4.2. Past Perfect-Continuous Tense
Study the table of the English tenses above and grammar references.
Revision 1: Study the situations when the past perfect-continuous tense is used.
Emphasis is put on the duration of an action which started and finished in the past before another past action or by a stated time in the past, usually with since or for. Situations answer the question ‘How long?’
She had been working on the computer for an hour before he came to help her.
She had been writing an article since morning by the time he came.
How long had you been waiting for the bus before it arrived?
Had Peter been driving for two hours before he had an accident?
We had been playing tennis for half an hour when it started to rain.
An action which lasted for some time in the past and its result was also visible in the past.
- At last the bus came. I’d been waiting for 20 minutes.
- She was tired. (Why? Because) - She had been working hard all day yesterday. (Compare this situation with the Present Perfect Continuous: She is tired. She has been working hard all day.)
- She was wet. (Why? Because) - She had been walking in the rain. (Compare: She is wet. She has been walking in the rain.)
Revision 2: Compare and study the sentences with two actions in past tenses.
Past simple: When Jim came, they watched a film on TV. (Jim came home and then they watched a film together – actions happened immediately one after the other in the past.)
Past Continuous: When Jim came home, Mary was watching a film on TV. (She was still watching TV when Jim came home – one longer action was interrupted by a shorter one.)
Past Perfect: When Jim came home, Mary had already watched the film on TV. (She watched the film first. Jim came home afterwards – a past action which preceded another past action.)
Past Perfect-Continuous: By the time Jim came home, Mary had been watching the film on TV for an hour. (Mary started and finished the action in the past before Jim came – emphasis was put on the duration of an action which started and finished in the past before another past action.)
Practice – Grammar in use
Task 1: Put the verbs in brackets into the correct form of the past perfect-continuous.
1. Sophie ________ (paint) the walls all day before she finished her work.
2. _________ (you / wait) for long when the boss announced that he couldn’t see you?
3. Tom ________ (look) for a job for six months by the time he found one.
4. They ________ (sunbathe) for an hour when it started to rain.
5. They were tired. They_______ (discuss) business problems for an hour.
6. Jim gave up smoking two months ago. He ________ (smoke) for 30 years.
Task 2: Put the verbs in brackets into the present / past perfect-continuous.
1. What you (to do) for the past two weeks until today?
2. Suddenly she understood that she (to speak) for a long time and it was time to stop.
3. He (to paint) this picture for two years and I don’t know when he is going to finish it.
4. The children (to fight) for some time when the door opened and the teacher came into the classroom.
Task 3: Past Perfect or Past Perfect Continuous in this dialogue?
A: Are you alright? You look tired.
B: Yes, I am. I didn’t sleep very well. I ________ (just / go) to sleep last night when a lot of noise outside woke me up. I got up and went to the window. I ________ (stand) there for a few minutes when two police cars stopped outside the house. I went downstairs and a policeman told me that two prisoners ________ (escape) from prison and were hiding in the area.
A: Did they catch them again?
B: Yes, but I didn’t t sleep very well after that.
Task 4: Complete the sentences about yourself.
Two months ago, while I ________________.
When I was a child, I ___________________.
During my last holiday, I ________________.
On my first day at school, I ______________.
Last Saturday, after I ___________________.