Past Perfect Continuous Tense: Usage and Examples
PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE
Structure
- Affirmative (+): S + had been + V-ing + O.
- Negative (-): S+ hadn’t been + V-ing+ O.
- Interrogative (?): Had + S + been V-ing + O ?
Usage
- Past Perfect Continuous Tense indicates a past action which started in the past and continued to happen after another action and time in the past.
- Namely, Past Perfect Continuous Tense tell us “how long the action had continued”. ” the duration of the action” is emphasized more in this tense.
EXAMPLES WITH THE VERB “RUN”
Affirmative (+)
- I had been running.
- You had been running.
- He had been running.
- She had been running.
- It had been running.
- They had been running.
- We had been running.
Negative (-)
- I hadn’t been running.
- You hadn’t been running.
- He hadn’t been running.
- She hadn’t been running.
- It hadn’t been running.
- They hadn’t been running.
- We hadn’t been running.
Interrogative (?)
- Had I been running?
- Had you been running?
- Had he been running?
- Had she been running?
- Had It been running?
- Had they been running?
- Had we been running?
PAST PERFECT PROGRESSIVE | INFOGRAPHIC