The Past Perfect Continuous Tense
. The Past Perfect Continuous Tense to be Past Perfect (had been) (Present Participle) : I had been working, he had been working.
: Had I been working? Had he been working?
not, : I had not been working, he had not been working.
the Past Perfect Continuous Tense.
1. , . The Past Perfect ContinuousTense , , , .. , for two hours , for three months , for a long time , , . .
She had been cooking for an hour when I came.
| , .
|
2. , .
He felt tired as he had been playing football for several hours.
| , .
|
EXERCISES
Exercise 1.
| Match the parts of the sentences.
|
1.
| I had been trying to call him all morning
| a)
| when he called me.
|
2.
| We had been working on the project for months
| b)
| for a few minutes but I think it might have been longer.
|
3.
| She had red eyes because she had been peeling onions.
| c)
| I hadnt been paying any attention to him.
|
4.
| I hadnt been working for very long before
| d)
| she had been working too hard.
|
5.
| The snow was very deep
| e)
| someone offered me a lift.
|
6.
| When asked ma that question, I realized
| f)
| It had been snowing all night.
|
7.
| They hadnt been living there very long
| g)
| She hadnt been crying.
|
8.
| She was ill because
| h)
| when it was cancelled.
|
9.
| They said they had only been waiting
| i)
| when they decided to move again.
|
Exercise 2.
| Complete the conversation. Put in the Past Perfect Continuous of the verbs.
|
Mary:
Vicky:
Mary:
Vicky:
Mary:
Vicky:
| How was your job interview?
Awful. I felt terribly nervous 1. ____ (I / worry) about it all week. And I was tired because 2.____ (I / work) on my project the night before. 3.____ (I / not look) forward to the interview at all.
So what happened?
The woman interviewing me was half an hour late because 4.____ (she / deal) with an unexpected problem, she said. 5.____ (I / wait) ages, and Id got even more nervous.
How did the interview go?
Well, I tried to sound confident. 6.____ (I / read) a book that said thats what you have to do in job interviews. But I dont know if I gave the right answers.
|
Exercise 3.
| Make the following sentences negative.
|
Model:
| It wasnt a good time to invest.
|
Inflation had been falling for several months.
|
Inflation hadnt been falling for several months.
|
1.
| Before I changed jobs, I had been working on a plan to reduce production costs.
|
2.
| We had been thinking about buying a new house and we decided to stay here.
|
3.
| It had been snowing for a while before we left.
|
4.
| We had been playing tennis for only a few minutes when it started raining.
|
5.
| He was out of breath when he arrived because he had been running.
|
6.
| She said she had been trying to call me all day.
|
7.
| They said they had been shopping.
|
8.
| I told you I had been looking for some new clothes.
|
Exercise 4.
| Write questions to the following answers using the Past Perfect Continuous.
|
Model:
| (how long)____? How long had you been studying Turkish before you moved to Ankara?
|
I had not been studying Turkish very long.
|
1.
| (what) ____?
| Joe had been sitting in the corner all the evening.
|
2.
| (how long) ____?
| The boys had been standing in a line for ten minutes.
|
3.
| (who) ____?
| The girls had been planning a party before you returned
|
4.
| (what) ____?
| Jack had been sleeping for ten hours before she rang up.
|
5.
| (what) ____?
| Mary had been fishing for salmon since 2 oclock.
|
6.
| (who) ____?
| Max had been bothering Mary since he finished his report.
|
7.
| (how long) ____?
| Max had been riding the bike all the morning.
|
8.
| ____?
| No, they have been going to the cinema when I saw them.
|
Exercise 5.
| Correct the mistakes where necessary.
|
1.
| I have been writing my exercises for two hours when my friend came.
|
2.
| By three oclock the new device had been worked for two hours.
|
3.
| I had a headache because I had been working on the computer all day.
|
4.
| She said she hadnt smoking but the room smelled of cigarettes.
|
5.
| Shes put the weight back but I think shed lost it because she had been ran.
|
6.
| We hadnt been paying any attention so didnt know what to do.
|
7.
| The phone bill was huge. She had being calling her boyfriend in Australia.
|
8.
| The kids were very hungry when they came in. They were running around in the garden all afternoon.
|
9.
| They shouted for a few hours before their parents arrived.
|
10.
| How long had been you waiting to get on the bus?
|
Exercise 6.
| Work in pairs.Play a game. Find out who remembers more activities that he / she had been doing before 10 o clock in the evening. Count the activities.
|
Model:
| Before 10 o clock in the evening I had been translating the article. I did not finish it. I was still translating at that moment.
|