The past perfect continuous tense represents an ongoing action that started and continued for some time in the past.
Here are some examples.
The Past perfect continuous tense examples
Examples of Affirmative sentences
Construction of an affirmative sentence for the past perfect continuous tense:
Subject + had + been +(-ing) + object.
Examples of past perfect continuous tense:
- I had been studying English very long.
- She had been reading different kinds of books since morning.
- Jane was tired because she had been jogging.
- John was very tired. He had been running.
- Jon was angry. He had been waiting for three two hours.”
- You had been shopping in that market before you came home.
- The meeting ended after they’d been negotiating all afternoon.
- He had been sleeping well for the last few nights.
- I had been listening to melodious songs for two hours.
Examples of negative sentences
Negative sentence construction for the past perfect continuous tense:
Subject + had not/hadn’t + been + (-ing) + object.
Examples of past perfect continuous tense:
- He hadn’t been sleeping well for the last few nights.
- I had not been studying English very long.
- I had not been helping him to do the task before I started the lesson.
- The car had not been working well before the accident
- He had not been reading his favorite book.
- It hadn’t been snowing for long when the children tried to make a snowman.
- He had not been shopping yesterday.
- The mechanic had not been fixing my bike since morning.
- I hadn’t been waiting long when there was a knock at the door.
TIP: Past perfect is also known as Pluperfect.
Examples of questions
Question construction for the past perfect continuous tense:
Had + subject + been + (-ing) + object ?
Examples of past perfect continuous tense:
- How long had you been waiting to get on the bus?
- Had the driver been drinking before the crash?
- Had he been studying books since morning?
- Had she been teaching English for the last six months?
- How long had you been studying English before you moved to London?
- Had you not been enjoying the concert for five hours?
- Had the car been working well before the accident?
- Had you been waiting long before the taxi arrived?
Read the detailed article on the past perfect continuous tense.