Past Perfect Progressive
What Is Past Perfect Progressive (Continuous) Tense?
Both the past perfect and the past perfect continuous (also called the past perfect progressive) can be used to talk about past actions or states.
Their difference is that the past perfect simple normally focuses on the completion of an action before another action in the past, while the past perfect continuous normally focuses on the duration of an ongoing activity before another action in the past. Let’s compare these examples:
I’d waited for him for an hour.
The past perfect simple emphasizes the completion of the activity.
I’d been waiting for him for an hour.
The past perfect continuous focuses on the duration of the activity.
Past Perfect Continuous: Structure
The past perfect continuous is comprised of the past simple of the auxiliary verb ‘have’ (i.e. had), the past participle form of the auxiliary verb ‘be’ (i.e. been) and the present participle form of the main verb.
| Subject | all subjects |
|---|---|
| Past form of Have | had |
| Past Participle of Be | been |
| Present Participle of Verb | verb + ing |
I had been working. → I’d been working.
He had been playing football. → He’d been playing football.
Past Perfect Continuous: Negation
For negative sentences you put ‘not’ after the first auxiliary verb (i.e. had). Check out the following examples for more clarification.
He had been working well. → He had not been working well.
I had been waiting for her. → I had not been waiting for her.
In negative sentences, we can contract the auxiliary verb ‘had’ and ‘not.’ See the examples:
He had not been working well. → He hadn’t been working well.
I had not been waiting for her. →I hadn’t been waiting for her.
Past Perfect Continuous: Questions
For yes/no question, we put had at the beginning of the sentence. Look at these example sentences with the past perfect continuous tense:
She had been working. → Had she been working?
They had been waiting long. → Had they been waiting long?
For wh- question, do the exact thing you do for yes/no questions and add the proper wh- question word at the beginning of the sentence and omit the part that is the answer. See the examples:
He had been working in London. → Where had he been working?
She had been reading ‘Gone with the Wind.’ → What had she been reading?
Past Perfect Continuous: Uses
When someone uses the past perfect continuous, they are talking about:
- An ongoing action that started in the past, and continued up until another time or action in the past
An ongoing action that started in the past, and continued up until another time or action in the past
We use the ‘past perfect continuous’ tense to talk about longer actions in the past before another action in the past. This means the longer action has happened sooner than the shorter action. For example:
Sam was very tired. He had been running.
He had been trying to open the door for ten minutes when he found the keys.
We use the ‘past perfect continuous tense’ for something that started in the past and continued up to a given time in the past. Remember, the action was in progress up to a specific point in time. Check out the examples.
She didn’t want to shop. She had been spending all her money.
Everything was white. It had been snowing for hours.
We use the ‘past perfect continuous’ tense to talk about something that happened several times before a point in the past and continued after that point. Remember, you do not mention the times you do the actions, even in situations that you do something repeatedly. Because in past perfect continuous tense the focus is on the duration of the action not the result. For example:
She was a professional writer. She had been writing novels ever since she was in college.
Here ‘ever since’ means ‘since.’
Common Time Expressions
- for
- since
- All morning/afternoon/night…
We use ‘since’ with a fixed point in time in the past (since 2004, since April 23rd, since last year, since I was at school, since I arrived). We use ‘for’ with a period of time (for 2 hours, for three years, for six months). These are the examples.
We were sad when the factory closed. We had been working there for ten years.
I had been watching the TV show every night since it started.
When Not to Use Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Stative Verbs
We do not normally use the continuous with stative verbs (also known as non-continuous verbs). These verbs are normally used in the simple form because they refer to states, rather than actions or progress. Use the simple present perfect with verbs such as ‘know’, ‘hate’, ‘hear’, ‘understand’ and ‘want.’
The baby had not heard (Not been hearing) anything before using hearing aid.
Up until that moment, I’d never believed (Not been believing) in true love.
