How to form the Past Perfect Continuous: table
had + been + verb-ing, the same for all persons. Short forms: I’d been, she’d been.
| Form | Example |
|---|---|
| Positive | We had been waiting for an hour. |
| Negative | We hadn’t been waiting long. |
| Question | Had you been waiting long? |
| How long | How long had you been waiting? |
When to use the Past Perfect Continuous
Duration up to a past moment
How long something had been going on when something else happened. Often with for and since.
By the time the doctor arrived, we had been waiting for over two hours.
She had been working there since 2015 when she got promoted.
The cause of a past situation
Explains why something was the way it was: like the Present Perfect Continuous, but in the past.
He was out of breath because he had been running.
Her eyes were red. She had been crying.
Past Perfect Continuous signal words
- for
- since
- by the time
- before
- when
- all day
- all night
- How long…?
Past Perfect Continuous or Past Perfect?
As in the present: the Continuous is about the activity and duration, the Past Perfect about the result and quantity. State verbs (know, be, have for possession) only take the Past Perfect.
| Past Perfect Continuous | Past Perfect | |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | activity, how long | result, how much |
| Example | She had been writing all morning. | She had written three chapters. |
| State verbs | not used | I had known him for years. |
Common mistakes
What learners of English often say. On the left — the mistake, on the right — the correct version.
Wrong:
We were waiting for two hours when the bus came.Right: We had been waiting for two hours when the bus came.
Duration up to a past moment: Past Perfect Continuous.
Wrong:
I had been knowing her since school.Right: I had known her since school.
Know is a state verb.
Wrong:
He had been ran.Right: He had been running.
After had been use verb-ing.
Check yourself
Quiz: Past tenses
24 questions with an explanation after every answer. Free, no sign-up.
I worked · I was working · I had worked · I had been working