The Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Theory. Form: had been doing

Meaning: This form expresses an activity that began before a past moment, continued during a
period of time up to that moment, or stopped just before it.
e. g. He had been trying to start the car before the mechanic arrived.
e. g. The dog was all wet. He had been running for miles.
Practice. Use Past Simple or Past Perfect Continuous.

1. The baby … (cry) for half an hour before the mother … (wake) up.
2. She … (fail) the exam though she … (study) German for two years.
3. Obviously the boys … (smoke) before I … (enter) because the room was full of
cigarette smoke.
4. The band … (play) for more than an hour before the people … (start) to throw
rotten tomatoes at them.
5. Although he … (try) hard to memorize the poem he … (cannot) even remember
the first stanza.
6. Professor Evans … (lecture) on economy for 15 years before he … (decide) to
change the subject.
7. He … (be, obviously) worn out that morning because he … (drink) heavily all
night.
8. Samantha … (work) as a model for two years before her picture … (appear) in
“Playboy”.
9. We have evidence that Mrs. Reynolds … (clean) the windows shortly before she
… (fall) down.
10. The prisoner … (saw) the bars for three nights before he … (make, finally) his
escape.
11. Although the girl … (be, only) missing for eight hours her parents … (decide) to
call the police.
12. The dog … (whine) for the whole day before our neighbour … (throw, finally)
him a bone.
13. The diver … (discover) a pirate ship that … (lie) on the sea bed for two centuries.
14. Roy … (work) over a math problem for two hours before his sister … (come) and
… (help).
15. The rabbit was very tired. It … (run) from the dog for hours.
16. I … (realize) someone … (use) my camera because there were finger marks on
the lens.
17. No wonder the engine … (break down) yesterday; it … (run) for 24 hours.
18. At last the experimenters … (find) the vaccine they … (try) to develop for three
years.
19. The fresco which the artist … (paint) since the previous summer … (be) ready in
August of 1661.
20. It … (be) only last year that Joan … (finish) the book she … (write) since 2016.

Note. The past perfect continuous bears the same relation to the past perfect as the present
perfect continuous bears to the present perfect. The difference between these tenses involves the
difference between a single action in the past perfect (how many times?) and a long activity in the
past perfect continuous (how long?).
e. g. By six o’clock he had repaired the engine. (He had completed the action presented as a single
one with the following result: at 6 o’clock the engine worked well again)
The sentence He had been repairing the engine for an hour tells us how he had spent the
previous hour, that is how long he had been doing that.
Practice. Using the information given, complete each sentence with a suitable verb. Use Past
Perfect or Past Perfect Continuous.

1. Maggie worked in the garden all afternoon. Then she took a hot bath.
Maggie took a hot bath because ………………………………………………...
2. Graham went for a walk. In the woods he saw some rare birds. When he got
home, he wrote a letter to the local newspaper.
Graham wrote to the local newspaper about some rare birds …………………
3. Rebecca came top in the final examination. Her father bought her a car as a
reward.
Rebecca’s father bought her a car …………………………………………….
4. Henry came home from work early. He cooked lunch. His family were very
much impressed.
Henry’s family were very much impressed to discover that he ….…………….
5. Greta worked very hard all morning. Her boss gave her an extra hour for lunch.
She boasted about that.
Greta boasted that her boss………………………because she …………………
6. Patrick went to the disco. He came home very late. His mother was worried
and she told him off when he got in.
Patrick’s mother told him off when he came home late ……………………….
7. Bruce tried to mend a broken window. He cut his hand. He went to hospital.
Bruce went to hospital because …………………………………………………
8. I lost my watch. We looked for it for hours. I was very pleased when my son
found it.
I was very pleased when my son found my watch because ……………………
9. Isobel attended the language course. She made some new friends. She sent
postcards to them.
Isobel sent the postcards to the new friends she .................................................