Fonctions du passé parfait progressif
Le passé parfait progressif correspond au présent parfait progressif, mais en référence à un temps antérieur à « l’instant présent ». Encore une fois, nous sommes davantage intéressés par le processus.
Exemples
- 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.
Cette forme est également utilisée dans le discours rapporté. C'est l'équivalent du passé progressif et du présent parfait progressif au discours direct :
- 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.
Former le passé parfait progressif
Le passé parfait progressif est composé de deux éléments : le verbe to be (=had been) au passé parfait + le participe présent (base+ing).
| Sujet | had been | verbe + ing |
|---|---|---|
| I | had been | walking |
| Affirmative | ||
| She | had been | trying |
| Négative | ||
| She | hadn't been | sleeping |
| Interrogative | ||
| Had you | been | eating? |
| Interrogative négative | ||
| Hadn't they | been | living? |
To buy, passé parfait progressif
| Affirmative | Négative | Interrogative |
|---|---|---|
| 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? |