Past perfect continuous tense

1. Concepts

Past perfect continuous tense is a tense used to express aaction that was happening in the past but ends before another action,That action also ended in the past. Past perfect continuous describes the exactness of actions that have occurred.

 

2. Formula

In there:

• S (subject): Subject
• Had: Auxiliary verb
• Been: Participle 2 of "to be" (verb to be)
• V-ing: Verbs add "ing" ending
  
  

2.1. Affirmations

S + had + been + V-ing

✎ NOTE: "been" always comes after "had".

For example:

• I had been jogging for 2 hours before it rained.
• They had been playing chess before the quarrel.
  
  

2.2. Negative sentence

S + had + not + been + V-ing

✎ NOTE: We just need to add "not" right after the auxiliary verb "had" and we can write "had not" as "hadn't".

For example:

• I hadn't been doing my homework until my teacher reminded me.
• She hadn't been playing sports for 2 months due to a leg injury.
  
  

2.3. Question

Had + S + been + V-ing ?

Reply:

• Yes, S + had
• No, S + hadn't
  
  

✎ NOTE:

• Interrogative sentences invert the auxiliary verb "had" to the beginning of the sentence.
• Questions using "what, how, when, why,..." have the form: Wh-word + had + S + been + V-ing ? (For example: Why had you been running away after seeing me? => Why did you run away after seeing me?)
  
  

For example:

• Had they been playing sports after I get home?
• Had you been going somewhere after drinking?
  
  

3. How to use

The present perfect continuous is used in many different situations. Here are some common uses:

3.1. Used to describe an action that occursContinuously before another action in the past 

Yesterday, when I got up, it was snowing. It had been snowing for three hours.

In fact, the action that it was snowing happened continuously before another action yesterday, "when I woke up".

3.2. Used to describe an action that happened continuously before a specific time in the past

His son had been driving for five hours before 9p.m last night

The act of driving for 5 hours happened continuously before a specifically determined time: 9pm last night.

3.3. Used to emphasize actions with results left in the past

This morning he was very tired because he had been working very hard all night.

Being “tired” happened in the past and was the result of “working hard all night” that happened before.

4. Identification signs

For the past perfect continuous tense, in the sentence there will be words used to identify as follows: Until then

For example:

Until then I had been leaving Danang for 4 years:

➣ By the time

By the time she came back he had been sleeping for five hours.

➣ Prior to that time

• Prior to that time I had been still traveling  in Nha Trang for three months.
• Before, after
• Before he came, I had been having dinner at 9 o’clock.