I had been saving money for two years. (Llevaba dos años ahorrando dinero; literalmente, había estado ahorrando dinero durante dos años).

The continuous tenses emphasize the ongoing nature of the activity. Think of them as a variation of the standard perfect tenses. Here are the four perfect tenses:

🔹 Los tiempos continuos enfatizan la naturaleza continua de la actividad. Piensa en ellos como una variación de los tiempos perfectos estándar. Estos son los cuatro:

present perfect: I have lived in Madrid for two years.

present perfect continuous: I have been living in Madrid for two years. => emphasizes the ongoing nature of the activity

past perfect: I had lived in Madrid for two years.

past perfect continuous: I had been living in Madrid for two years. => emphasizes the ongoing nature of the activity

In practice, the difference between the standard and continuous forms is subtle. Both are correct in most situations. Don't worry too much about which one to use.

🔹 En la práctica, la diferencia entre las formas estándar y continuas es sutil. Ambas son correctas en la mayoría de situaciones. No te preocupes demasiado por cuál usar.