She took a bottle from the bag she had been carrying ...

[Anna232]

This sentence is from Advanced Grammar in Use by Martin Hewings.
"She took a bottle from the bag she had been carrying all the way from home." The book says both past perfect and past perfect continuous are correct. Are both correct because we are talking about a recent finished action?
It is a standalone sentence.
Is it based on this explanation from the book
"The past perfect continuous can be used to talk about a situation or activity that went on before a particular past time and finished at that time, continued beyond it, or finished shortly?"

 

[Tarheel]

This sentence is from Advanced Grammar in Use by Martin Hewings.
"She took a bottle from the bag she had been carrying all the way from home." The book says both past perfect and past perfect continuous are correct. Are both correct because we are talking about a recent finished action?
It is a standalone sentence.
Is it based on this explanation from the book
"The past perfect continuous can be used to talk about a situation or activity that went on before a particular past time and finished at that time, continued beyond it, or finished shortly BEFOREHAND."

I think you are right.

 

[Anna232]

I think you are right.

When there is continuation implied by the context I have seen past continuous and even past simple used in such examples. Would both work here too?

 

[Tarheel]

When there is continuation implied by the context I have seen past continuous and even past simple used in such examples. Would both work here too?

The previous sentence had vanished from my memory by the time I read that.

Like most native speakers, discussing English grammar is not a hobby of mine. Do speakers of Russian make it a habit to discuss Russian grammar?

 

[jutfrank]

"She took a bottle from the bag she had been carrying all the way from home." The book says both past perfect and past perfect continuous are correct. Are both correct because we are talking about a recent finished action?

No. In fact, my first thought was that she didn't stop carrying the bag at all, and that she just reached into it to get the bottle as she was walking.

 

[Tarheel]

@jutfrank Didn't she have to put the bag down to take the bottle out?

 

[jutfrank]

@jutfrank Didn't she have to put the bag down to take the bottle out?

We don't know. As I say, my first thought was that she has the bag over her shoulder and simply reaches into it. But yes, it could also be that she put the bag down in order to take out the bottle. From the grammar, we don't know.

 

[Anna232]

No. In fact, my first thought was that she didn't stop carrying the bag at all, and that she just reached into it to get the bottle as she was walking.

But

No. In fact, my first thought was that she didn't stop carrying the bag at all, and that she just reached into it to get the bottle as she was walking.

Is past perfect used to refer to an action that finished before another action? because she could have put it down first to take the bottle.
And is past perfect continuous used because it either went on before another action and finished at that time, continued beyond it, or finished shortly as the book says?

 

[Skrej]

The past perfect is possible because she has arrived at her destination. Ergo, the act of carrying it from home is complete, regardless of whether or not she's still holding it. A new action of removing the bottle has started.

The past perfect continuous is also possible because the act of carrying it home is again completed before starting the action of removing the bottle. Again, it's largely irrelevant whether she's still holding the bag or not in terms of the two actions of transporting the bag to her current location and removing the bottle from it.

Like most native speakers, discussing English grammar is not a hobby of mine. Do speakers of Russian make it a habit to discuss Russian grammar?

While your point still stands, note Anna's stated native language is Georgian, not Russian. Georgian is completely unrelated to Russian and even has its own script which looks nothing like Cyrillic.

 

[Anna232]

The past perfect is possible because she has arrived at her destination. Ergo, the act of carrying it from home is complete, regardless of whether or not she's still holding it. A new action of removing the bottle has started.

The past perfect continuous is also possible because the act of carrying it home is again completed before starting the action of removing the bottle. Again, it's largely irrelevant whether she's still holding the bag or not in terms of the two actions of transporting the bag to her current location and removing the bottle from it.




While your point still stands, note Anna's stated native language is Georgian, not Russian. Georgian is completely unrelated to Russian and even has its own script which looks nothing like Cyrillic.

Aren't both past simple and past continuous also correct? If she was still holding it can't I say "which she was carrying" and "which she carried?" I mean if the act of carrying it is not complete.