Past perfect

[Tyrn]

Hi,

La secadora se había detenido. También Stan.

The dryer had stopped. So had Stan.

Is se hubo detenido possible? Or is it just a nonexistent grammar structure?

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

The antepretérito (pretérito anterior) is almost never used nowadays, but you can find it in literature still.
It is used when an action has concluded, in relation with another action that also happened in the past.


- Una vez que se hubo abierto el elevador, pudimos salir.
Once the elevator was open, we got out.
- El terreno era mucho más grande de lo que se hubo pensado al principio.
The ground was far bigger than what had been thought before.
- Sólo comenzó a hablar cuando la multitud se hubo callado.
She started speaking only when the crowd was quiet.


In your example you're using the antecopretérito (pretérito pluscuamperfecto), in which the action sets some kind of frame for another action that was to happen in the past too.


- El mensajero ya se había ido cuando abrí la puerta.
The messenger was gone when I opened the door.
- Puse atención, pero el ruido ya se había detenido.
I paid attention, but the noise had already stopped.
- Recuerdo que el día que me enfermé había comido en la calle.
I remember that the day I fell sick I had eaten out in the street.


So you can't have "se hubo detenido" in your example, unless there is another context to the situation.
For example:
- La secadora se hubo detenido, una vez que Stan la desconectó.
The dryer had stopped as Stan unplugged it.