I

1. Had you studied French before you moved to France?

2. How long had you been waiting to get on the bus?
3. I did not have any money because I had lost my purse.
4. I had been trying to get through to her for months before she finally
answered my email.
5. I had never been to the theatre before last night. J
6. James had been teaching at the university for more than a year before he left
for Asia.
7. The old woman wanted to sit down because she had been standing for a long
time.
8. They felt bad about selling the house because they had owned it for more
than forty years.
9. We couldn’t get a hotel room anywhere because we hadn’t booked in
advance.
10. We had had that car for ten years before it broke down.

II

a. Had you ever visited the U.S. before your trip in 2006? (Parents in 2003)

I had visited the US with my parents in 2003 before my trip in 2006

b. How long had you been studying Turkish before you moved to Ankara? (2
years)

I had been studying Turkish for 2 years before I moved to Ankara

c. How come Brenda knew London so well? ( Visit/several times before)

- Because she had visited it several times before

d. Why were they a bit lost when they first moved to Rome? (not/study/Italian)

Because they hadn’t studied Italian

d. Why was John tired? (jog)

Because he had been jogging

e. How long had they been eating before Carole arrived? (over an hour)

They had been eating for over an hour

f. How long had Brian studied Spanish before he moved to Spain? (6 years at
school)

He had studied Spanish for 6 years at school.

g. How long had Barbara been in London when she got her diploma? (over 8
years)
 Barbara been in London over 8 years

h. Why had Sue lost so much weight? (stop/eating chocolate and cakes)

Because Sue stopped eating chocolates and cakes

j. How long had Christine been working at the company when it shut down? (15 years)

Christine had been working for fifteen years when the company closed.

III

What I understand what the past perfect continuous is is to focus on an action

that is taking place. On the other hand, the past perfect simple places emphasis
on a completed action and its result.