CONTENT
The past perfect continuous tense, also known as the past perfect progressive, is used to put an emphasis on the process of an action that took place before or up to a certain past time rather than its completion.
It is similar to the present perfect continous tense but is used to express past actions. Signal words for the past perfect progressive tense include all day, the whole week, for an hour, since 5 o'clock, etc., and refer to the past.
Example
Explanation
He had been studying for hours to pass the exam.
Here, the past perfect continuous is used to emphasize the longevity of the action rather than its result.
Conjugation
Rule 1: To form the past perfect continuous tense, we use the same structure had + been + verb in the -ing form for all persons.
Here is an overview of how to conjugate the past perfect continuous in positive, negative and interrogative sentences:
| Person | Positive | Negative | Question |
|---|---|---|---|
| I / you / we / they; he / she / it | I had been thinking. | She had not been thinking. | Had they been thinking? |
| Person | Positive | Negative | Question |
|---|---|---|---|
| I / you / we / they; he / she / it | I had been thinking. | She had not been thinking. | Had they been thinking? |
Note: In spoken and informal English, we can also use contractions in the past perfect continuous tense - a short combination of the verb had and particle not.
Here's an overview of contractions for the past perfect continuous tense:
| Long Form | Contraction | Example |
|---|---|---|
| had | 'd | they'd |
| had not | 'd not / hadn't | they'd not / they hadn't |
| Long Form | Contraction | Example |
|---|---|---|
| had | 'd | they'd |
| had not | 'd not / hadn't | they'd not / they hadn't |
Usage
Rule 2: We use the past perfect continuous tense to describe an action that started before a certain time in the past and was interrupted by a second action.
Example
Explanation
She had been vacuuming for an hour when she saw a robot vacuum cleaner.
The past perfect continuous is used to desctibe an action that started in the past (had been vacuuming) that was interrupted by another action (saw).
Note: The past perfect continuous tense isn't often used in spoken English and is frequently replaced with past continous for simplicity.
Rule 3: We use the past perfect continuous tense to describe an action that started and ended before a certain time in the past but the effect of this action was still important at that moment.
Example
Explanation
When her husband came home, she looked tired because she had been vacuuming the house for hours.
The past perfect continuous is used to express an action (had been vacuuming) that ended before a certain moment in the past (husband came home), but the effect of this action (looked tired) is still important at the moment.
Rule 4: We use the past perfect continuous tense to describe an action that started before a certain time in the past and wasn’t completed at that time.
Example
Explanation
When her husband came home, she had been vacuuming for hours, but she still hadn’t finished the whole house.
The past perfect continuous is used to express an action (had been vacuuming) that started before a certain moment in the past (husband came home), but is still in progress (hadn't finished).
Note: Sometimes, we can use past perfect instead of past perfect continuous to change the focus of the sentence from the duration of an action to its completion.
Example
Explanation
She had been vacuuming for hours (past perfect continuous).
She had vacuumed for hours (past perfect).
The first sentence focuses on the process of the action itself, while the second sentence emphasizes its completion.
Quiz
1/4
Complete the sentence. He wasn't at the party last night because he ___ been working all night.
0
correct answers.