English (United Kingdom)Italian - Italy

Intermediate - Past Perfect Continuous

Wednesday, 02 December 2009 11:13

English grammar lesson on-line for intermediate level students - An explanation of the Past Perfect Continuous.

Form

The Past Perfect Continuous is formed by had + been + -ing form.

Positive and negative

I / You

She / He / It

We / You / They

'd (had)

hadn't

been working.

Question

Had

I /You

She / He / It

We / You / They

been swimming?

Use

The Past Perfect Continuous is used to talk about continuous actions that began and finish in the past before another action in the past.

  • Susan was very tired. She had been running.
  • I'm angry. I have been waiting for two hours.
  • He said he wasn't tired because he hadn't been working that day.
  • Jason was tired because he had been jogging.
  • How long had you been studying Spanish before you moved to Madrid?
Last modified on Wednesday, 10 March 2010 14:12