Past Perfect Continuous Flashcards
Past perfect continuous:
had been + Ving
‘d been + Ving
It is similar to present perfect continuous and is used:
1) with how long, for, since + action verbs
2) to describe what had been happening when you can see a result
1
Our game of tennis was interrupted. We’d been playing for about half an hour when it started to rain heavily.
Ken gave up smoking two years ago. He’d been smoking for 30 years.
I was very tired when I arrived home. I’d been working hard all day.
2
When the boys came into the house, their clothes were dirty, their hair was untidy and one of them had a black eye. They’d been fighting.
Yesterday morning I got up and looked out of the window. The sun was shining but the ground was very wet. It had been raining.
Pay attention to questions and negatives in the past perfect continuous:
I had been working hard all day.
Had you been working hard all day?
Yes, I had.
No, I hadn’t.
I hadn’t been working hard all day.
Why had you been working hard all day?
Compare past perfect continuous (had been + Ving) and present perfect continuous (have been + Ving):
1
I hope the bus comes soon. I’ve been waiting for 20 minutes (before now).
At last the bus came. I’d been waiting for 20 minutes. (before the bus came)
2
He’s out of breath. He has been running.
He was out of breath. He had been running.
Compare past perfect continuous (had been doing) and past continuous (was doing):
1
It wasn’t raining when we went out. The sun was shining. But it had been raining, so the ground was wet.
2
An was sitting in an armchair watching television. She was tired because she’d been working very hrad.
Stative verbs (know, want, belive, have = possess, etc.) are not used in the continuous:
We were good friends. We had known each other for years. (not ‘had been knowing)
Make sentences:
I was very tired when I arrived home.
I / work / hard all day
I had been working hard all day.
The two boys came into the house. They had a football and they were both very tired. (they / play / football)
They had been playing football.
There was nobody in the room but there was a smell of cigarettes.
(somebody / smoke / in the room)
Somebody had been smoking in the room.
Ann woke up in the middle of the night. She was frightened and didn’t know where she was.
she / dream
She had been dreaming.
When I got home, Mike was sitting in front of the TV. He had just turned it off.
(he / watch / TV)
He had been watching TV.
Complete the sentences.
We played tennis yesterday. Half an hour after we began playing, it started to rain.
We … when … .
We had been playing for hald an hour when it started to rain.
Complete the sentences.
I had arranged to meet Tom in a restaurant. I arrived and waited for him. After 20 minutes I suddenly realised that I was in the wrong restaurant.
I … for 20 minutes when I … .
I had been waiting for 20 minutes when I realised that I was in the wrong restaurant.
Complete the sentences.
Sarah got a job in a factory. Five years later the factory closed down.
At the time the factory …, Sarah … there for five years.
At the time the factory closed down, Sarah had been working there for five years.
Complete the sentences.
I went to a concert last week. The orchestra began playing. After about ten minutes a man in the audience suddenly began shouting.
The orchestra … when … .
The orchestra had been playing for 10 minutes when a man in the audience suddenly began shouting.
past continuous, past perfect or past perfect continuous?
It was very noisy next door. Our neighbours …. (have) a party.
Our neighbours were having a party.
