PAST PERFECT PROGRESSIVE

PAST PERFECT

 

PROGRESSIVE

FORM

[had been + present participle]

Examples:

·       You had been waiting there for more than two hours when she finally arrived.

·       Had you been waiting there for more than two hours when she finally arrived?

·       You had not been waiting there for more than two hours when she finally arrived.

PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS FORMS

Positive	Negative	Question
I had been listening. You had been listening. We had been listening. They had been listening. He had been listening. She had been listening. It had been listening.	I had not been listening. You had not been listening. We had not been listening. They had not been listening. He had not been listening. She had not been listening. It had not been listening.	Had I been listening? Had you been listening? Had we been listening? Had they been listening? Had he been listening? Had she been listening? Had it been listening?

USE 1 Duration Before Something in the Past

We use the Past Perfect Continuous to show that something started in the past and continued up until another time in the past. "For five minutes" and "for two weeks" are both durations which can be used with the Past Perfect Continuous. Notice that this is related to the Present Perfect Continuous; however, the duration does not continue until now, it stops before something else in the past.

Examples:

·       He had been talking for over an hour before Tony arrived.

·         Él había estado conversando por más de una hora antes de que Tony llegara

·       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.

USE 2 Cause of Something in the Past

Using the Past Perfect Continuous before another action in the past is a good way to show cause and effect.

·         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