Past Perfect Continuous: statements

 

The Past Perfect Continuous is normally used with the Past Simple to talk about an activity that was in progress before another action or event happened.

 

In such statements the Past Simple refers to a specific completed event in the past. The Past Perfect Continuous describes a repeated or continuing action that was taking place before that completed event.

• He had been studying (Past Perfect Continuous) French for two years before he went (Past Simple) to Paris.
• By the time Nick arrived (Past Simple) to the station, he had been walking for two hours.

 

We can also use the Past Perfect Continuous to explain the cause of something in the past.

• My grades were great last semester because I had been studying every night.
• The plants died because we had actually been watering them too much.

 

To make the Past Perfect Continuous, we use had been + the “-ing” form of the verb:

 

Singular	Plural
I had (’d) been fishing You’d been fishing He/she/it’d been fishing	We’d been fishing You’d been fishing They’d been fishing

• Peter decided to buy a new car because his old one hadn’t been working for years.
• I went to see the doctor after I’d been feeling unwell for a few days.