B. Past Perfect Progressive

Утвердительная форма	Вопросительная форма	Отрицательная форма
I He She had been working We You They	I he Had she been working? we you they	I He She had not been working We (hadn’t been working) You They

Утвердительная форма образуется при помощи вспомогательного глагола to be в Past Perfect (had been) и Participle I смыслового глагола:

I (he / she / we / you / they) had been reading.

В вопросительной форме первый вспомогательный глагол (had) ставится перед подлежащим:

Had I (he / she / we / you / they) been reading?

Отрицательная форма образуется при помощи отрицания not, которое ставится после первого вспомогательного глагола (had):

I (he / she / we / you / they) had not (hadn’t) been reading.

Случаи употребления Past Perfect Progressive:

1) Длительное действие, которое началось до определённого момента в прошлом и закончилось в этот момент:

I had been waiting for 2 hours when he came

(т.е., он пришёл, и ожидание закончилось).

He felt tired because he had been playing football (т.е., он играл в футбол, но к моменту упоминания об этом он уже прекратил играть).

2) Длительное действие, которое началось до определённого момента в прошлом и всё ещё продолжалось в этот момент:

She had been teaching English for 2 years when we met

(т.е., она преподавала английский ещё до того, как мы познакомились, и продолжала преподавать и после нашего знакомства).

When I first heard about him he had been working there for 5 months

(т.е., он уже 5 лет проработал там к тому моменту, как я о нём услышал впервые, и продолжал работать и после этого).

В предложениях с the Past Perfect Progressive обычно указывается период времени, в течение которого происходит действие. Этот период может быть обозначен 3-мя способами:

C помощью предлога FOR – в течение, на протяжении – (когда обозначается весь период, в течение которого длилось действие)	He had been working for 2 hours when we came.
C помощью предлога SINCE – с, с тех пор как – (когда обозначается начальный момент действия)	She had been studying foreign languages since she became a student.
C помощью обстоятельственных выражений типа all his life, all the year (month, day)	Jane said she had been writing all day.

Таким образом, употребление the Past Perfect Progressive характерно для сложных предложений:

Не didn’t remember how long he had been sitting there.

She had been watching TV for 2 hours when her parents returned home.

Compare:

When I looked out of the window, it had been raining (в тот момент, когда я выглянул в окно, дождя уже не было, но он шёл до этого в течение какого-то периода)

When I looked out of the window, it was raining (дождь шёл именно в тот момент, когда я выглянул в окно)

Exercise 1. Make the following sentences interrogative and negative:

S tudent A: Student B:

1. He had been working there for many years.

2. It had been raining for 2 hours when I left home.

3. I had been reading for about an hour when he came.

4. She had been working for a long time when her brother came.

5. Her aunt had been living in Moscow for 5 years when the war began.

6. The boy felt very tired as he had been working in the garden.

Exercise 2. Open the brackets using the Past Perfect Progressive:

1. I was tired. I (to work) all day long.

2. The room was empty but there was a smell of cigarettes. Somebody (to smoke) in the room.

3. He turned to the girl who (to listen) to the conversation with interest.

4. We (to work) for 2 hours when Pete joined us.

5. It (to snow) heavily for 3 hours when we left the house.

6. She (to listen) to the music for 2 hours when her sister returned home.

7. I (to work) in this office since I returned from abroad.

8. My grandfather (to work) at a factory for 25 years before he retired.

9. They (to write) each other letters for 2 months.

Exercise 3. Make up the sentences complete combining the suitable parts from the right and left-hand columns:

They had been experimenting for a year She had been studying Spanish for 3 years We had been studying the Past Perfect Progressive for a week She had been saving up money for 3 months He had been writing little stories for some years She had been working at school for 25 years

before she could buy a fur coat before they achieved important results before she became a pensioner before his first book came out before we wrote a test before she went to Spain as a tourist

Exercise 4. Complete the questions and make up short dialogues:

1. How long had your family been living in Grodno before ... (to move to Borisov)?

2. How long had they been saving money before ... (to buy a new car)?

3. How long had she been discussing this question before ... (to arrive at an agreement)?

4. How long had your brother been training before ... (to set a record)?

5. How long had you been listening to this record before ... (to understand every word)?

6. How long had you been waiting for your friend before ... (to come)?

Exercise 5. Make up sentences with the Past Perfect Progressive:

Example: Mother / teach literature for 20 years / retire.

Mother had been teaching literature for 20 years before she retired

1. He / compose music for 2 years / become popular

2. Your friend / live in Vitebsk for 10 years / move to Minsk

3. He / work as an engineer for 7 years / become a good specialist

4. She / take this medicine for a week / recover

5. He / play chess for 5 years / become the world chess champion

6. They / date for 3 years / get married

Exercise 6. Translate into English:

1. Он казал, что работает с пяти часов. 2. Том играл в течение двух часов в тот момент, когда мама позвала его обедать. 3. Она чувствовала себя лучше, так как отдыхала весь вечер. 4. Он работает в банке с тех пор, как вернулся из Англии. 5. Я ждала в течение часа, прежде чем он позвонил. 6. Он учил английский с тех пор как поступил в университет. 7. Весь месяц мы готовились к экзамену. 8. Они сидели в классе в течение 15 минут, когда пришёл учитель. 9. Как долго ты учил это стихотворение, пока запомнил его?

Exercise 7. Open the brackets choosing between the Past Perfect Progressive and the Past Progressive:

1. When I arrived she (to wait) for me. But she was angry because she (to wait for a very long time.

2. John (to drive) the car when the accident happened.

3. The sky (cleared) though it (to rain) still.

4. That day the sun (to shine) since morning and the sky was blue.

5. The children looked tired. They (to walk) since early morning.

6. Jim was on his knees on the floor. He (to look) for his pen.