Past Perfect Continuous
The Past Perfect Continuous is used to describe longer past actions that continued before another event. It emphasizes duration and is formed with 'had been' + verb-ing.
Past Perfect Continuous
The past perfect continuous is formed with 'had' plus 'been', the past participle of 'be', plus the verb with an -ing ending.
Consider first the affirmative form:
| Affirmative | Contracted Affirmative |
|---|---|
| I had been living | I'd been living |
| You had been going | You'd been going |
| He had been working | He'd been working |
| She had been sleeping | She'd been sleeping |
| It had been raining | I'd been raining |
| We had been studying | We'd been studying |
| They had been cooking | They'd been cooking |
The negative adds 'not' after 'had':
| Negative | Contracted Negative |
|---|---|
| I had not been trying | I hadn't been trying |
| You had not been working | You hadn't been working |
| He had not been shopping | He hadn't been shopping |
| She had not been crying | She hadn't been crying |
| It had not been snowing | It hadn't been snowing |
| We had not been reading | We hadn't been reading |
| They had not been running | They hadn't been running |
The yes/no question follows the same pattern.
| Yes/No Questions |
|---|
| Had I been working? |
| Had you been sleeping? |
| Had he been watching TV? |
| Had she been reading? |
| Had it been raining? |
| Had we been drinking? |
| Had they been eating? |
In 'wh' questions, the question word comes first:
| Wh Questions | |
|---|---|
| Where had I been working? | |
| How long had you been sleeping? | |
| What had she been reading? | |
| How long had he been watching TV? | |
| How long had it been raining? | |
| What had we been drinking? | |
| Why had they been eating? |
Uses of the past perfect continuous
1. Something that began in the past and continued up to another past action or time. The past perfect continuous expresses how long, exactly as the present perfect continuous does, except that the action runs up to a point in the past rather than to the present. 'For + time' is usual. The past perfect simple is also possible here, particularly with stative verbs.
- She had been working at that company for a year when she met Vincent.
- I'd been walking for hours when I finally found the house.
- We'd been living in Berlin for three months when we had to leave.
2. Something that finished shortly before another past event, normally in order to account for a result visible at that earlier moment. The parallel with the present perfect continuous is close, the difference being that the action ends before a point in the past rather than before the present.
- The pavement was wet, it had been raining. (The rain had finished before the time I'm describing in the past. We could see the result of the rain.)
- The children had been playing, and so the room was a mess.
- I'd been working before I saw you and that's why I was really tired.