The Past Perfect Continuous Tense
The Past Perfect Continuous Tense is used:
to talk about actions which had been in progress before or up to the time of another past action
I had been walking for about half an hour when it suddenly started to rain.
to describe a repeated action
He'd been phoning every night for a month.
We use the following time expressions with the Past Perfect Continuous Tense
already |
We had already been working on the project for two weeks when you joined the team. |
for (a long time) |
Emma and Jill suddenly realized that they had been talking on the phone for two hours. |
since |
She had a headache because she had been studying hard without stopping since 2.30. |
NOTE:
The Past Perfect Continuous Tense is not used with verbs which are not used in the continuous form except with want and wish.
The boy was delighted with his new knife. He had been wanting one for a long time.
Positive form
h
ad
('d) been Participle I (Verb + -ing)
You He/She/It |
had (‘d) been cooking on the stove. |
We You They |
had (‘d) been cooking on the stove. |
I
Exercise 10. Complete the sentences using the Past Perfect Continuous of the verbs in brackets.
Example: Mr Brown had been working (work) for 45 years when he finally retired in 1970.
1. The FBI___(look) for the criminal for three years before they caught him.
2. When Sam got home, his hair was still wet because he___(swim).
3. Joe ___ (already/think) about changing his job when he got the offer.
4. They didn't like the house, even though they___ (live) there for years.
5. We___(travel) for about four hours when I realized that something was wrong with one of the tyres.
N
egative
form
I You He/She/It We You They |
had not(hadn’t) been working all night. |
Exercise 11. Complete the sentences with the negative form of the verbs in brackets. Use the Past Perfect Continuous Tense.
Example: We hadn't been waiting (not/wait) for her for a long time. She arrived in time.
1. “I'm really sorry I was so late last night.” - “That’s OK. We___(not/wait)”.
2. I ___(not/feel) well for weeks before I finally went to see the doctor.
3. When Frank got home, he found that his children ___ (not/do) their homework.
4. He___(not/try) to find a good job for quite a long time.
G
eneral
question
Had |
I You He/She/It We You They |
been doing anything before it all happened? - Yes/No, |
I You He/She/It We You They |
had(n’t) |
Exercise 12. Make these sentences into general questions.
Example: Glen had been driving for an hour when his car broke down.
Had Glen been driving for an hour when his car broke down?
1. We'd been waiting for an hour when our train finally arrived.
2. Henry had been playing football for over ten years when he gave it up in 1995.
3. They'd been living in London for fifteen years when they moved to Paris last year.
4. She'd been standing there for nearly half an hour when she realized she was at the wrong bus-stop.
Alternative question
|
I You He/She We You They |
been talking with the executive manager or his deputy? - (With) his deputy. |
HadHad it been raining all night or only at dawn? - All night.
Exercise 13. Ask alternative questions with the following words. Give answers.
Example: You/read/for/an hour/two hours/before you turned on the TV?
Had you been reading for an hour or two hours before you turned on the TV?
- (I'd been reading) for two hours.
1. You/sit/in the sunshine/for/about thirty minutes/ an hour/when you suddenly felt sick?
2. There were books everywhere. She/read books/tidy up/her room?
3. Dave/smoke/for 20 years/less/before he gave up that bad habit?
4. They/travel/for/a week/two weeks/before they finally got there?
5. He/try to get/Julia/her sister/on the phone?
Special questions
What had your son been doing when you came back from work? |
Playing computer games. |
||
What had she been cooking when you got home? |
A cake. |
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When had they been shopping all day? |
Last Saturday. |
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Where had the soldiers been marching? |
To the parade. |
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Where had they been living before they left for Hungary? |
In Poland. |
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Why had you been phoning her every day for a month? |
I had to talk to her. |
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What kind of film had Patrick been watching when his mother entered the room? |
A western. |
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Which serial had your grandpa been watching all last week? |
“Unknown War". |
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Whose (friends) had Helen been staying with before she found a hotel? |
Peter's. |
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How (in what way) had they been trying to get in touch with her? |
By cellphone. |
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How fast had he been driving when he knocked down a child? |
At about 100 km an hour. |
||
How much had she been earning when he asked for promotion? |
Not very much, I guess. |
||
How long had you been corresponding with your penfriend? |
For about a year. |
||
Object questions |
|
|
|
Who had |
you |
been calling every day for the past week? - A colleague of mine. |
|
What had |
you |
been waiting for when I ran into you? - The bus. |
|
Subject questions |
|
|
|
Who had |
— |
been doing up the room all day? - The decorators. |
|
What had |
— |
been going on at Harry's place all last night? - A stag party. |
|
Exercise 14. Ask questions about the information in italics.
1. Jill had been painting her room before her friends called in.
2. They'd been trying to phone her all the weekend.
3. The Browns had been staying at the Hilton because their friends couldn't put them up.
4. Terry and Ellen had been going to the theatre when I met them.
5. Greta had been looking through the 'Vogue' magazine when Paul dropped in.
6. Peggy had been waiting for Daniel's call that evening.
7. They'd been walking 3 kilometres an hour.
T
ag
question
You He/She/It We You They |
had(‘d) been waiting for an hour, hadn’t |
I? you? he/she/it? we? you? they? |
- Yes (No,) |
I you he/she/it we you they |
had(n’t) |
I You He/She/It We You They |
hadn‘t been working there all day, had |
I? you? he/she/it? we? you? they? |
- No (Yes,) |
I? you? he/she/it? we? you? they? |
hadn’t (had) |
I
Exercise 15. Give the right tag to these sentences.
1. You hadn't been standing there since 6 o'clock, __?
2. They hadn't been writing to the firm for all that time, __?
3. Jane had been studying English for 5 years before she visited England, __?
4. He'd been running in the park when I saw him, __?
5. They had been ringing me about it every day for the past week , __?
6. You hadn't been playing volleyball all evening, __?
Past Perfect vs. Past Perfect Continuous
Past Perfect |
Past Perfect Continuous |
is used: 1) to express a single completed action that happened before a definite time in the past When I got home, I found that Jack had painted the door. (Perhaps recently, perhaps some time ago.) - a completed action |
is used: 1) to express longer activities that had been going on continuously up to or beyond a definite time in the past When I got home, I found that Jack had been painting the door. (The paint was probably still wet.) - an uncompleted action |
2) with verbs not used in the Continuous Tense By the time they finally broke up, they had known each other for ten years. |
2) with want and sometimes wish Ruth had always been wanting to live somewhere in the mountains a long way from the hustle and bustle of London. |
Exercise 16. Past Perfect or Past Perfect Continuous? Choose the best answer.
Example: Sarah A a beautiful meal for her guests and they all enjoyed it.
A) had prepared; B) had been preparing.
1. I knew my mother __ the washing because the washing machine was still working when I got in. |
|
A) had done; |
B) had been doing. |
2. By 10.30 the children __ their homework and were ready to go to bed. |
|
A) had been doing; |
B) had done. |
3. My son came home crying because someone __ his money. |
|
A) had stolen; |
B) had been stealing. |
4. She saw empty glasses and cups and realized that three people __ in the room. |
|
A) had been; |
B) had been being. |
5. It was midnight. Tom __ for four hours. No wonder he was getting tired. |
|
A) had studied; |
B) had been studying. |
6. Andy's father bought him a car because he __ top in the final exam. |
|
A) had been coming; |
B) had come. |
7. Clark went to hospital because he __ his hand while he was mending a broken window. |
|
A) had been cutting; |
B) had cut. |
8. Ada's mother shouted at her when she came home late because she __ about her all evening. |
|
A) had worried; |
B) had been worrying. |
9. I was very pleased when my daughter found my watch because I __ for it for hours. |
|
A) had been looking; |
B) had looked. |
10. Henry suddenly realized that the teacher was asking him a question. He couldn't answer because he __ for the last five minutes. |
|
A) had been daydreaming; |
B) had daydreamed. |
11. Robert wrote to the local newspaper about some rare insects which he __while he was walking in the woods. |
|
A) had been seeing; |
B) had seen. |
12. Mark sent postcards to the new friends he __ while he was attending a language course. |
|
A) had made; |
B) had been making. |