Was/Had been....for.

[Ashraful Haque]

I know we say 'have been...for/since' when the action is still going on. But when the action is over do we say 'I was...for/since'.

Context- I was craving biriyani and finally had some and posted on social media. Should the caption be:

"I was craving biriyani for the past few days." since I had biriyani and am not craving it anymore.
Or does the following sound better:

"I had been craving biriyani for the past few days."

 

[Rover_KE]

"I was craving biriyani for the past few days." :cross:

"I had been craving biriyani for the past few days.":tick:

 

[emsr2d2]

Before "for the past few days", I would expect "I have been craving ...".
After "I had been craving", I would expect "for the previous few days".

 

[Ashraful Haque]

Thanks a lot for the help. So is 'I was.....since/for' always incorrect?
Should it always be wither 'had/have been...since/for?'

 

[jutfrank]

So is 'I was.....since/for' always incorrect?

With for, no, but with since, yes.

 

[Ashraful Haque]

With for, no, but with since, yes.

So that means it's correct to say- "I was craving biriyani for the past few days."

 

[Ashraful Haque]

No. Jutfrank merely noted that 'I was.....since/for' was not always incorrect. He was not saying that it was correct in your sentence.

So it should be either "I have/had been craving biriyani for/since....." depending on the what I want to express.
It would really help me to know when it's correct to use 'I was.....since/for.'

 

[jutfrank]

You can use for but not since in past continuous sentences:

I was craving biriyani for several days. :tick:
I was craving biriyani since the weekend. :cross:

But in present/past perfect sentences, you can use both for (to give a duration) and since (to give a point in time when the action started):

I've been craving biriyani for several days.
I'd been craving biriyani for several days.

I've been craving biriyani since the weekend.
I'd been craving biriyain since the weekend.

 

[Ashraful Haque]

You can use for but not since in past continuous sentences:

I was craving biriyani for several days. :tick:
I was craving biriyani since the weekend. :cross:

But in present/past perfect sentences, you can use both for (to give a duration) and since (to give a point in time when the action started):

I've been craving biriyani for several days.
I'd been craving biriyani for several days.

I've been craving biriyani since the weekend.
I'd been craving biriyain since the weekend.

Thank you very much. That was a very helpful answer.
So in my original context since I already had biriyani and not craving it anymore, both of the following should be correct:
"I had been craving biriyani for the past few days."
"I was craving biriyani for the past few days."

 

[Tarheel]

Thank you very much. That was a very helpful answer.
So in my original context since I already had biriyani and am not craving it anymore, both of the following should be correct:
"I had been craving biriyani for the past few days."
"I was craving biriyani for the past few days."

Yes, but don't you think you should share?

 

[Ashraful Haque]

You have been told more than once that that is not correct.

Yes but the following answer clearly says that I can use 'for.' Which answer am I supposed to take as correct? :?:

You can use for but not since in past continuous sentences:

I was craving biriyani for several days. :tick:
I was craving biriyani since the weekend. :cross:

 

[Ashraful Haque]

Yes, but don't you think you should share?

Yes, but only with you. :-D

 

[jutfrank]

Yes but the following answer clearly says that I can use 'for.' Which answer am I supposed to take as correct? :?:

I was craving biriyani for several days. :tick:
I was craving biriyani for the past few days. :cross:
I've been craving biriyani for the past few days. :tick:

It's the time expressions that make the difference.

 

[Ashraful Haque]

I was craving biriyani for several days. :tick:
I was craving biriyani for the past few days. :cross:

It's the time expressions that make the difference.

Wow! That's really confusing. What's the difference between 'past few days' and 'several days?' Is it because of the back-shift when we say 'the past few days?'

 

[emsr2d2]

"The past few days" refers to the few days leading up to now - that's why it requires the present perfect continuous.
"For several days" has no other time reference. Those several days could have occurred decades ago.

 

[jutfrank]

"The past few days" refers to the few days leading up to now - that's why it requires the present perfect continuous.
"For several days" has no other time reference. Those several days could have occurred decades ago.

Yes, and I'd like to add something else to clarify emsr2d2's comment in post #3:

for a few days [no time reference—used with past continuous]
for the past few days [with reference to now—used with present perfect]
for the previous few days [with reference to a point in the past—used with past perfect]

 

[Ashraful Haque]

"The past few days" refers to the few days leading up to now - that's why it requires the present perfect continuous.
"For several days" has no other time reference. Those several days could have occurred decades ago.

I think I get it. So this is what I understood from the answers:
"I was craving biriyani for several days while I was stuck on the island."

If I'm not mistaken 'I was craving biriyani for several days....' doesn't have anything to do with the present thus 'for the past few days' doesn't work here.

 

[Tarheel]

I think I get it. So this is what I understood from the answers:
"I was craving biriyani for several days while I was stuck on the island."

If I'm not mistaken 'I was craving biriyani for several days....' doesn't have anything to do with the present thus 'for the past few days' doesn't work here.

I think that's OK. By the way, I've been craving pancakes.

 

[Ashraful Haque]

I think that's OK. By the way, I've been craving pancakes.

Everyone's craving something I guess. This lockdown is making us realize that the small things we take for granted are actually the most precious things in our lives.

 

[Tarheel]

Everyone's craving something I guess. This lockdown is making us realize that the small things we take for granted are actually the most precious things in our lives.

I'm hoping my angel brings me another milkshake and burger soon.