Past Perfect Continuous Tense – English Grammar Tenses

Past Perfect Continuous Tense – English Grammar Tenses

The past perfect continuous is one of the 12 basic tenses used to talk about an action that happened and started before another action in the past. Let's learn about this tense with English tivi.

Introduction

The past perfect continuous is used to describe an action that started before another action in the past.

You might also like: ALL the English Grammar Basics You Need

Structure of Past Perfect Continuous Tense

POSITIVE FORM (+) :  

  • S + had + been + V-ing
Form of  Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Form of Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Examples:

  • Michael had been teaching at the university for more than 2 year before he left for .
  • George gained weight because he had been overeating.
  • We had been working for 5 hours when he telephoned
  • You had been waiting there for more than three hours when they finally arrived.
  • My cousin went to bed after she had been watching her favorite TV series.

NEGATIVE FORM (-) :

  • S + hadn’t + been + V-ing

Examples:

  • My husband had not been doing anything when I came home
  • They had not been playing to each other when I saw them
  • It had not been raining since last fall.
  • You had not been waiting there for more than three hours when they finally arrive.
  • I had not been thinking about that before you mentioned it.

QUESTION FORM (?) : 

  • Had + S + been + V-ing?

Examples:

  • Had he been waiting for me when you met him?
  • Had you been reading a book?
  • Had they been playing football for a month?
  • Had you been waiting there for more than three hours when they finally arrived?
  • Had you been watching TV for 5 hours before you went to eat dinner?

WH QUESTION (?): 

  • Wh question + had + S + been + Ving…?

Examples:

  • How long had you been waiting to get on the bus?
  • How long had you been studying Chinese before you moved to China?
  • How long had she been talking to us since for two days?
POSITIVE FORM (+) NEGATIVE FORM (-) QUESTION FORM (?)
I had been workingI had not been workingHad I been working?
He had been workingHe had not been workingHad he been working?
She had been workingShe had not been workingHad she been working?
You had been workingYou had not been workingHad you been working?
We had been workingWe had not been workingHad we been working?
They had been workingThey had not been workingHad they been working?

You might also like: Past Perfect Tense

Past Perfect Continuous Tense Uses

1. Past Perfect Continuous is used to describe an action that happened continuously before another action in the past.

Examples:

  • Yesterday, when I got up, it was snowing. It had been snowing for three hours
  • She had been looking for a job for several months when she found this position
  • had been singing Michael Buble song when the he came

2. Past Perfect Continuous is used to describe an action that was happening continuously before a definite time in the past.

Examples:

  • His son had been driving for five hours before 9p.m last night
  • By the time we finished the meal, we had been sitting around the table for six hours!
  • He had been living in that small town for five years before he moved to China

3. Past Perfect Continuous is used to emphasize the result of an action in the past

Examples:

  • This morning he was very tired because he had been working very hard all night.
  • Bin failed the final test because she had not been attending class.
  • She was tired. She had been revising her lessons for hours.

Recognition of Past Perfect Continuous Tense

The sentence contains the adverb below:

  • By the time
  • Until then
  • Prior to that time
  • Before, after

Read more: English Grammar

Conclusion

Above are all the formulas and application examples of the past perfect continuous that English tivi synthesizes. Hopefully, it will help you equip yourself with more knowledge to apply to exercises or daily communication situations.

Subscribe to the English TV channel on Youtube to improve your English skills!

2.8/5 - (11 votes)

Written by:

1,505 Posts

My name is Jena Sannie, and I am the proud founder of the Englishtivi brand, which was established on April 22, 2015.
View All Posts
Follow Me :