Time Past Perfect Continuous causes many difficulties: someone confuses it with other times, someone does not understand when to use it, and someone does not know how it is formed.
The tenses of this group (Perfect Continuous) are difficult, and they are usually passed at high levels of English.
But do not be afraid!
I have prepared a very detailed article for you, where I will not only tell and show how this time is built, but also compare it with other times so that everything is clear to you.
From the article you will learn:
So, let's begin!
Rules for using Past Perfect Continuous time
Past Perfect Continuous is translated as "past perfect continuous tense."
We use it when we talk about actions/events that:
- happened in the past
- continued for some period of time
- completed by a specific time (to another action) in the past or was still ongoing at that moment
Let's look at the schemes of such proposals.
1. The action ended by a certain moment (another action) in the past
That is, the action began sometime in the past, lasted for some time and ended at a certain moment also in the past.
Look at the picture:
Here we say that the action:
- Happened in the past: yesterday, last week, etc.
- It took some time: I read the book for an hour.
- Ended at a certain point: when she came.
Let's look at another example:
She had been working 5 hours before he came.
That is: yesterday (in the past) she started working, worked for a while and finished working by the time he came.
Now let's look at the second situation.
2. The action was still going on at a certain point in the past
That is, the action began sometime in the past, lasted for some time, and was still going on at a certain moment in the past.
Look at the picture:
We say that the action:
- Ended in the past: yesterday, 2 days ago, etc.
- It took some time: read for an hour
- Continued at a certain point in the past: when she came I was still reading the book
One more example:
When she came, we had already played for 3 hours.
We started playing in the past (yesterday, a week ago, etc.), played for 3 hours, and when she came, we were still playing.
To better understand this tense, let's compare it with other English tenses.
Difference between Past Perfect Continuous and Present Perfect Continuous
Present Perfect Continuous is translated as "present perfect continuous."
We use it when we talk about an action (process) that started sometime in the past and lasted for some time. to date or lasts at present.
Let's look at an example of its use:
She has been cook ing for 2 hours.
She cooked for 2 hours.
We say that she started cooking in the past, cooked for 2 hours and to date cooked dinner.
Let's now look at the sentence in the Past Perfect Continuous:
She had been cook ing until 5.
She cooked until 5.
We say that yesterday/last week/last month she started cooking in the afternoon, cooked for a while, and by 5pm she had dinner ready.
The difference between Present Perfect Continuous and Past Perfect Continuous is that in the first case we are talking about the present (at the moment, at this moment), and in the second about past (yesterday, last week, last year).
Difference between Past Perfect Continuous and Past Continuous
Past Continuous Tense translates as "the past long time."
We use it when we want to emphasize the duration of an action that took place in the past.
For example:
They were work ing when she came.
They were working when she arrived.
We are talking about the fact that they were in the past (yesterday, last week) in the process of work at the very moment when it came.
They had been work ing for 3 hours before she came.
They were working before she came.
We say that they started working in the past and had already been working for 3 hours before she came.
In the first sentence, we emphasize that at some point in the past we were in the process of working, and in the second, that we have been in this process for some time (3 hours).
Usually, if we do not have a time indication (3 hours, 8 days, etc.), we use the Past Continuous in such sentences.
Difference between Past Perfect Continuous and Past Perfect
Past Perfect translates as "past completed tense." It is used to say that an action in the past ended at or before some time in the past.
For example:
She had done her homework before he called.
She had done her homework before he called.
We say that by the time he called, she had a result - the lessons done.
Now let's look at the sentence in the Past Perfect Continuous.
She had been do ing her homework for an hour before he called.
She had been doing her homework for an hour before he called her.
That is, by the time he called her, she had already been in the process for an hour - doing her homework.
In Past Perfect we talk about the result. We don't care how much time we spent on it. And, using the Past Perfect Continuous, we emphasize the duration of this action or say that we are in the process for some time.
Let's look at the overall comparison table of all times:
| Time | Example | We place emphasis on | |
| Past Perfect Continuous |
I had been clean ing my room for an hour when she came. |
1. The action took place in the past (yesterday, last week) |
|
| Present Perfect Continuous |
I have been clean ing my room for two hours when she came. |
1. The action takes place in the present (at the moment) |
|
| Past continuous | I was clean ing my room when she came. I was cleaning the room when she came. |
The action lasted at a specific point in time in the past (when she arrived) | |
| past perfect |
I had cleaned my room when she came. |
1. We talk about the fact (no matter how long it lasted) |
|
Now that we have dealt with the use of the past completed long, let's look at how to build sentences.
How to build sentences in Past Perfect Continuous in English
The Past Continuous Perfect is formed using:
- Auxiliary verb had (have in past tense)
- Verb to be in the 3rd form - been
- Adding the ending -ing to the verb (the action itself)
In such sentences, we must indicate that the action continued for some time. This is usually done with the following words:
- for two hours - in those two hours
- for a month - in those months
- for some time - in those times
- since 5 o'clock - from 5 o'clock
- all his life - all his life
- all day long - all day
- until - until
The scheme of such a proposal:
Actor + had + been + action ending -ing + point in time
| I | |||
| You | |||
| We | reading | ||
| They | had | been | cooking |
| She | working | ||
| He | |||
| It |
I had been sleep ing for 3 hours.
I slept 3 hours.
She had been walk ing until evening.
She walked until evening.
Reduction:
We can abbreviate had as follows:
had = "d
Complex sentences in Past PerfectContinuous
Compound sentences are made up of two simple sentences.
If we say that the action has ended by the beginning of another action, then in the second part we use the Past Simple tense - the past simple.
The two parts of the sentence are connected by the words:
- before - before
- when - when
- by the time - by that time
The scheme of such a proposal:
Actor + had + been + action ending -ing + moment in time + before/when + character + action ending -ed or 2nd form of an irregular verb
He had been study ing for an hour when she called him.
He had been studying for an hour when she called.
We had been fix ing a car for 2 hours before he helped us.
We were fixing the car for 2 hours before he helped us.
Negative sentences in Past Perfect Continuous in English
To make a sentence negative, we need to put the negative particle not after the auxiliary verb had.
The scheme of such a proposal:
Actor + had + not + been + action with ending -ing + point in time
Reduction
We can abbreviate had and not like this:
had + not = hadn"t
| I | ||||
| You | ||||
| We | reading | |||
| They | had | not | been | cooking |
| She | working | |||
| He | ||||
| It |
They had not been work ing until 6 o'clock.
They didn't work until 6 o'clock.
She had not been write ing before she was told to.
She did not write before she was told.
Note: Most often in complex negative sentences, we use the Past Perfect instead of the Past Perfect Continuous, since we do not always need to emphasize that something has not happened for some time. We usually say this as a fact.
Past perfect:
We had "t worked when they came.
We were not working when they arrived.
Past Perfect Continuous:
We had "t worked for 4 hours when they came.
We hadn't been working for 4 hours when they came.
Interrogative sentences in Past Perfect Continuous
To ask a question, we need to put had in the first place in the sentence.
The outline of such a proposal would be:
Had + character + been + action ending -ing + point in time
| I | |||
| you | |||
| we | reading? | ||
| Had | they | been | cooking? |
| she | working? | ||
| he | |||
| it |
Had you been study ing English for a long time before you took lessons?
Did you already study English for a while before taking the courses?
Had she been teach ing for 5 years before she found a new job?
She taught for 5 years before she got a new job?
So, we have analyzed the theory, and now let's move on to practice.
Reinforcement task
Translate the following sentences into English:
1. She had been reading a book for 2 hours when he came.
2. They watched the movie until 8 o'clock.
3. Did they play for an hour before they ate?
4. She didn't cook dinner until 7 pm.
5. She drove the car for 2 years before she sold it.
Past Perfect Continuous Tense (past perfect continuous tense) is another “terrible” temporary form for Russian-speaking people who are just starting to get acquainted with English grammar. If you are already familiar with the Continuous and Perfect times, then most likely you can already imagine what this temporary form is formed of, and what functions it performs. You probably already guess that Past Perfect Continuous Tense has a lot in common, both in its construction and in use, with Present Perfect Continuous Tense.
Past Perfect Continuous Tense expresses a long-term action that began up to a certain moment in the past and proceeded up to this moment (while it could continue during this moment or end immediately before this moment).
Past Perfect Continuous Tense is translated into Russian by imperfective verbs in the past tense.
This time is very rarely used both in oral and written speech. But this does not mean that they can be neglected!
Rules for the formation of Past Perfect Continuous
Affirmative sentences are formed using the auxiliary verb to be in the Past Perfect Tense (had been) and the present participle of the main verb (Present Participle → verb infinitive + ending -ing).
Subl. + had been + Present Participe …
In interrogative sentences, the first auxiliary verb (had) is placed first before the subject, and the rest of the tense form remains unchanged after the subject.
Had + Gen. + been + Present Participe ???
To form negative sentences, the particle not is used, which is placed after the first auxiliary verb (had).
Subl. + had + not + been + Present Participe ...
In English, it is customary to use abbreviated forms. For example:
- I had → I'd
- he had → he'd
- had not → hadn't [ˈhædənt]
As you already understood, for all persons of the singular and plural, the verb in the form of Past Perfect Continuous Tense will look the same.
Conjugation table of the verb to translate in Past Perfect Continuous Tense
| Number | Face | affirmative form | Interrogative form | negative form |
| Unit h. | 1
2 3 | I had (I'd) been translating He/ She/ It had (He "d/ She'd) been translating | Had I been translating? Had you been translating? Had he/ she/ it been translating? | I had not (hadn't) been translating He/ She/ It had not (hadn "t) been translating |
| Mn. h. | 1
2 3 | We had (We'd) been translating You had (You'd) been translating They had (They'd) been translating | Had we been translating? Had you been translating? Had they been translating? | We had not (hadn't) been translating You had not (hadn't) been translating They had not (hadn't) been translating |
Past Perfect Continuous Tense is used:
1. If you need to express a long past action that began before another action in the past, expressed in Past Indefinite Tense, and which was still ongoing at the time of the last one. As a rule, it is necessary to indicate the period of time during which the action continued. This period can be specified in such detailed words as:
- for three days (hours, months) - within three days (hours, months)
- for some time (a long time) - for some time (for a long time)
- since he came - since he came
- since 5 o'clock - from 5 o'clock
- all my life (day long, this year) - all my life (all day, all this year)
Example sentence in Past Perfect Continuous Tense Translated into Russian, the verb will have the imperfect form of the past tense. Examples:
- We had been reading the new magazine for two hours when my telephone rang up and our friends invited us for a walk - We had been reading the new magazine for two hours when my phone rang and our friends invited us for a walk
- We had been working on this problem since 1991 until we received positive results
- I had been working in the orchard for four hours when my brother came to help me - I worked in the orchard for four hours when my brother came to help me
If there is no indication of how long the action took, then Past Continuous Tense should be used. Example:
- She was singing when the door-bell rang - She sang when the doorbell rang
2. If you need to express a long past action that ended just before a certain moment or an action in the past tense. This moment in the past tense is usually determined by the situation. Past Perfect Continuous Tense emphasizes the duration of the previous action and its results to the moment being described. The period of time during which the action took place may not be indicated. Examples:
- My hands were dirty as I had been peeling potatoes - My hands were dirty since I was peeling potatoes
- I had a headache as I had been watching TV - I had a headache because I was watching TV
- He put aside the book which he had been reading - He put aside the book he was reading
Mastering the Past Perfect Continuous Tense is not as difficult as it might seem at first. It is used only in two cases, which you will not be difficult to remember. The main thing is to practice as much as possible.
Watch the following video lessons on the topic: "Past Perfect Continuous Tense - Past Perfect Continuous in English."
And, which follows from the very name of the time. Like all times of the Continuous group, this time has a long character. From the Perfect group, there is a character of completeness and the presence of a result. Referring to the group of so-called pre-past tenses, Past Perfect Continuous is used to denote a long action that took place before a moment in the past.
Use of the Past Perfect Continuous.
Past Perfect Continuous is used to denote
- an action that began before a moment in the past, lasted for some time and ended before a moment in the past:
Jacob, who had been reading aloud Ava's letter, stopped suddenly. Jacob, who had been reading Ava's letter aloud, suddenly stopped.
- an action that began before a moment in the past, continued for some time and continued at a moment in the past:
Since Ella's return she had been losing strength. Since her return, she has been losing strength.
Education Past Perfect Continuous.
The Past Perfect Continuous is formed using the verb in the perfect form had been and the present participle () of the semantic verb.
Negative sentences in the Past Perfect Continuous are formed with not. They can have a full and abbreviated form:
Interrogative sentences in the Past Perfect Continuous are formed by placing the auxiliary verb had before the subject:
- Past Perfect Continuous Tense (Past Perfect Continuous)
- Formation of time, rules of use
- Example sentences with Past Perfect Continuous
USE
The Past Perfect Continuous is used to express an action that began in the past, continued for some time and ended up to a certain point, or continued at the time of another. It is important that this tense refers only to the past tense and indicates the duration of the action.
I had been waiting for two hours when my friend came.
I had been waiting for two hours when my friend came.
The following circumstances of time are characteristic of the Past Perfect Continuous time:
FORMATION OF TIMEPASTPERFECTCONTINUOUS
To form the affirmative form, you must use the auxiliary verb to be in the Past Perfect Continuous form , namely had been and then the present participle, i.e. ending verb - ing,:
He had been working for a company for 5 years before he went into business.
He worked for the company for 5 years before going into business.
The negative form is formed by adding a particle not to the auxiliary verb ‘had’ , which has an abbreviated form hadn’ t.
Some tenses in English are not used as often as their "partners". Usually their use is limited to certain situations, in which sometimes such tenses can even be replaced by other, simpler ones. The list of such times includes the times of the Perfect Continuous group. Perhaps this is one of the least common groups, the knowledge of which is still necessary for natural sounding and demonstrating a high level of knowledge of the language. That is why let's consider one of the times of this group, namely the time Past Perfect Continuous(pronounced [paste perfect continius]).
Past Perfect Continuous Tense (also Past Perfect Progressive Tense) or the past perfect continuous tense is an English tense used to express actions that lasted up to a certain point in the past and either ended before that moment or continued during it.
In simple terms, the Past Perfect Continuous is used to show that an action took place in the past, and another action lasted before it. Let's study the rules of education, forms and cases of using this time.
The Past Perfect Continuous is formed using the auxiliary and main verbs. The auxiliary is expressed by the verb to be in (had been). This auxiliary verb does not change in persons and numbers, always remaining the same:
| I | had been |
| He | |
| We |
Main verbs are formed using the present participle (Participle I). To form it, you need to add the ending -ing to the verb in the infinitive.
| Infinitive / Infinitive | V + -ing |
| (to) speak | speaking |
| (to) make | making |
| (to) cry | crying |
| (to) act | acting |
| (to) produce | producing |
| (to) promote | promoting |
| (to) imitate | imitating |
| (to) whistle | whistling |
| (to) exaggerate | exaggerating |
Note that:
- In cases of attaching an ending to a verb ending in -e, -e is omitted:
- If the word ends in -ie, this ending is replaced with -y:
The rule does not work with -w and -x endings:
2) In American, if the last syllable is stressed:
Accordingly, by connecting both parts, we get the necessary construction for the formation of Past Perfect Continuous:
Past Perfect Continuous: sentence forms
Having figured out how to form verbs, you need to understand how they can be used in various sentences. Having become acquainted with one time of this group: whether Past Perfect Continuous, Present or Future, you can easily form sentence forms for the other two times, because they are built according to the same principle.
Affirmative Past Perfect Continuous
The affirmative form of Past Perfect Continuous is formed in a standard way: first comes the subject, followed by the auxiliary and main verbs as a predicate, and after the secondary members of the sentence:
The example above, like all subsequent ones, is used in the active voice (Active Voice). The Perfect Continuous Passive or the Pained Voice for the Perfect Continuous tenses is generally not used. The fact is that such sentences in Passive Voice will sound very “cluttered” and strange, and since the language tends to simplify, you won’t have to use any “had been being doing” in “passive”.
Negative Past Perfect Continuous
In negative sentences, a negative particle not appears between the parts of the auxiliary verb, but in general the structure is preserved:
Since it is not very convenient to pronounce three verbs at once, abbreviations are used in speech for both the affirmative and negative forms:
| Full form | Short form | |
| +
statement |
I had been walking. She had been playing. He had been trained. It had been shining. |
I'd been walking. She'd been playing. He'd been trained. It'd been shining. |
| —
negation |
We had not been collaborating. You had not been asking. They had not been created. She had not been staring. |
We hadn't been collaborating. You hadn't been asking. They hadn't been creating. She hadn't been staring. |
Question noun Past Perfect Continuous
The formation of the interrogative form remains unchanged for almost all types of questions:
- In a general question, the auxiliary verb had comes to the fore:
- In an alternative question, any second member of the sentence is added to the form above for choice and the union or (or):
- In a special question, the form of a general question is diluted with interrogative words that are placed before the auxiliary verb had:
- Only the dividing question is different from the others. It retains the form of an affirmative or negative sentence, followed by a brief question:
Past Perfect Continuous: usage
It remains only to figure out in which cases the Past Perfect Continuous time is used in English . Here it is worth paying attention to one funny paradox that the English language has: the fact is that the more difficult a topic is considered in English, the easier it is. This happens because difficult times are usually limited to specific situations. Accordingly, there are very few cases of use in such tenses, which means that it will not be difficult to remember these cases. Here they are, in fact:
- The Past Perfect Continuous is used to express actions that lasted up to a certain point in the past. When the moment arrived, the action ended. Often in such cases, no marker words are used. , and the need to use this time is determined by the context:
| We put the film we had been watching on pause. (We paused the movie we were watching.) |
First there was an action (we were watching a movie) that lasted until a certain point in the past (until we paused it). |
| The whole team had been working very hard; that's why, we could finish the album in time. (The whole team worked very hard, so we were able to finish the album on time.) |
At first we were in the process of working. This process continued until a certain point, the moment the work on the album was completed, which indicates that the long-term action is over. |
| I felt tired because I had been running 2 miles. (I felt tired because I ran 2 miles.) |
First there was action - he ran. It continued until a certain point - until he got tired. |
Although sometimes pointers before (before), after (after), till / until (before) are still present:
- Time is also used to show that an action lasted and continued to last at a certain moment in the past. In such cases, sentences may contain pointer words: all day long / my life (all day / all my life), since (since), when (when), as well as time markers by the time (by that time ) and for (during):
| She had been sleeping for about 10 minutes when someone knocked on the door. (She had been sleeping for 10 minutes when someone knocked on the door.) |
She was asleep, that is, she was in the process of performing an action at the moment when someone knocked on the door. |
| I had been studying for 3 hours when he finally came to help me. (I had been studying for 3 hours when he finally came to help me.) |
I worked out for 3 hours. He came, I was still in the process of studying. |
| By the time he came from work, his wife had been cooking for an hour. (By the time he got home from work, his wife had been cooking for an hour.) |
He's here, she's cooking. Preparations began before he arrived. |
| I had been waiting for half an hour at the stop when I saw the bus in the distance. (I had been waiting at the bus stop for half an hour when I saw a bus in the distance.) |
Was in action when the bus started to pull up. |
If sentences in this case are not used with words indicating how long the action took, Past Continuous is used instead of Past Perfect Continuous:
- It is worth noting that the action in the Past Perfect Continuous can take place in a certain period, but not on an ongoing basis:
- The past continuous tense is also used to express an action, the result of which was seen after in the past. Time indicators here are just the results of the action:
| Everything was covered with snow in the evening. It had been snowing all day long. (In the evening everything was covered with snow. It snowed all day.) |
Why was everything covered in snow? Because it has been going on for a long time. |
| Did you see that mess in their house? Yes, Kim said they had been celebrating her win at night. (Have you seen what a mess they have in the house? — Yes, Kim said that they celebrated her victory at night.) |
Why was there a mess? Because someone was celebrating at night. |
| — Why was he sleeping when I came to you in the afternoon? — That's because he'd been editing his new video till the morning. (- Why was he sleeping when I came in the afternoon? — Because he edited his new video until the morning.) |
The action (he was sleeping) was due to a process that took place before the action (he was editing). |
- It is worth noting that this time is often replaced by the Past Perfect, especially in negative sentences:
- In addition, the rules indicate that Present Perfect Continuous cannot be used with state verbs, since they cannot last. This group includes words indicating emotions, desires, possession, perception and mental activity. When using them, the Past Perfect is always used, even if Past Perfect Continuous is meant:
| I thought why I had liked him before. | I thought about why I liked him before. |
| She had intended to become a popular singer when the doctor said she had to stop singing due to some health problems. | She intended to become a popular singer when the doctor told her that she needed to stop singing due to some health issues. |
| I had applied for different jobs till I was invited to an interview at the office of a software company in St. Petersburg Petersburg. | I applied for various positions until I was invited for an interview at the office of a software company in St. Petersburg. |
| Mr. Smith had owned the house till he sold it 2 years ago. | Mr. Smith owned this house until he sold it two years ago. |
In order to fully use the English language, you need to be “friends” with all tenses, even such rare ones as the Past Perfect Continuous or the Past Perfect Continuous. As you can see, there is nothing complicated in the rules of education of this time. To understand whether it is worth using it, it is enough to use words that indicate that the action is perfect at this particular time. If initially you confuse this time with the Past Perfect time, periodically return to the rules and make examples to consolidate this material.
Views: 1 023