Past simple / continuous / perfect / perfect continuous en narraciones
Los cuatro tiempos narrativos
Al contar historias en pasado, combinamos cuatro tiempos verbales para crear escenas vivas, secuencias claras y contexto.
Past simple
acciones principales — Ella entró. Las luces parpadearon.
Past continuous
escena/fondo — Llovía. La gente corría.
Past perfect
eventos anteriores completos — La fiesta ya había terminado.
Past perfect continuous
acciones previas en progreso — Habían estado esperando horas.
Combinar tiempos en una historia
Empezaba a oscurecer cuando ella llegó.
→
It was getting dark when she arrived.
El autobús se había ido diez minutos antes.
→
The bus had left ten minutes before she got there.
Había estado caminando una hora y le dolían los pies.
→
She had been walking for an hour and her feet hurt.
Se sentó, revisó su móvil y llamó a un taxi.
→
She sat down, checked her phone, and called a taxi.
Past perfect vs past perfect continuous
Past perfect — acción completada
She had written three letters before lunch.
número de acciones completadas
By 10pm, they had finished everything.
Past perfect continuous — duración
She had been writing all morning.
actividad en progreso durante un tiempo
They had been working for hours.
Señales narrativas comunes
Secuencia
first, then, next, after that, finally, eventually, in the end
Tiempo
at that moment, suddenly, just then, immediately, by the time
Causa
because, as, since, due to the fact that
Contraste
however, although, despite, while, on the other hand
Errores frecuentes
Cuando el español interfiere
She had eaten when I arrived. (estaban comiendo)
→
She was eating when I arrived.
acción en progreso → past continuous, no past perfect
When she arrived, the party ended.
→
When she arrived, the party had ended.
evento anterior al momento de llegada → past perfect
By the time I came, they were waiting for hours.
→
By the time I came, they had been waiting for hours.
duración antes de un punto pasado → past perfect continuous
¡Ojo con “when”! Si describes una escena en progreso al momento de otro evento, usa past continuous: She was cooking when the phone rang, no *she cooked when…*