Past

Perfect Progressive Practice—Answer Key

Part 1. Change the continuous action into past perfect progressive. Use the verb in
parentheses

1. I was sleeping from 12:00 until 3:00. Then, I cleaned my house. (sleep)
I ____________________________ before I cleaned my house.
had been sleeping
2. The neighbor’s dog was barking for an hour last night. It continued barking until I
went to bed. (bark)
The neighbor’s dog ____________________________for an hour before I went to bed.
had been barking
3. I look so thin in this old photo! That was from the time when I was eating a lot of
vegetables. (eat)
I ____________________________a lot of vegetables at the time that photo was taken.
had been eating
4. I was dreaming about you for a while right before I woke up. (dream)
I____________________________ about you before I woke up.
had been dreaming
5. Last week I had a job interview. I didn’t sleep well the whole week before the
interview (sleep)
I ____________________________well the week before I had my interview.
hadn’t been sleeping
6. John’s face is red in this photo. He was sitting in the sun for a long time. After that,
he took the photo. (sit)
He ____________________________in the sun before he took the photo.
had been sitting
7. John’s face is red in this photo. He was sitting in the sun for a long time, and he
wasn’t wearing a hat. After that, he took the photo. (wear)
He ____________________________a hat before he took the photo.
hadn’t been wearing
8. Kevin studied Spanish from 2006-2009. He went to Spain in 2011, and his Spanish
was not very good. (study)
He ____________________________Spanish before he went to Spain.
hadn’t been studying
9. Mike wasn’t looking at the road as he was driving. Then, he almost hit a tree. (look)
He ____________________________at the road before he almost hit the tree.
hadn’t been looking
Part 2. Combine these sentences by changing one verb to the past perfect
progressive. Use the verbs in parentheses. Do NOT write the time in your answers.

10. I started sleeping at 4:00, and I slept for 2 hours. My sister arrived at 6:00. (sleep,
arrive)
Before my sister _________________________, I_______________________________ for 2 hours.

arrived…I had been sleeping

11. I started playing basketball at 7:30. At 8:00 the electricity went out. (play, go out)
Before the electricity ____________________________, I____________________________ basketball.

went out…I had been playing

12. My plane took off at noon. My plane landed at midnight. (fly, land)
By the time my plane ___________________________, I_____________________________ for 12
hours.

landed…had been flying

13. I went to bed at midnight. Before that, I started watching a TV at 10:30. I watched
TV until midnight. (go, watch)
Before I ________________________________, I________________________ a movie.

went to bed, I had been watching

14. I went to the library to study at 2:30. I stayed until 5:30. After that, I went to the
gym. (study, go)
Before I ____________________________, I____________________________.

went to the gym… had been studying

15. The professor started his lecture at 8:00AM. He lectured nonstop for the whole 2
hour class! I fell asleep around 9:30. (lecture, fall asleep)
Before I ______________________________,the professor__________________________nonstop.

fell asleep…had been lecturing

16. in 2002 I started running every day. But in 2003, I broke my ankle. (run, break)
I ____________________________________ every day until I ___________________ my ankle.

had been running…broke

17. In 1999, I read my first Shakespeare play. I continued reading his plays often. Then,
in 2009, I found another author I liked better, and I stopped reading a lot of
Shakespeare. (read, find)
Until I ______________________ another author in 2009, _________________________ a lot of
Shakespeare.

found…had been reading

18. The manager started interviewing applicants for the company at 8:00AM and
continued doing this all day. Then, at 4:30, she finally met an applicant she liked.
(interview, meet)
The manager ______________________________ all day before she ________________________an
applicant she liked.

had been interviewing…met

19. I started swimming when I was 7, and I continued swimming. When I was 15, I
joined my high school swim team. (swim, join)
By the time I _______________________my high school swim team, I _________________ for 8
years.

joined….had been swimming.

20. Part 3. Using the given words, complete a YES-NO question.

21. I / you/ had/ have/ has/ been/ read/ reading/ my diary
________________________________________________before I came home last night?
No, I hadn’t been reading your diary before you came home last night.
Had you been reading my diary

22. I / you/ had/ have/ has/ been/ eat/ eating
________________________________________________ before you took this photo? You had some
food in your teeth.
Yes, I had been eating before I took this photo.
Had you been eating

23. I / you/ had/ have/ has/ been/ work/ working
____________________________________________a lot before I saw you last week? You looked
really tired.
No, I hadn’t been working a lot. I just hadn’t been sleeping well.
Had you been working
24. my / your/ roommate/ had/ have/ has/ been/ help/ helping/you/ me
_______________________________________with your homework before you moved?
 No, he hadn’t been helping me with my homework.
Had your roommate been helping you

Part 4. Choose the best verb to complete the sentence.

25. My plane __________ at 3:30 yesterday.

A. arrived B. had been arriving

This is not a continuous action, and there are not 2 actions in the past

26. My sister __________ her husband for years before he asked her out.
A. had liked B. had been liking

Even though this action continued for a long time, it is a non-action verb and cannot
take the progressive tense

27. In 2015, I __________ to Washington D.C.

A. flew B. had been flying

This action does not occur before another action in the past

28. Tim ____________ a lot of vegetables and tofu before he became a vegetarian, so it was
an easy transition.
A. has been eating B. had been eating

This is a continuous action that occurred before another action (became a

vegetarian) in the past

29. I __________ for 3 hours before I decided to take a break.

A had been driving B had drove

This is a continuous action that happened before another action in the past. The
wrong choice does not have the correct past participle.

30. By the time we got to LA, my brother _______ nonstop for 2 hours about his dog.
A had been talking B talked
This is a continuous action that happened before another action in the past. We
should use PERFECT tense with BY THE TIME.
31. I had been wearing glasses for 3 years before I ___________ contact lenses.

A has been getting B got

This is not a continuous action, and it did not occur before another action. GOT is
the later action.
 32. Before my parents _______ a TV, they had been using their computer to watch movies.
A bought B had been buying

This is not a continuous action, and it did not occur before another action. BOUGHT
is the later action.

33. My dog __________ a strange noise before he started barking.

A had heard B had been hearing

HEAR is a non-action verb and cannot take the progressive tense

34. My team __________ 1 goal before I arrived at the soccer game.

A had scored B had been scoring

This is not a continuous action

35. My friend’s plane ___________ by the time I arrived at the airport

A had arrived B had been arriving

This is not a continuous action