Past Perfect Continuous Tense:
How to Use It, With Examples
The past perfect continuous (also known as the past perfect
progressive) is a verb tense that shows that an action that started in
the past continued up until another time in the past.
How to form the past perfect continuous
The formula for the past perfect continuous tense is had been +
[present participle (root form of verb + -ing)].
Unlike the present perfect continuous, which indicates an action that
began in the past and has continued up to the present, the past perfect
continuous indicates something that began in the past, continued in the
past, and also ended at a defined point in the 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.
When, for, since, and before are words that you may see used
alongside the past perfect continuous tense.
Martha had been walking three miles a day before she broke her leg.
The program that was terminated had been running smoothly since 1945.
Anh Ngoc had been playing the piano for thirty-five years when she was finally
asked to do a solo with the local orchestra.
He had been throwing rocks at her window for five minutes before she finally
came out on the balcony and said, “Hey, Romeo.”
Explanation
The past perfect progressive tense refers to an ongoing action in the past that was
completed at some point in the past. This form is also called past perfect continuous.
subject + 'had' + 'been' + present participle of verb ('-ing')
The past perfect tense refers to an action that was completed before another past
action or point in time.
subject + 'had' + past participle of verb ('-ed'/irregular)
Example
I had been thinking about studying journalism while I was in college.
I had always wanted to write for a top-of-the-line newspaper.
I had never thought about studying medicine until I was 18 and decided to be a doctor.
She had been studying all day when her sister arrived unexpectedly.
We had been talking about going out to eat when Bob arrived with pizza.
Common mistakes
The past perfect progressive uses the past perfect of 'be.'
She was studying all day when her sister arrived unexpectedly.
She had been studying all day when her sister arrived unexpectedly.
Additionally
subject 'had' 'been' present participle
We had been waiting since dawn.
Janet had been keeping an eye on Brad.
subject 'had' past participle
Her parents had worried.
The class had worked splendidly together.
Explanation
The past perfect progressive tense refers to an ongoing action in the past that was
completed at some point in the past.
subject + 'had' + 'been' + present participle of verb ('-ing')
Example
We had been looking for someone with more journalism experience.
When I was in college, I had been thinking about journalism as a career.
Had she been waiting for an hour?
She hadn't been waiting for an hour.
When she left the house, she saw that it had been raining.
Common mistakes
A sentence with a past perfect continuous verb must include the past participle of
'be,' which is 'been.'
Had she be waiting for an hour?
Had she been waiting for an hour?
Past perfect continuous
We use the past perfect continuous to talk about actions that continued for a
period of time before another action or situation in the past. We use it to focus on
the duration of the action. The action may or may not have continued up to the
moment we are talking about it.
• I’d been living in Italy for three years when we first met.
• When I woke up, I saw that it had been raining.
We often use already with the past perfect to emphasize that the action happened
earlier. We also often use just to show that the action happened a very short time
before.
• She had already been working for two hours by the time we got there.
• Sam had just left when we arrived.
Past perfect continuous
• They had been walking for hours when they saw the house in the distance.
• She was worried because he hadn’t been sleeping well recently.
• We'd been dancing for hours and we were tired.
• He had a headache because he'd been studying since five o’clock in the
morning.
We form the past perfect continuous with:
had + been + -ing.
Positive and negative
Subject had been -ing
+ It had been raining hard.
- I hadn't been feeling well for hours.
Questions
Question word had/hadn't subject been ing
How long had you been waiting before he arrived?
Why hadn't she been feeling well?
We use the past perfect continuous to talk about an action or a situation that
continued for a period of time before another action or situation in the past. This
action may or may not have continued up to the moment we are talking about it.
• I’d been living in Italy for three years when we first met. (I was still living in
Italy when we met.)
• When I woke up, I saw that it had been raining. (It had stopped raining by
the time I woke up.)
Past perfect continuous: uses
Continuing events in the past
We use the past perfect continuous to talk about actions or events which started
before a particular time in the past and were still in progress up to that time in
the past:
It was so difficult to get up last Monday for school. I had been working on my
essays the night before and I was very tired. (The past perfect continuous
focuses on the activity of working on the essays up to a particular time in the
past.)
A:
Why did you decide to go travelling for a year?
B:
Well, I’d been reading an amazing book about a woman who rode a horse
around South America. I was just halfway through the book when I decided I
had to go travelling and that was it. I just took a year out of work and went. (The
past perfect continuous focuses on the activity of reading the book at the time
when she made her decision. She hadn’t finished the book when she made her
decision.)
We can use the past perfect continuous to talk about events which started
before a time in the past and which finished, but where the effects or results
were still important at a point in the past:
It had been raining and the ground was still wet.
Past perfect continuous: form
We use had + been + the -ing form of the verb.
(full form)
I, she, he, it, you, we, they
had
+ been working.
(short form)
I, she, he, it, you, we, they
’d
(full form)
I, she, he, it, you, we, they
had not
− been working.
(short form)
I, she, he, it, you, we, they
hadn’t
?+ Had I, she, he, it, you, we, they been working?
(full form)
not
Had I, she, he, it, you, we, they
?− been working?
(short form)
Hadn’t I, she, he, it, you, we, they
Examples:
• They had been talking for over an hour before Tony arrived.
• She had been working at that company for three years when it went out
of business.
• How long had you been waiting to get on the bus?
• Mike wanted to sit down because he had been standing all day at work.
• James had been teaching at the university for more than a year before
he left for Asia.
• A: How long had you been studying Turkish before you moved to
Ankara?
B: I had not been studying Turkish very long.
Examples:
• Jason was tired because he had been jogging.
• Sam gained weight because he had been overeating.
• Betty failed the final test because she had not been attending class.
Put the verbs into the correct form (past perfect progressive).
1. We (sleep) for 12 hours when he woke us up.
2. They (wait) at the station for 90 minutes when the train finally arrived.
3. We (look for) her ring for two hours and then we found it in the
bathroom.
4. I (not / walk) for a long time, when it suddenly began to rain.
5. How long (learn / she) English before she went to London?
6. Frank Sinatra caught the flu because he (sing) in the rain too long.
7. He (drive) less than an hour when he ran out of petrol.
8. They were very tired in the evening because they (help) on the farm all
day.
9. I (not / work) all day; so I wasn't tired and went to the disco at night.
10. They (cycle) all day so their legs were sore in the evening.
Put the verbs into the correct form (past perfect progressive).
1. We (sleep) for 12 hours when he woke us up.
2. They (wait) at the station for 90 minutes when the train finally arrived.
3. We (look for) her ring for two hours and then we found it in the
bathroom.
4. I (not / walk) for a long time, when it suddenly began to rain.
5. How long (learn / she) English before she went to London?
6. Frank Sinatra caught the flu because he (sing) in the rain too long.
7. He (drive) less than an hour when he ran out of petrol.
8. They were very tired in the evening because they (help) on the farm all
day.
9. I (not / work) all day; so I wasn't tired and went to the disco at night.
10. They (cycle) all day so their legs were sore in the evening.
