Past perfect continuous tense in English

This chapter will discuss the past perfect continuous tense in English. This tense is used to describe actions that were going on in the past until another action in the past occured. 

Structure of the English past perfect continuous

To form the past perfect continuous the past perfect of the verb 'to be' is used followed by the present participle of the main verb (verb + ing). 

had been + present participle (infinitive + ing)

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Examples:

• We had been writing each other letters since 2015. 
• I had been preparing my wedding since last year. 

How to form the past perfect continuous tense 

How the past perfect continuous is formed, depends on whether the sentence is:

1. Affirmative: expresses the truth of a certain assertion.
2. Negative: expresses the falsity of a certain assertion. 
3. Interrogative: expresses a question.

1. Affirmatives 

Structure: Subject + past perfect of 'to be' (had been) + present participle (verb + suffix 'ing') + rest of the sentence

The table below shows the conjugation of the past perfect of the verb 'to be'. 

Examples:

• I had been walking to the supermarket.
• He had been planning his trip to Spain since last year. 

2. Negatives 

Structure: Subject + negative form of the past perfect of 'to be' (had not been) + present participle (verb + suffix 'ing') + rest of the sentence 

The table below shows the conjugation of the past perfect of the verb 'to be' in the negative form. 

Examples:

• She had not been waiting for you.
• They had not been cooking all morning. 

3. Interrogatives

Structure: Past perfect of 'to be' (have) + Subject + Past participle of the verb 'to be' ('been') + present participle (verb + suffix 'ing')+ rest of the sentence + question mark

Examples:

• Had you been crying during the movie?
• Had you been waiting a long time before the bus arrived?

Usage of the past perfect continuous 

The past perfect continuous tense is used to describe actions that were going on in the past until another action in the past occurred. The table below shows the different situations in which the past perfect continuous is used. 

Difference between since and for

The past perfect continuous refers to an ongoing action in the past until another action in the past occured. This tense is usually accompanied by the following signal words:

• For: is used to define the duration of an action or event.
• Examples: for six years, for a week, for a month, for two hours.

• Since: is used to define the starting point of an action or event. 
• Examples: since this morning, since 2015, since yesterday. 

Test your knowledge of the present perfect continuous with the exercises below!