Section outline

  • Past Perfect Continuous / Progressive Tense refers to actions happening in the past & continued up until a specific time or event in the past.

    This tense shows duration or continuity of an action.

    To form past perfect continuous tense: 

    Type of sentence Rule Examples
    Affirmative had been + present participle She had been preparing for the exam all day.
    Negative hadn't been + present participle They hadn’t been living there for long.
    Interrogative had + subject + been + present participle Had Sam been studying all night?

    For more information on present participle, click here.

    Use:

    To express Examples
    An uninterrupted past action.  Ira had been cooking all evening.
    Duration of action to a certain point My dad had been working in the bank for ten years, before he quit.
    Indirect Speech. She said that she had been waiting for him all evening.