continuous' besteht aus zwei Teilen - dem 'past perfect' von to be (=had been) + Partizip Präsens (Wortstamm+ing).
| Subjekt | had been | Verb + ing |
|---|---|---|
| I | had been | walking |
| Behjahend | ||
| She | had been | trying |
| Verneinend | ||
| She | hadn't been | sleeping |
| Frage | ||
| Had you | been | eating? |
| Verneinende Frage | ||
| Hadn't they | been | living? |
To buy, past perfect continuous
| Bejahend | Verneinend | Frage |
|---|---|---|
| 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? |