EF

PAST PERFECT
CONTINUOUS
FUNCTIONS OF THE PAST PERFECT
CONTINUOUS
The past perfect continuous corresponds to the present perfect continuous, but with
reference to a time earlier than 'before now'. As with the present perfect continuous, we are
more interested in the process.

EXAMPLES
 Had you been waiting long before the taxi arrived?
 We had been trying to open the door for five minutes when Jane found her key.
 It had been raining hard for several hours and the streets were very wet.
 Her friends had been thinking of calling the police when she walked in.

This form is also used in reported speech. It is the equivalent of the past continuous and the
present perfect continuous in direct speech:

 Jane said, "I have been gardening all afternoon." = Jane said she had been
gardening all afternoon.
 When the police questioned him, John said, "I was working late in the office that
night." = When the police questioned him, John told them he had been working late
in the office that night.

FORMING THE PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

The past perfect continuous is composed of two elements - the past perfect of the verb to be
(=had been) + the present participle (base+ing).
Subject had been verb + i

I had been walking

Affirmative

She had been trying

Negative

She hadn't been sleeping

Interrogative

Had you been eating?

Interrogative negative

Hadn't they been living?

TO BUY, PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

Affirmative Negative Interrogativ

I had been buying I hadn't been buying Had I been b

You had been buying You hadn't been buying Had you bee

She had been buying She hadn't been buying Had she bee
 Affirmative Negative Interrogativ

We had been buying We hadn't been buying Had we been

They had been buying They hadn't been buying Had they be

English page
Past Perfect Continuous
f t g+ p
The past perfect continuous (also called past perfect progressive) is a verb
tense which is used to show that an action started in the past and continued
up to another point in the past. Read on for detailed descriptions, examples,
and present perfect continuous exercises.

Past Perfect Continuous Forms

The past perfect continuous is formed using had + been + present

participle. Questions are indicated by inverting the subject and had.
Negatives are made with not

 Statement: You had been waiting there for more than two hours when she
finally arrived.
 Question: Had you been waiting there for more than two hours when she
finally arrived?
 Negative: You had not been waiting there for more than two hours when
she finally arrived.

Complete List of Past Perfect Continuous Forms

Past Perfect Continuous Uses

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:

 They had been talking for over an hour before Tony arrived.

 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.

Past Continuous vs. Past Perfect Continuous

If you do not include a duration such as "for five minutes," "for two weeks" or
"since Friday," many English speakers choose to use the past continuous
rather than the past perfect continuous. Be careful because this can change
the meaning of the sentence. Past continuous emphasizes interrupted
actions, whereas past perfect continuous emphasizes a duration of time
before something in the past. Study the examples below to understand the
difference.

Examples:

 He was tired because he was exercising so hard.

This sentence emphasizes that he was tired because he was exercising at
that exact moment.
 He was tired because he had been exercising so hard.
This sentence emphasizes that he was tired because he had been exercising
over a period of time. It is possible that he was still exercising at that moment
OR that he had just finished.

REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs / Mixed Verbs

It is important to remember that Non-continuous verbs cannot be used in any

continuous tenses. Also, certain non-continuous meanings for mixed
verbs cannot be used in continuous tenses. Instead of using past perfect
continuous with these verbs, you must use past perfect.

Examples:

 The motorcycle had been belonging to George for years before Tina bought
it. Not Correct
 The motorcycle had belonged to George for years before Tina bought
it. Correct

ADVERB PLACEMENT

The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as:
always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.

Examples:

 You had only been waiting there for a few minutes when she arrived.
 Had you only been waiting there for a few minutes when she arrived?

ACTIVE / PASSIVE

Examples:
  Chef Jones had been preparing the restaurant's fantastic dinners for two
years before he moved to Paris. Active
 The restaurant's fantastic dinners had been being prepared by Chef Jones
for two years before he moved to Paris. Passive

NOTE: Passive forms of the past perfect continuous are not common.

Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Grammarly

BASICS

The past perfect continuous tense (also known as the past perfect
progressive tense) shows that an action that started in the past continued up
until another time in the past. The past perfect continuous tense is
constructed using had been + the verb’s present participle (root + -ing).

Here’s a tip: Want to make sure your writing always looks great? Grammarly can save you
from misspellings, grammatical and punctuation mistakes, and other writing issues on all
your favorite websites.

Your writing, at its best.

Be the best writer in the office.

GET GRAMMARLY
Unlike the present perfect continuous, which indicates an action that began
in the past and continued up to the present, the past perfect continuous is
a verb tense that indicates something that began in the past, continued in the
past, and also ended at a defined point in the past.

He had been drinking milk out the carton when Mom walked into the kitchen.

I had been working at the company for five years when I got the promotion.

When, for, since, and before are words that you may see used alongside the
past perfect continuous tense.

Martha had been walking three miles a day before she broke her leg.

The program that was terminated had been working well since 1945.

Cathy had been playing the piano for 35 years when she was finally asked to do a solo with
the local orchestra.

He had been throwing rocks at her window for five minutes before she finally came out on
the balcony and said, “Hey, Romeo.”

Wordsmile

Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Soal Past Perfect Continuous

Pengertian Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Past perfect continuous tense adalah suatu bentuk kata kerja yang digunakan untuk
mengungkapkan suatu aksi (dengan durasi waktu tertentu) telah selesai pada suatu
titik waktu tertentu di masa lalu.
Lihat juga:

 Past Perfect Tense vs. Past Perfect Continuous Tense

 Present Perfect Continuous Tense
 Future Perfect Continuous Tense
 Past Perfect Tense
 Past Continuous Tense
 Simple Past Tense
 Tenses Bahasa Inggris

Rumus Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Past perfect continuous tense dibentuk dengan auxiliary
verb had dan been dan present participle. Secara umum past perfect continuous
tense hanya terjadi pada aksi berupa dynamic atau action verb, tidak stative
verb karena umumnya hanya dynamic verb yang memiliki bentuk continuous.
Lihat juga:

 Stative Verb dengan Bentuk Progressive

rumus past perfect continuous tense

Berikut rumus past perfect continuous tense untuk kalimat positif, negatif, dan

interogatif.
Rumus Past Perfect Continuous Tense Contoh Past Perfect Continuous Tense

kalimat positif (+): Lia had been walking

S + had + been + -ing/present participle

The labors had been demonstrating
kalimat negatif (-): Lia had not been walking

S + had + not + been + -ing/present participle

The labors hadn’t been demostrating

kalimat interogatif (?): Had Lia been walking

had + S + been + -ing/present participle

Had the labors been demonstrating

Fungsi dan Contoh Kalimat Past Perfect Continuous Tense

No Fungsi dan Contoh Kalimat Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Past perfect continuous tense untuk mengekspresikan aksi yang panjang di masa lampau
sebelum aksi lainnya terjadi.

When the guests came, we had been waiting for an hour.

(Ketika para tamu datang, kita telah menunggu selama satu jam.)

He had been standing in front of the door for thirthy minutes before it was opened.
1 (Dia telah berdiri di depan pintu selama tiga puluh menit sebelum dibukakan.)

Past perfect continuous tense untuk memberitahukan berapa lama sesuatu terjadi (period of
time) atau sampai waktu tertentu di masa lampau.

She was annoyed since she had been waiting for 2 hours on the bus station.
(Dia kesal karena telah menunggu selama 2 jam di halte bus.)

By the time the teacher came, the students had been reading a half part of the text.
(Pada waktu guru datang, para siswa telah membaca separuh bagian dari teks.)

I had been working with my computer all day, and all I wanted to do was eat some chocolate.
(Saya telah bekerja dengan komputer sepanjang hari, dan yang ingin saya lakukan adalah makan
2 coklat.)