The Past Perfect Continuous Tense

ويتكون من:

Had been + v+ing

ويستخدم الماضي التام المستمر ليعبر عن حدث استمر لفترة في الماضي قبل وقوع حدث آخر ويستخدم عادة مع when/since / for/ all day / all weekend :

ويأتي عادة مع أفعال يمكن أن تستغرق فترة طويلة مثل wait / do / study / live / work / stay / play / watch / sleep / paint / read / write / talk / run / walk / travel, ..etc:

I had been studying my lessons when suddenly I heard a loud noise.

He had been painting the wall when suddenly he fell off the ladder.

When I met him, he had been working for two hours.

They had been waiting for an hour before the train arrived.

What had he been doing when the accident happened?

He was tired because he had been working since dawn.

He was covered in paint. He had been painting the room since we left.

Our game of tennis was interrupted. We had been playing for an hour when it started to rain.

لاحظ أن هناك أفعال لا تستخدم في الأزمنة المستمرة عموما ومنها الماضي التام المستمر (راجع الوحدة الأولي):

We were good friends. We had known each other for 10 years.

ومن الخطأ استخدام الماضي التام المستمر في الجملة السابقة.

كما لا يستخدم الماضي التام المستمر مع الأفعال التي لا تستغرق عادة فترة طويلة في حدوثها مثل break down / stop / close / open/ end / finish وفي هذه الحالة نستخدم الماضي التام:

She was late for the meeting because her car had broken down.

إذا ذكرنا مرات حدوث الفعل لا يستخدم الماضي التام المستمر بل نستخدم الماضي التام:

When I met Ahmed, he had finished typing 3 reports.

Choose the correct answer:

1. There were floods because it (had been raining – has been raining – was raining – rains) for three days.

2. By the time he was 12, my brother (learnt – had learnt – has learnt – learns) 3 languages.

3. When I went to my friend's flat, she (already left – has already left – had already left) for school.

4. Last year, I spent a month in France. I (dream – had dreamt – has dreamt – was dreaming) of going there since I was a child.

5. Leila and her husband (move – have moved –moved – had been moving) into their own flat last weekend. Before that they had lived with Leila's parents.

6. My father retired last week. He (worked – has worked – has been working – had worked) for the same company all his life.

7. Karim fell asleep during the football match because he (had gone – has gone – was going – is going) to bed late the night before.

8. Ali ate a sandwich during the game because he (wasn't having – had not had – doesn't have – won't have) enough time to eat before it started.

9. Hassan (borrows – has borrowed – borrowed – was borrowing) money from Ali because he had left his money at home.

10. Adel asked which team was red because he (doesn't see – hasn't seen – can't see – had not seen) these teams before.

11. Jack knew Steve was at the match because Steve (had phoned – phones – was phoning – would phone) him before he went.

12. Paul (has looked – was looking - had been looking – looks) for work for over a year before he got a job.

13. By the time she (finishes - finished – has finished – was finishing) writing her report, she had drunk six cups of tea.

14. The little children's clothes (are – have been – were being – were) dirty because they had been playing in the park all day.

15. He (had been driving – was driving – drives – to drive) for only 3 weeks, so it is not surprising that he failed his driving test.

16. I went to the doctor's yesterday evening because I (have been feeling – was feeling - had been feeling – feel) ill for nearly a week.

17. When I got home, I was very tired. I (have been working – work – had been working – have worked) all day.

18. The town was flooded. It (has rained – had been raining – has been raining – rains) for 3 days.

19. After I (finish – have finished – had been finishing – had finished) my homework, I watched my favourite TV programme.

20. Before (wrote – writing – had written – has written) this novel, he had become famous as a playwright.

Find the mistakes in each of the following sentences then write them correctly:

1. After his father had died, the mother doesn't send her son to school.

2. By the time Ahmed was 20, his father has spent all his money.

3. He finds works as a secretary to someone who had been a friend of his father's.

4. They discovered that Dumas has been employing other people to write for him.

5. Before he wrote his novels, he has written plays.

6. His father probably died young because he has spent time in prison.

7. The man Dumas works for in Paris had known his father.

8. He was a successful writer when people realized that his books had written by other people.

9. Dumas checked what his assistants have written.

10. When he dies in 1870, his son had been looking after his finances for a few years.

11. When I saw him, he hasn't finished his work yet.

12. He didn't know the truth until he reads the newspaper.

13. No sooner he had left the building than it collapsed.

14. I was terribly afraid because I have never flown before.

15. The child was so exhausted because he has been playing all day.

Language Functions:

Offering Help	Replies to Offers
Is there anything I can do to help?	That's very kind of you.
Would you like me to…?	Would you mind?
If you like, I could … for you.	Thanks very much
Shall I …for you?	That's great.
Let me …	I'd really appreciate that. Thanks.