Contar historias como un pro
En B2 ya no basta con decir "ayer fui al trabajo". Quieres contar historias con suspenso, giros inesperados y buen orden cronológico. Para eso combinamos cuatro tiempos que llamamos tiempos narrativos.
Los cuatro tiempos narrativos
| Tiempo | Para qué sirve | Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|
| Past simple | Acciones principales de la historia | Sofía opened the door. (Sofía abrió la puerta.) |
| Past continuous | Escenario, acciones en progreso, interrupciones | It was raining. (Estaba lloviendo.) |
| Past perfect | Lo que pasó antes de otro momento del pasado | Someone had stolen her sandwich. (Alguien le había robado el sándwich.) |
| Past perfect continuous | Una acción larga que venía ocurriendo antes | She had been waiting for hours. (Llevaba horas esperando.) |
Formación
- Past perfect: had + participio pasado. I had finished. She had left. They hadn't seen it. Had you met him?
- Past perfect continuous: had been + verbo con -ing. He had been working all night.
Past simple vs. past perfect
Si dos cosas pasan en orden, y el orden es obvio, usamos past simple para ambas. Usamos past perfect cuando queremos dejar claro que una acción ocurrió antes que otra o antes de un momento pasado.
- When Sofía arrived, the party started. (Primero llegó, luego empezó.)
- When Sofía arrived, the party had started. (La fiesta ya había empezado cuando llegó.)
Una letra cambia toda la historia. 😄
Past continuous para el fondo y las interrupciones
- Tom was frying onions when the fire alarm went off. (Tom freía cebollas cuando sonó la alarma.)
- While Max was sleeping, someone opened the fridge. (Mientras Max dormía, alguien abrió el refri.)
El tiempo continuo describe el "decorado"; el simple, lo que interrumpe o avanza la trama.
Past perfect continuous: la causa
- Her eyes were red because she had been crying. (Tenía los ojos rojos porque había estado llorando.)
- Tom was exhausted. He had been cooking since 5 a.m. (Llevaba cocinando desde las 5.)
Palabras que te ayudan
already, just, never, by the time, before, after, until, as soon as, by then, when, once.
- By the time the police came, the thief had disappeared. (Para cuando llegó la policía, el ladrón había desaparecido.)
- She had never seen so many croissants before that day.
- After he had eaten, he felt sleepy. (Con after puedes usar past simple también: After he ate...)
💡 Truco: "By the time" + past simple, y la otra parte en past perfect. By the time I got home, Max had eaten my homework.
Errores típicos de hispanohablantes
- Usar el pretérito indefinido para todo. En español, "cuando llegué, ya se fue" funciona. En inglés necesitas When I arrived, he had already left.
- Confundir had con would. I'd puede ser I had o I would. Mira el verbo que sigue: I'd finished = had; I'd go = would.
- Olvidar el participio. ✗ He had went. ✓ He had gone.
- Traducir "llevaba haciendo" con past continuous. ✗ I was waiting for two hours when he came. ✓ I had been waiting for two hours when he came.
- **Decir I was knowing.** Los verbos de estado (know, believe, want) no suelen ir en continuo.
Conectores de suspenso
Suddenly, all of a sudden, little did she know, to her surprise, it turned out that, as it happened.
- It turned out that the mysterious package was a birthday cake. (Resultó que el paquete misterioso era un pastel.)
Mini historia: The Case of the Missing Churro
It was a grey Tuesday in London. Sofía was running late, and she was holding her laptop and a coffee when she stepped into the kitchen. Something was wrong. The plate on the table was empty.
Sofía had bought six churros the night before, and now there were none. Tom was washing dishes. He said he hadn't touched them. Mrs. Green, who was reading a newspaper upside down, looked suspiciously calm. Then Sofía noticed chocolate on Max's nose.
"Max!" she shouted. But the dog hadn't been alone. It turned out that Mrs. Green had been sharing the churros with him since midnight. "I used to be a spy," she whispered. "I never reveal my sources." 🕵️
Traducción rápida
Era un martes gris en Londres. Sofía iba tarde... El plato estaba vacío. Sofía había comprado seis churros la noche anterior y ya no quedaba ninguno. Resultó que la señora Green se los había estado dando a Max desde medianoche.
Reto 🎯
Escribe una mini historia de 5 oraciones sobre "el día que perdí mis llaves". Usa al menos un past perfect, un past perfect continuous y un past continuous. Ejemplo para empezar: I was walking home when I realised I had left my keys at the office.