2

I came across this verb:

捕【と】らえられていた

It could have been pretty much any verb really. I tried to parse the different forms the verb has been assigned. Here's my process:

捕【と】らえる - (Transitive verb) To catch

捕【と】らえられる - (Passive form) - To get caught

捕【と】らえられていた - (Passive, past-progressive form) - Had been getting caught

Question: I want to know if my understanding of these forms (combined) is correct or not.

In other words, 捕【と】らえられていた = Had been getting caught?

1 Answer 1

6

I am afraid that your understanding of the third form is incorrect.

「捕らえられていた」 is the equivalent of the English "pluperfect passive voice". There is no "progressive" expressed in this.

In English, it would be "had been caught (and had stayed in captivity since)".

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .