The Past Perfect Continious Flashcards
Use of Past Perfect Continious
We use Past Perfect Continious with Past Simple to talk about an activity that was in progess BEFORE another action or event happened.
The Past Perfect Continuous tense is used to indicate a continuous action that was happening BEFORE **another action **or time in the past.
It is often used to show the cause of something in the past.
Forming of the Past Perfect Continious
Subject + had been + present participle (base verb + ing)
Expresions that indicate time for Past Perfect Continius
Expressions that are often used with the past perfect continuous tense include:
for (a period of time)
since (a point in time)
by the time
until
before
after (only when there is a change in the subject)
Examples Past Perfect Continius
I had been waiting for the bus for over an hour by the time it finally arrived.
She had been studying English for several years before she moved to the United States.
They had been dating **for **two years before they decided to get married.
It had been raining all morning **until **the sun finally came out in the afternoon.
**After **he had been practicing the piano for several months, he was able to play a complete song.
Note:
The past perfect continuous tense emphasizes the ongoing nature of an action up to a certain point in the past. It is often used to indicate how long something had been happening before another event occurred. For example, “I had been waiting for the bus for over an hour by the time it finally arrived” emphasizes the duration of waiting before the bus arrived.
She _____ (study) for hours before she took a break.
She had been studying (study) for hours before she took a break.
They _____ (travel) around the world for several years before they settled down.
They had been traveling (travel) around the world for several years before they settled down.
I _____ (work) at the company for 10 years before I got a promotion.
I had been working (work) at the company for 10 years before I got a promotion.
By the time she arrived, we _____ (wait) for her for over an hour.
By the time she arrived, we had been waiting (wait) for her for over an hour.
The ground was wet because it _____ (rain) all night.
The ground was wet because it had been raining (rain) all night.
He _____ (play) video games all day until his friends came over.
He had been playing (play) video games all day until his friends came over.
