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 formixed
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

El pasado perfecto continuo en inglés corresponde al pluscuamperfecto de español en el que se usa

el indicativo del verbo “estar” y el verbo+ing. En general, lo usamos para acciones en proceso de
realización en el pasado antes de otra acción ocurrida.

Como en el presente perfecto continuo, se forma el pasado perfecto continuo con el verbo
auxiliar “to have”, “been” y el verbo+ing.

Sujeto Auxiliar Verbo+ing

I, you, he, she, it, we, they had been studying, working, traveling…

EXAMPLE: I had [I’d] been studying English for 2 years when I went to London.(Había estado
estudiando inglés durante 2 años cuando fui a Londres.)

Uses (Usos)

1. Usamos el pasado perfecto continuo para referirnos a algo que habíamos estado haciendo
(en proceso) cuando otra acción lo interrumpió. El pasado perfecto continuo se utiliza para la
acción en proceso y el pasado simple para la acción que interrumpe. Cuando nos referimos a algo
que hemos estado haciendo en un período de tiempo, por lo tanto, solemos usar las preposiciones de
tiempo “for” o “since”.

Ejemplos:

  I’d been working for hours when I fell asleep at my desk.(Había estado trabajando durante horas
cuando me quedé dormido en mi escritorio.)
  Frank bought a new car. He’d been looking for one since last year.(Frank compró un nuevo coche.
Lo había estado buscando desde el año pasado.)

2. Se utiliza para demostrar causa y efecto en el pasado.

Ejemplos:

  She was tired because she’d been working too much.(Estaba cansado porque había estado trabajando
demasiado.)
  They were angry because they’d been waiting for me for hours.(Estaban enfadados porque habían
estado esperándome durante horas.)

Complete the sentences in the Past Perfect Progressive.

 1. Laura needed a break because she (study) had been studing all
morning.
2. Lorraine (learn) had bern learning English for 12 years before she
moved to England.
3. I did not go out last night because I (work) had been working all day.
4. Orla felt fit for the marathon because she (train) had been training a lot.
5. When I went to see Ms Winter, her secretary told me that
she (speak) had been speaking on the phone for two hours.
6. You got sick because you (eat) had been eating the whole time.
7. The musician (live) had been living in this town for ten years when he
became director of the opera house.
8. We (go) had been going out with each other for two years before I met
his family.
9. The passengers (wait) had been waiting   for four hours before the
ground staff could finally give them information on the delay of their flight.
10. I (drive) had been driving in the wrong direction for an hour before I
noticed my mistake.

Put the verbs into the correct form (past perfect progressive).

1. We (sleep) slept  for 12 hours when he woke us up.

2. They (wait) had been waiting at the station for 90 minutes when the train finally
arrived.
3. We (look for) had been looking for her ring for two hours and then we found it in
the bathroom.
4. I (not / walk) had not been walking  for a long time, when it suddenly began to
rain.
5. How long (learn / she) had she learning English before she went to London?
6. Frank Sinatra caught the flu because he (sing) had been singing  in the rain too
long.
7. He (drive) drove less than an hour when he ran out of petrol.
8. They were very tired in the evening because they (help) had been helping on the
farm all day.
9. I (not / work) had not been working all day; so I wasn't tired and went to the disco
at night.
10. They (cycle) had been cycle  all day so their legs were sore in the evening.

https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/past-perfect-continuous-exercise-1.html
1. He (marry) HAD BEEN MARRYING her two years before we
met. 

2. I (want / always) HAD ALWAYS WANTED to travel. That's why

I was delighted to go abroad with them. 

3. She was no stranger to him. They (be introduced) HAVE

BEEN INTRODUCING to each other a few days before. 

4. We (stay) HAVE BEEN STAYING there since 1980, you know. 

5. I (stay / never) HAD NEVER STAYED in London before. How

expensive hotels are! 

6. Did I tell you that when I saw you, I realised that we

(meet / already) HAD ALREADY MET? 

7. James told me you (buy)  HAD BOUGHT the old vicarage two

years before your son's birth. 

8. I wish we (buy) HAD BOUGHT  it before. 

Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs in

brackets. 
Use contractions where possible.
1. Peter was Sally's best friend. She had known (know) him all
her life.
2. The children were wet because they had been playing (play)
football in the rain.
3. We were very hungry because we had not eaten (not / eat).
4. I was delighted when I found my keys. I had been looking
(look) for them for hours.
5. She was exhausted because she had been working (work)
since eight o'clock that morning.
6. Everything was white because it had been snowing (snow).
7. The passengers were cross because the airline had lost (lose)
everyone's bags.
8. I had not seen (not / see) Jacob for several years, but I
recognised him immediately.
Start again
 

Using the words in parentheses, complete the text below with the
appropriate tenses, then click the "Check" button to check your answers.
I'm sorry I left without you last night, but I told you to meet me early because the

show started at 8:00. I (try) had been trying to get tickets for that play for

months, and I didn't want to miss it. By the time I finally left the coffee shop

where we were supposed to meet, I (have) had had five cups of coffee and I

(wait) had been waiting  over an hour. I had to leave because I

(arrange) arranged to meet Kathy in front of the theater.

When I arrived at the theater, Kathy (pick, already) had already picked up the

tickets and she was waiting for us near the entrance. She was really angry

because she (wait) had been watching  for more than half an hour. She said

she (give, almost) had almost given up and (go) had gone into the theater

without us. 

Kathy told me you (be) were late several times in the past and that she would

not make plans with you again in the future. She mentioned that she

(miss) missed several movies because of your late arrivals. I think you owe her

an apology. And in the future, I suggest you be on time!

Present Perfect, Past Perfect, Present Perfect Continuous,

and Past Perfect Continuous
Using the words in parentheses, complete the text below with the appropriate tenses,
then click the "Check" button to check your answers.

1. It is already 9:30 PM and I (wait) had been waiting  here for over an hour. If John

does not get here in the next five minutes, I am going to leave. 

2. I was really angry at John yesterday. By the time he finally arrived, I (wait) had been

waiting  for over an hour. I almost left without him. 

3. Did you hear that Ben was fired last month? He (work) had been working  for that

import company for more than ten years and he (work) had worked  in almost every
department. Nobody knew the company like he did. 

4. I (see) had seen many pictures of the pyramids before I went to Egypt. Pictures of

the monuments are very misleading. The pyramids are actually quite small. 

5. Sarah (climb) has climbed the Matterhorn, (sail) has sailed around the world, and

(go) has gone on safari in Kenya. She is such an adventurous person. 

6. Sarah (climb) had climbed the Matterhorn, (sail) had sailed around the world and

(go) had gone on safari in Kenya by the time she turned twenty-five. She

(experience) had experienced more by that age than most people do in their entire

lives. 

7. When Melanie came into the office yesterday, her eyes were red and watery. I think

she (cry) had been crying .