The past perfect continuous tense is formed with the past perfect tense of the verb to be, which is had been + present participle (verb–ing): I had been praying.
The past perfect continuous is used:
for an action that occurred over a period of time in the past.
Examples:
- He had been playing saxophone in a jazz band.
The family had been living in a council house for many years.
for an action which started and finished in the past before another past action. Words such as since and for may be used.
Examples:
- We had been waiting long when a waitress came up to us.
- Jack got a job at last. He had been looking for a job since last year.
The three of us had been studying for hours, so we took a break.
in reported speech when the present perfect continuous tense becomes past perfect continuous tense.
Examples:
- John said, "We have been traveling by train across Europe."
John said (that) they had been traveling by train across Europe.
Past perfect continuous tense not used for states or feelings
The past perfect continuous tense is not normally used for states.
Examples:
- No: He had been seeming pretty angry with me.
The simple past tense is used instead: - Yes: He seemed pretty angry at me.
The past perfect continuous tense and the present perfect continuous tense
The past perfect continuous tense and the present perfect tense convey the same meaning as shown here.
Examples:
- He was my business partner. We had been doing business together for seven years.
- He is my buiness partner. We have been doing business together for seven years.
- It was midnight and you had been watching television for four hours.
- It is mignight and you have been watching television for four hours.
- Why was he so angry? What had they been doing to him?
- Why is he so angry? What have they been doing to him?
- She had been shopping for eight hours for a new dress.
- She has been shopping for eight hours for a new dress .
Past perfect continuous and past perfect tenses
The past perfect continuous tense and the past perfect tense can convey the same meaning as shown here.
Examples:
- We had been looking everywhere for him when he didn't return.
- We had looked everywhere for him when he didn't return.
- Sandy was very confident because she had been rehearsing hard for the play.
- Sandy was very confident becaue she had rehearsed hard for the play.
Past perfect continuous and past continuous tenses
The following show the difference between the past perfect continuous tense and the past continuous tense.
Examples:
- They had been saying their prayers when I went to bed.
(I went to bed after their prayers.) - They were saying their prayers when I went to bed.
(I went to bed during their prayers.)
- We had been having our dinner when he arrived.
(He arrived after dinner.) - We were having our dinner when he arrived.
(He arrived during dinner.)
Past Perfect Continuous Tense
The past perfect continuoustense is used to indicate an action that happened continuously in the past before something else occurred. The action is completed at some point in the past.
The form of the past perfect continuous tense is had + been + -ing.
Example:
The boys had been playing soccer for about an hour when it started to rain.
(The boys had been playing before it started to rain. The boys playing is the continuous action in the past that was interrupted by the rain.)
Uses
- We use the past perfect continuous tense to show an action going on in the past when something else happened.
Example:
She had been using he computer when the electricity supply was suddenly cut off. - We use the past perfect continuous tense in indirect speech while reporting an action in the present perfect continuous tense.
Example: He said that he had been writing for about an hour.
(The direct speech would be ‘He said, “I have been writing for about an hour.”’)
Worksheet 1
Use the past perfect continuous form of the verb in brackets, to fill in the blanks.
- They said that John …………………… (run) across the road.
- Mrs.Chen ……………………… (cook) for an hour when the doorbell rang.
- We …………………… (clean) the room for an hour when we found the treasure map.
- They said that they ………………. (build) the house for the last five months.
- I told Mary that I ………………………. (fish) since morning.
- The crowd …………………………… (shout) for fifteen minutes before someone managed to calm them down.
- Rosie said that the baby ………………………… (cry) for about fifteen minutes.
- They said that the boy ………………………….. (trespass) when the dogs chased him.
- The police ………………………….. (investigate) the robbery when an informer gave them a new lead.
- The teacher reported that her students ………………….. (prepare) very well for the examination.
Answers
- They said that John had been running across the road.
- Mrs.Chen had been cooking for an hour when the doorbell rang.
- We had been cleaning the room for an hour when we found the treasure map.
- They said that they had been building the house for the last five months.
- I told Mary that I had been fishing since morning.
- The crowd had been shouting for fifteen minutes before someone managed to calm them down.
- Rosie said that the baby had been crying for about fifteen minutes.
- They said that the boy had been trespassing when the dogs chased him.
- The police had been investigating the robbery when an informer gave them a new lead.
- The teacher reported that her students had been preparing very well for the examination.
Worksheet 2
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate tense form of the verbs in brackets.
A long time ago, there …………. (be) a very old and wise man in Egypt. Many people came to him for advice on life.
Once, a young couple approached the wise man. They told him that they ………………… (fight) with each other almost every day.
“We ………………….. (decide) to live separately. Do you have any advice for us?” they ……………….. (ask).
The wise man ………………. (think) for a while, and then said, “Please do as I say. From today onwards, one of you should keep your mouth filled with water, taking turns. When the husband ……………… (spit) the water out, immediately, the wife has to get her mouth filled. At any given time, one of you should have your mouth full of water.”
The couple was mystified. However, they went home and ……………… (follow) the wise man’s advice. Soon, they found that they could not ……………… (fight) anymore, because when the husband tried to argue about something, there was water in the wife’s mouth, and when the wife tried to argue about something, the husband had water in his mouth.
Soon, there ……………… (be) no more fights. The couple …………………. (realize) that just by keeping quiet, they could avoid many problems.
Answers
A long time ago, there was a very old and wise man in Egypt. Many people came to him for advice on life.
Once, a young couple approached the wise man. They told him that they had been fighting with each other almost every day.
“We have decided to live separately. Do you have any advice for us?” they asked.
The wise man thought for a while, and then said, “Please do as I say. From today onwards, one of you should keep your mouth filled with water, taking turns. When the husband spits the water out, immediately the wife has to get her mouth filled.
At any given time, one of you should have your mouth full of water.”
The couple was mystified. However, they went home and followed the wise man’s advice. Soon, they found that they could not fight any more, because when the husband tried to argue about something, there was water in the wife’s mouth, and when the wife tried to argue about something, the husband had water in his mouth.
Soon, there were no more fights. The couple realized that just by keeping quiet, they could avoid many problems.
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