Past perfect continuous tense is also known as past perfect progressive in English grammar.
Past perfect continuous tense is a verb tense that describes actions that started in the past, continued for a certain period, and finally ended in the past.
In this article, you will learn the past perfect continuous tense, how to make sentences using past perfect continuous, and some examples of past perfect continuous tense to learn how it works in English.
Past perfect continuous is a verb tense that describes actions started in the past, continued for a certain period, and ended in the past. Let’s see some examples of past perfect continuous tense to understand this tense works in English.
Examples:
- He had been working in the company for five years.
- She had been cooking for two hours before the guest arrived.
- They had been using laptops for hours.
- We had been playing cricket for many years.
- I had been studying in the library before going abroad.
- You had been sleeping all day long.
How to Identify Past Perfect Continuous
Past perfect continuous tense uses auxiliary verb had been with present participle (base verb + ing). A present participle is a form of verb formed by adding ing to the base verb. We add -ing at the end of the base verb. Sometimes, you may see words like “when, for, since, and before” in the sentences of past perfect continuous tense.
For instance:
- He had been playing cricket before entering politics.
- She had been teaching geography at the university when she got married.
- He had been knocking at the door for 15 minutes before he was told to leave.
When to Use Past Perfect Continuous Tense
We use past perfect continuous tense when one thing or action started in the past, continued for a certain period of time and then ended in the past. If the action did not continue in the past. Then we simply use past perfect tense.
- He had read the book. (past perfect)
- He had been reading the book for two months. (past perfect continuous)
In the first sentence, the action has started and ended in the past and there was no continuity in the action. it just happened in the past and ended in the past. On the other hand, in the second sentence, the action started in the past, continued for a period of time (two months in the second example), and then finally ended.
How to Make Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Making past perfect continuous tense is simple. We use the auxiliary verb had been with the ing-verb. It does not change whether the subject is singular or plural.
The structural formula of past perfect continuous tense is:
Subject + had been + Present participle (base verb +ing)
Let’s see some examples:
- He had been working.
- She had been working.
- It had been working.
- They had been working.
- You had been working.
- I had been working.
- We had been working.
Positive Sentences of Past Perfect Continuous
In positive sentences of past perfect continuous tense, the subject comes at the beginning of the sentence, followed by the helping verbs (had been) and the present participle (base verb + ing).
For instance:
- He had been going to school.
- He had been sleeping in the daytime.
- He had been competing in the election.
Negative Sentences of Past Perfect Continuous
To make negative sentences of past perfect continuous tense, we use not in between had been. the rest of the sentence remain same.
For instance;
- She had not been taking part in the competition.
- She had not been studying hard.
- She had not been reading books.
- She had not been watching TV.
Question Sentences of Past Perfect Continuous
To make question sentences in the past perfect continuous tense, we use helping verbs at the beginning of the sentence. For instance, “had he gone?”.
The structure of the sentence will look like this:
Had + Subject + been + ing-verb.
Examples
- Had they been playing the match?
- Had they been talking all the time?
- Had they been watching the movie?
If there is wh-words (when, why, what, who, where), then use wh-word at the beginning of the sentence.
- Where had he been working before retirement?
Using For/Since in Sentences
We use the word ‘for’ for an unspecified time and ‘since’ for a specific time.
- He had been studying at university for five years.
- It had been raining since morning.
Examples of past perfect continuous tense
Let’s read the following sentences and practice them to get a better understanding of the past perfect continuous tense.
- He had been working on the project for months.
- He had been writing a book for two years.
- She had been cooking food all day long.
- I had been finishing the task.
- I had been listening to him for hours when I left for work.
- We had been watching tv.
Past perfect continuous tense is a verb tense that is used to describe things or actions that start in the past, continued in the past, and ended in the past.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about past perfect continuous tense.
What is past perfect continuous tense?
Past perfect continuous tense is a verb tense used to describe action that started in the past, continued in the past, and finally ended in the past.
How do you use past perfect continuous tense?
Past perfect continuous uses the auxiliary verb ‘had been’ with the ‘-ing verb’ (base form + ing).
What is past perfect continuous tense with example?
- He had been working at the store for five years.
- She had been cooking food before the guest arrived.
I hope this article helped you learn about past perfect continuous tense, how to use it, when to use it, and how to form a sentence structure. You may also want to see our complete guide on verb tenses in English.