The past perfect continuous is one of the twelve verb tenses that exist in English. It can be a challenging tense to understand for students, so it should be approached after learning other, simpler tenses.

In this post we will learn the past perfect continuous at level II, so the explanation is in English and the examples shown have an intermediate difficulty.

Uses of the past perfect continuous

We use the past perfect continuous for:

1. Expressing a continuous action in the past that was interrupted by another action that also happened in the past.

We had been looking for the cat all day until we found him behind the couch.
Laura had been thinking about going to the dinner, but she opted to remain at home.
When the twins arrived we had been discussing how to decorate for the Christmas event.
Sally and Jack had been stargazing together all night until the sun rose.

2. Talking about a cause-and-effect process in the past.

Audrey was tired, as she had been walking all day long by the time she came home.
By the time I arrived at home I was soaking wet because it had been raining all day long.
Godzilla had been destroying Tokyo on a regularly ever since they dropped a nuke on him in the 50s.
If you had not been daydreaming again, the meal would not have been burned in the pot.

Structure of the present perfect continuous

Affirmative sentences

Subject + had been + verb –ing + rest of the sentence

I had been living in that house for a few years by the time William came to live with me.
We had been bitten a couples of times by the wasps by the time the bees came to the rescue.
They had been waiting longer than usual by the time the train finally arrived to the station.
Roger had been studying for the test when Jessica decided to bring the liquor to the party.

Negative sentences

Subject + had not been + verb –ing + rest of the sentence

I hadn’t been living in that house for a few years by the time William came to live with me.
We had not been bitten a couples of times by the wasps by the time the bees came to the rescue.
They had not been waiting longer than usual by the time the train finally arrived to the station.
Roger hadn’t been studying for the test when Jessica decided to bring the liquor to the party.

Note: We usually use the contractions ‘hadn’t’ in place of the full ‘had not’, as these are more used in a formal register.

I had not been paying attention when he noticed = I hadn’t been paying attention when he noticed.
We had not been cooking when we were asked = We hadn’t been cooking when we were asked.

Interrogative sentences

Had + subject + been + verb –ing + rest of the sentence.

Had I been living in that house for a few years by the time William came to live with me?
Had we been bitten a couples of times by the wasps by the time the bees came to the rescue?
Had they been waiting longer than usual by the time the train finally arrived to the station?
Had Roger been studying for the test when Jessica decided to bring the liquor to the party?

Past perfect continuous - Level II