[had been + present participle]
Examples:
Affirmative | Negative | Interrogative |
I had been listening. You had been listening. We had been listening. They had been listening. He had been listening. She had been listening. It had been listening. |
I had not been listening. You had not been listening. We had not been listening. They had not been listening. He had not been listening. She had not been listening. It had not been listening. |
Had I been listening? Had you been listening? Had we been listening? Had they been listening? Had he been listening? Had she been listening? Had it been listening? |
We use the Past Perfect Continuous to show that something started in the past and continued up until another time in the past. "For five minutes" and "for two weeks" are both durations which can be used with the Past Perfect Continuous. Notice that this is related to the Present Perfect Continuous; however, the duration does not continue until now, it stops before something else in the past.
Examples:
Using the Past Perfect Continuous before another action in the past is a good way to show cause and effect.
Examples:
If you do not include a duration such as "for five minutes," "for two weeks" or "since Friday," many English speakers choose to use the Past Continuous rather than the Past Perfect Continuous. Be careful because this can change the meaning of the sentence. Past Continuous emphasizes interrupted actions, whereas Past Perfect Continuous emphasizes a duration of time before something in the past. Study the examples below to understand the difference.
Examples:
It is important to remember that Non-Continuous Verbs cannot be used in any continuous tenses. Also, certain non-continuous meanings for Mixed Verbs cannot be used in continuous tenses. Instead of using Past Perfect Continuous with these verbs, you must use Past Perfect.
Examples:
The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.
Examples:
Examples:
NOTE: Passive forms of the Past Perfect Continuous are not common.