1. Introduction
The past perfect continuous is very similar to the present perfect continuous.
It is constructed by using: subject + had been + present participle (-ing)
Use the past perfect continuous to talk about something that had been going on for some time before something else happened. There are usually two separate things that happen in a past perfect continuous statement.
2. Forming the past perfect
The past perfect continuous is composed of two elements – the past perfect of the verb to be (=had been) + the present participle (base+ing).
| Subject | had been | verb + ing |
|---|---|---|
| I | had been | walking |
| Affirmative | ||
| She | had been | trying |
| Negative | ||
| She | hadn’t been | sleeping |
| Interrogative | ||
| Had you | been | eating? |
| Interrogative negative | ||
| Hadn’t they | been | living? |
3. Examples
- Had you been waiting long before the bus arrived?
- We had been trying to open the door for five minutes when Jane found her key.
- It had been raining hard for several hours and the streets were very wet.
To sleep, past perfect continuous
| Affirmative | Negative | Interrogative |
|---|---|---|
| I had been sleeping | I hadn’t been sleeping | Had I been sleeping? |
| You had been sleeping | You hadn’t been sleeping | Had you been sleeping? |
| She had been sleeping | She hadn’t been buying | Had she been sleeping? |
| We had been sleeping | We hadn’t been sleeping | Had we been sleeping? |
| They had been sleeping | They hadn’t been sleeping | Had they been sleeping? |
51520cookie-checkPast tense 4 – Past perfect continuous
