Past perfect continuous tense

 Past Perfect Continuous

Introduction

The past perfect continuous (also called past perfect progressive) is a verb tense which is used to show that an action started in the past and continued up to another point in the past.

Forms

The past perfect continuous is composed of two elements - the past perfect of the verb to be (=had been) + the present participle (base+ing).

Affirmative

Subject + had been + V(ing)

I had been walking.
She had been trying

Negative

Subject + had not been + V(ing)
Subject + hadn't been + V(ing)

We hadn't been sleeping.

Interrogative

Had + Subject + V(ing)?

Had you been eating?

 

Example: to buy, past perfect continuous

Affirmative Negative Interrogative

I had been buying

I hadn't been buying

Had I been buying?

You had been buying

You hadn't been buying

Had you been buying

He,she,it had been buying

He hadn't been buying

Had she been buying?
We had been buying We hadn't been buying Had we been buying?
You had been buying You hadn't been buying Had you been buying
They had been buying They hadn't been buying Had they been buying

Past Perfect Continuous: Function

The past perfect continuous corresponds to the present perfect continuous, but with reference to a time earlier than 'before now'. Again, we are more interested in the process.
1. Duration Before Something in the Past
We use the past perfect continuous to show that something started in the past and continued up until another time in the past. "For five minutes" and "for two weeks" are both durations which can be used with the past perfect continuous. Notice that this is related to the present perfect continuous; however, the duration does not continue until now, it stops before something else in the past.

Examples

  • Had you been waiting long before the taxi arrived?
  • We had been trying to open the door for five minutes when Jane found her key.
  • Her friends had been thinking of calling the police when she walked in.
  • They had been talking for over an hour before Tony arrived.
  • She had been working at that company for three years when it went out of business.
  • How long had you been waiting to get on the bus?
  • Mike wanted to sit down because he had been standing all day at work.
  • James had been teaching at the university for more than a year before he left for Asia.

This form is also used in reported speech. It is the equivalent of the past continuous and the present perfect continuous in direct speech:

  • Jane said "I have been gardening all afternoon." Jane said she had been gardening all afternoon.
  • When the police questioned him, John said "I was working late in the office that night." When the police questioned him, John told them he had been working late in the office that night.

Cause of Something in the Past

Using the past perfect continuous before another action in the past is a good way to show cause and effect.

  • Jason was tired because he had been jogging.
  • Sam gained weight because he had been overeating.
  • Betty failed the final test because she had not been attending class.
  • It had been raining hard for several hours and the streets were very wet.