Full lesson on Past perfect continuous tense

 Past perfect continuous tense is not frequently used in spoken and written English. However, for academic purposes students are required to learn all the tenses, including past perfect continuous tense.

In this article you will be able to learn two important structures of past perfect with an exercise at the end of the lesson.

Past perfect continuous

Structure.1: 

          subject       helping verb                 main verb

          I                  had                      been working.     

          You             had                      been playing       tennis.

          It                 had                      been working     well.

          We              had                     been expecting  her.

          Had             you                      been drinking?  

          Had             they                     been waiting      long?

 

Interrogative structure:

Had    + subject    + been    + Verb-ing    + object

Had        I                 been        working            ? 

Negative:

Subject    + had not been    + verb-ing    + object

I                 had not been        working. 

Structure.2

Past continuous                     + past indefinite

Subject + had been     + verb + ing + simple past

I was talking to my friend when you entered the room = Recent past

I had been talking to my friend when you entered the room. Distant past 

He had been drinking milk out the carton when Mom walked into the kitchen.

I had been working at the company for five years when I got the promotion

Instructions: Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb in the past perfect continuous tense.

1. Ali ___________ (study) for two hours before she took a break.
2. By the time I arrived, they ___________ (wait) for the bus for half an hour.
3. The children were exhausted because they ___________ (play) outside all afternoon.
4. He looked tired because he ___________ (work) in the garden for several hours.
5. Before the party started, she ___________ (prepare) food in the kitchen.

Answers:

1. had been studying
2. had been waiting
3. had been playing
4. had been working
5. had been preparing