past perfect continuous

AFFIRMATIVE

Subject+ had+

been + the –ing

form of the verb.

NEGATIVE

Subject+ hadn’t +

been + the –ing

form of the verb.

INTERROGATIVE

Had +subject+

been + the –ing

form of the verb.

 We use the present

perfect continuous to talk

about an action taking

place before a certain

time in the past.

I had been reading the

book for 10 minutes when

Sue arrived.

They had been working

the whole afternoon.

We use this tense to put

emphasis on the duration

or course of an action.

She had been studying for

her final exam since the

beginning of the month of

June.

FORM USE OF THE TENSE

 The past perfect

continuous is the past of the

present perfect continuous:

I hope the bus comes

soon. I have been

waiting for over 10

minutes.

At last the bus came. I

had been waiting for

over ten minutes.

Compare the past perfect

continuous and the past

continuous:

It wasn’t raining when

we went out. The sun

was shining. But it had

been raining, so the

ground was wet.

Complete the sentences using a suitable verb from the list in the past

Continuous, past perfect or past perfect continuous.

DRIVE WASH FEEL TRY MARRY GO

START KNOW GET TAKE WORK BE READ

TALK DO RAIN WATCH SEE

1. She ________________________ the book the whole morning.

2. We were good friends. We _____________ each other for a long time.

3. Sue ____________________ for ten years when her husband died.

4. They ____________________ ten miles when the car broke down.

5. She ________________ part in competitions since she was a little girl.

6. Tina _________________ the ironing when her daughter arrived.

7. Paul and Lisa ________________ out together for 3 years when they

broke up.

8. He ________________ to solve the crossword since the beginning of

the week and in the end he completed it.

9. He __________________ on his computer when the light went out and

lost all the information.

10. While Tom ______________ the dishes his wife went shopping to the

supermarket.

11. The concert ______ already ______ when we arrived at the theatre.

12. Brenda told the policeman she ______________ anything strange in

the neighbourhood.

13. She decided to go to the doctor as she __________________ very well

since she got up in the morning.

14. When we went out the road was wet as it ________________ heavily.

15. He ______________ in prison for over ten years when he managed to

escape.

16. He ________________ on his mobile for over ten minutes when his

teacher saw him.

17. They _________________ TV the whole afternoon before they decided

to go out for a walk.

18. They were late for work as they ________________ stuck in a traffic

jam for over an hour.

Time expressions

FOR- SINCE

She’d been cooking

since she got up/

for 2 hours.

HOW LONG

We use “how long”

in questions:

How long had you

been waiting?

THE WHOLE DAY/

ALL DAY

They had been

studying the whole

day / all day.