The past perfect continuous (progressive) tense

HAD BEEN + V + ING

Exercise 1. Comment on the use of the Past Perfect Continuous in the following sentences. Translate the sentences into Russian.

1. When she arrived I had been waiting for three hours. 2. Dave had been driving for an hour when his car broke down. 3. I had been working hard all day, so I was very tired last night. 4. When I came, he had been sleeping for two hours. 5. He felt tired when he came home as he had been playing football. 6. Ken gave up smoking two years ago. He had been smoking for 30 years. 7. Her eyes were red. I saw she had been crying. 8. How long had you been waiting when the bus finally came? 9. When the boys came into the house, their clothes were dirty, their hair was untidy and one of them had a black eye. They’d been fighting. 10. Hastings had been staying at the hotel for a week when his friend arrived. 11. Someone had been writing with my pen. That was why there was no ink in it. 12. Jacob said he had been noticing strange things.

Exercise 2. Read the situation and make your own sentence for them using the Past Perfect Continuous.

Model: It was three o’clock when Jill went out to look for her son and six o’clock when she found him.

Jill had been looking for her son for three hours before she found him.

1. Roger Morgan got his job in the film industry when he was 20. He made his first film when he was 25. 2. Steve arrived at the airport at 7 o’clock, but his plane took off only at noon. 3. Martha is a very shy person. She moved into the apartment house in 1980. She began to speak to her neighbours only two years later. 4. Robert began to write poetry at 9. His first book of poetry was published when he was 25. 5. John started working at the bank at 20. He asked for his first raise only 12 years later. 6. We played tennis yesterday. half an hour after we began playing, it started to rain. 7. I had arranged to meet Tom in a restaurant. I arrived and waited for him. After 20 minutes I suddenly realized that I was in the wrong restaurant. 8. Sarah got a job in a factory. Five years later the factory closed down. 9. I went to a concert last week. The orchestra began playing. After about ten minutes a man in the audience suddenly began to shout. 10. Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins went to live in the south of France. Six months later Mr. Jenkins dies. 11. When I arrived Carry was still waiting for me. But she was annoyed with me because I was forty minutes late. 12. Nelly got the job of a sales manager in a big company. After two years she was promoted. 13. We walked for an hour. Then we understood that we had taken the wrong road. 14. He worked at the laboratory for five years. Then he changed his job. 15. My friend Walter was courting his girlfriend Alice. Five years after they got acquainted he asked her to marry him. 16. The factory was producing toys for children. After ten years the management decided to change the assortment completely.

Exercise 3. Respond to the following statements giving your reasons in the Past Perfect Continuous. Use the prompts in brackets.

Model: John was short of breath.(run all the way)

John was short of breath because he had been running all the way.

1. His hands were dirty.(work in the garden) 2. There was nobody in the room but there was a smell of cigarettes.(somebody/smoke/in the room). 3. She looked upset when I saw her last month.(look for a job for four months) 4. She passed all her examinations very well.(study hard) 5. He was behind the class.(not study properly) 6. There was paint in Roy’s hair.(paint the fence) 7. When Mary came back from the beach, she looked very red from the sun.(lie in the sun too long) 8. Her eyes were red.(cry) 9. She got used to his strange ways.(live together for a long time) 10. When I looked out into the street yesterday morning the ground was wet.(rain at night) 11. When I met her last week she looked very tired.(look after her sick mother) 12. She looked half asleep.(rest) 13. Susan woke up in the middle of the night. She was frightened and didn’t know where she was. (dream) 14. It turned out that my type-writer was broken.(somebody/ use) 15. Lisa caught a cold.(walk in the rain) 16. Roger was red in the face.(his mother/scold)

Exercise 4. Translate into English using the Past Perfect Continuous.

1. Я два года работал на заводе, прежде чем смог поступить в университет. 2. До нашего приезда два дня шел сильный снег. 3. Она посмотрела на часы. Было около двенадцати. Она работала над докладом в течение 6 часов. 4. Туристы ждали автобуса очень долго, и когда он подошел, было уже очень поздно, и им уже не хотелось никуда ехать. 5. Когда я позвонил Николаю, я узнал, что он уже две недели болеет. 6. У тебя покраснели глаза. Ты плакала? 7. Она отложила в сторону книгу, которую читала, и подошла к окну. 8. Я знал, что они уже много лет переписываются. 9. Сколько времени вы пели в хоре до того, как начали заниматься в музыкальной школе. 10. Я очень устал, так как переводил статью с раннего утра. 11. Она была больна уже два дня, когда послали за доктором. 12. У него было такое чувство, что он живет здесь очень давно. 13. Я почти два часа искал свой учебник, когда вы прзвонили и сказали, что обнаружили мой учебник в своем портфеле. 14. Когда ты позвонил, я уже работал два часа. 15. Когда я добрался до деревни, я почувствовал себя очень усталым, так как я шел в течение двух часов и нес тяжелый чемодан. 16. Он был уверен, что она живет в Москве с 1985 года.

Exercise 5. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct form: past continuous or past perfect continuous:

1. Tom was leaning against the wall, out of breath. He (run). 2. I tried to catch Tom but I couldn’t. He (run) very fast. 3. Jim was on his hands and knees on the floor. He (look for) his cigarette lighter. 4. We (walk) along the road for about 20 minutes, when a car stopped and the driver offered us a lift. 5. When I arrived everyone was sitting round the table with their mouths full. They (eat). 6. When I arrived, Ann (wait) for me. She was rather annoyed with me because she (wait) for a long time. 7. When I came home he (sleep). He (sleep) for some time. 8. It (rain) when they left the house. It (rain) hard during the whole morning. 9. She (go) to this school for several years when the war broke out. 10. They (sit) on the platform for 15 minutes before the train arrived. 11. It was very noisy next door. Our neighbours (have) a party. 12. When I arrived, everyone was sitting round the table and talking. Their mouths were empty but their stomachs were full. They (eat). 13. Mary was sitting on the ground. She was out of breath. She (run). 14. We were extremely tired at the end of the journey. We (travel) for more than 24 hours. 15. It (not to rain) when we went out. But it (rain), so the ground was wet. 16. Ann (sit) in an armchair watching television. She was tired because she (work) very hard.

Exercise 6. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct form: past perfect or past perfect continuous:

1. We were good friends. We (know) each other for a long time. 2. Jack (fish) for three hours before he caught his first fish. 3. I knew the facts of the case because I (read) the report. 4. My eyes ached because I (read) for three hours. 5. He said he (look for) a flat for five weeks and he (not to find) one. 6. They (stay) at the seaside for two days when the weather suddenly changed for the worse. 7. He already (park) the car when I arrived. 8. He (drive) all day, so he was very tired when he arrived. 9. I (finish) cleaning the car before 1 o’clock. 10. What you (do) in the garden before we came. 11. I (live) in Germany before I came to Russia. 12. The child (sleep) for an hour before his father came. 13. I (stand) there for nearly an hour when I realized I was at the wrong bus stop. 14. Edward went to Baghdad last week. He (plan) this trip for three months. 15. My watch (keep) good time before I dropped it. 16. By that time he already (change) his mind. 17. When we finally got there, the children (wait) for hours. 18. His hair was damp. He (swim) again. 19. She danced better now. Her brother (teach) her probably. 20. I felt very cold because I (stand) outside for over two hours.

Exercise 7. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct form: past simple, past continuous, past perfect or past perfect continuous:

1. He (read) his evening newespaper when a friend of his (call) him on the telephone. 2. By the end of the summer he (learn) a lot of English words. 3. He (read) before the fire for half an hour when the telephone (ring). 4. When we (come) to their place last night, they (play) chess; they (say) they (play) since six o’clock. 5. When I first (meet) him, he (lecture) at Cambridge University for ten years. 6. She (feel) chilly after she (swim) for an hour. 7. She (look) at him since they (sit) down; and he wondered what she (think) about all the time. 8. They (tell) me that Bill still (swim). 9. The boys (play) football and (not to hear) their mother calling them from the window. 10. The boys (be) tired because they (play) hockey. 11. I (be) pleased to see my old college friends at the conference last week as we (not to see) each other since we (finish) our college. 12. We (miss) our train, so by the time we (reach) the theatre, the play (end) and the audience (leave) the theatre. 13. At the end of their meal they (find) they couldn’t pay the bill because they (not to bring) any money with them. 14. When I (come) of the cinema I (find) that a thief (take) my car radio. 15. At first the authorities (think) the athlete (take) drugs, but they soon (realize) they (mix up) the results of the tests. 16. When we (reach) the city we couldn’t find a parking space, so we (decide) to go by bus the next time. 17. Mary (meet) her husband, while she (work) in the States. 18. Maggie (take) a hot bath because she (work) in the garden all afternoon. 19. He (look) at the fire and (think) of something. 20. He (look) three or four minutes at the fire and then (turn) his face to me.

Exercise 8. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct form: past simple, past continuous, past perfect or past perfect continuoius:

1. At last I (find) the book, which I (look for) all. 2. He asked me what I (look for). 3. When I (enter) the room my uncle (talk) in a loud voice. 4. They (tell) me that my uncle just (talk) about me. 5. Greta boasted that her boss (give) her an extra half hour for lunch because she (work) very hard all morning. 6. Bruce (go) to hospital because he (cut) his hand while he (try) to mend a broken window. 7. I (be) very pleased when my son (find) my watch because we (look for) it for hours. 8. As Mary (get) out of the boat her foot (slip) and she (fall) into the river. 9. While I (wait) for the bus I (notice) a group of tourists who (listen) attentively to a guide. 10. I (lose) my purse while I (go) to work. 11. How often you (visit) your cousins when you (be) in the States last year? 12. The children (fight) for some time when the door (open) and the teacher (come) into the classroom. 13. The Second World War (begin) in 1939. 14. They (drive) for about half an hour when they (realize) they (be) lost. 15. After Molly (break) her engagement, she (go) abroad. 16. When he (dreess) he (go) downstairs, (write) a long letter to his parents and another to his sister. 17. While I (swim) across the lake somebody (steal) my bicycle. 18. My sister’s birthday (be) the only thing anybody (talk) about for the last two weeks. 19. Clara (prepare) a marvelous meal last night. 20. She (cook) the dinner for half an hour when she (remember) that she (forget) to buy the bread.

Exercise 9. Translate into Englisg using the most suitable form of the verbs: present perfect, past simple, past continuous, past perfect or past perfect continuous.

1. Мэри уехала к родителям до того, как пришла эта телеграмма. 2. Когда последний раз шел снег? - В пятницу. 3. Вы когда-нибудь изучали английский язык? 4. Она надела шляпу и вышла из дома. 5. Я познакомился с этой семьей в 1992 году. С тех пор мы большие друзья. 6. Что она готовила, когда вы вошли в кухню? 7. Мальчики уснули до того, как телевизионная програма закончилась. 8. Я встретился с ней, когда она уже вышла замуж и была замужем пять лет. 9. В комнате пахло дымом. Там кто-то курил. 10. К пяти часам все студенты собрались в актовом зале. 11. Посмотри на мальчиков! Они уже уснули. 12. Вчера он был занят весь день, он чинил телевизор. 13. Мы прожили в деревне два месяца, когда мой брат приехал навестить нас. 14. Мы как раз говорили о нем, когда он вошел. 15. Вчера, когда я мыла посуду, я разбила чашку. 16. Мы прожили у Смитов два дня и вернулись в Лондон поездом. 17. В субботу мы зашли к нему в 10 часов вечера. Он все еще работал. 18. Два года назад он уехал в Саратов и с тех пор там живет. 19. Мы ехали около часа, когда, наконец, мы увидели большое озеро. 20. Я еще никогда не видел ее такой сердитой.