The Past Perfect Continuous is formed with the auxiliary verb to be in the Past Perfect and Participle I of the notional verb. In the interrogative form the first auxiliary verb is placed before the subject.
The negative-interrogative form: Had he not been writing? Hadn't he been writing?
In the negative form the negative particle not is placed after the first auxiliary verb.
The Past Perfect Continuous is used:
1. to express an action, which had been in the progress before a definite moment in the past and was still going on at that moment.
I had been reading about an hour when he came.
The Past Perfect Continuous is often used with for and since.
When the actress arrived, a crowd had been waiting for several hours to greet her.
2. to denote an action which was no longer going on at a definite moment in the past, but which had been in progress not long before. '
He was tired. He had been repairing the roof of the house.
Remember that the Present Perfect Continuous becomes the Past Perfect Continuous in the reported speech, (have/has been doing > had been doing)
Practice
1. Analyze the tenses in the following conversation.
Alex = A, Betty =
A: Have you passed your driving test at last?
B: Yes, I passed it amonth ago.
A: My congratulations! How long had you been trying to pass it?
B: Five years.
A: I suppose you had been having lessons all that time.
B: That's right. It had cost me about a thousand pounds.
A: I head you had also been saving for buying a car. How long had you been saving?
B: Since 1995.
A: How much have you saved?
B: Over 4,000. That was enough for buying a nice secondhand car.
A: Well, all the best with your car driving.
B: Thank you.
2. Use the Past Perfect Continuous.
1. She (study) English for two years before she got this job.
2. - What the children (do) before they went to bed?
- They (do) their homework for two hours.
3. We (wait) for three-and-a-half hours when John finally arrived. I wonder what he (do) all that time?
4. Bill (do) military service for eighteen months. Yesterday he returned home.
5. We (travel) for about four hours when I realized that something was wrong with one of the types.
6. We (sit) in the cafe for half an hour until the rain stopped.
7. He (work) in the garden, but he stopped when he saw us.
8. I couldn't drive to work because my sister (use) my car for a month and something was wrong with it.
9. They were very angry. They (try) to see you for two hours but you were not in.
10. I (listen) to her complains all day before I dared to tell her what I really thought of it.
11. The girl (look for) her doll the whole morning before she found it in her bed.
12. How long you (do) this translation before you finished it?
13. Yesterday morning I got up and looked out of the window. The sun was shining brightly but the ground was wet. It (rain).
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14. When the boys came into the room, their shoes were dirty. They (play) football in the yard.
15. I was very tired when I arrived home. I (work) hard all day.
16. We (play) tennis for about half an hour when it started to rain very heavily.
17. My father gave up smoking a year ago. He (smoke) for 30 years.
18. At last the bus came. I (wait) for 20 minutes.
19. My mother was sitting in the armchair watching TV-set. She was tired because she (clean) the house all evening.
20. I (repair) my car for two hours before it started raining.
21. He (serve) in the army for a year when the war broke out.
22. The travellers (walk) through the forest for an hour when they discovered that they had lost their way.
23. Ann's eyes ached because she (use) the computer all day long.
24. When he phoned, I (have) a piano lesson for half an hour.
25. The children were happy. They (swim) in the pool for a long time.
26. The company went bankrupt, it (lose) money for months but they didn't manage to do anything.
3. Complete the conversation. Put the verbs in the Past Perfect Continuous or in the Past Perfect.
Richard = R, Vicky = V
R: How was your job interview?
V: Awful. I felt terribly nervous. I (worry) about it all week. And I was tired because I (work) on my project the night before. I (not to look) forward to the interview at all.
R: So what happened?
V: The woman interviewing me was half an hour late because she (deal) with an unexpected problem, she said.
R: How did the interview go?
V: Well, I tried to sound confident. For two weeks. I (read) a book that says what you have to do in job interviews. But I don't know if I gave the right answer.
R: Don't worry. I think you were the best among the other candidates, besides you (train) as a cook for six months.
V: Let's hope for the best.
4. Read a situation and then write a sentence.
Model: The two boys came into the house. One had a black eye and the other had a cut lip. They (fight). - They had been fighting.
1. Tom was watching television. He was feeling very tired, (he/study/hard all day.) 2. When I walked into the room, it was empty. But there was a smell of cigarettes, (somebody/smoke/in the room.) 3. When Mary came back from the beach, she looked very red from the sun. (she/lie/in the sun too long.) 4. The two boys came into the house. They had a football and they were both very dirty, (they/play/football.) 5. Ann woke up in the middle of the night. She was frightened and she didn't know where she was. (she/dream.) 6. She spoke English well when she visited Canada. (she/study/English/for five years.) 7.1 wrote to the firm regularly, but they still didn't answer, (for months.) 8. We were cooking for the party. By 8 o'clock we still weren't ready, (all day.) 9. The machine was still working when I got in. (my mother/do the washing.) 10. The children were doing their homework. But by 10 o'clock they still hadn't finished, (since/ they/come home/from school.) 11. I knew you (paint). - How did you know? - Your hair was covered with paint. 12. You were out of breath when you came in this morning, (you/run?) 13. We were walking along the road. Twenty minutes later a car | stopped and the driver offered us a lift. 14. When I arrived, Ann was rather annoyed. I was 20 minutes late, (she/wait.)
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5. Describe a situation in one sentence.
Model:
a) We began playing football. After half an hour there
was a terrible storm. - We had been playing football for
half an hour before there was a terrible storm.
b) The children were making a terrible noise. They
were punished.
The children were punished because they had been
making a terrible noise.
1. The orchestra began playing at the concert. Ten minutes later a woman in the audience suddenly began crying.
2. I had arranged to meet Tom in a restaurant. I arrived and began waiting. After 20 minutes I realized that I had come to the wrong restaurant.
3. Mr and Mrs Jenkins went to live in the south of France. Six months later Mr Jenkins fell ill.
4. A month ago I broke my umbrella and took it to the nearest repair shop. Yesterday I took my umbrella back.
5. Mr Finch decided to save for buying a new house. Three years later he bought the house he wanted.
6. The child was playing in the yard. Two hours later his mother called him home.
7. The farmers were making hay in the meadow. Some hours later it starred to rain.
8. Kate was lying in the sun. She got burned.
9. Richard was driving too fast. A policeman stopped him.
10. The girl was crying. She looked upset.
11. The children were playing with matches. They started a fire.
12. A young man stood under the tree. He was struck by lightning.
13. It was 2 o'clock. I started cleaning the flat two hours ago.
14. He worked hard. He passed his exams successfully.
15. They were discussing the book at the lesson. I knew about it.
6.Using the information given, complete each sentence with a suitable verb. Use the Past Perfect or the Past Perfect Continuous.
Model: My father worked in the garden all afternoon. Then he took a hot bath. My father took a hot bath because he had been working in the garden all afternoon.
1. Dan went for a walk. In the woods he saw some rare birds. When he got home, he wrote a letter to the local newspaper about them.
2. My friend came top in the final examination. Her fathei bought her a car as a reward.
3. John came home from work early. He cooked lunch His family were very impressed.
4. Ann worked very hard all morning. Her boss gave her en extra half hour for lunch. She boasted about it.
5. Bill went to the disco. He came home very late. His mother was worried and she told him off when he got in.
6. Alex tried to mend a broken window. He cut his hand. He went to hospital.
7. I lost my watch. We had looked for it for hours. I was very pleased when my son found it.
8. Julia attended a language course. She made some new friends. She sent postcards to them.
9. There was nobody in the room but there was a smell of cigarettes.
10. When I got home, my younger brother was sitting in front of the TV. He had just turned it off.
11. I woke up in the middle of the night. I was frightened. I saw a nightmare.
12. I arranged to meet Tim at the station. He didn't come. An hour later I went home.
7. Complete the following conversation, using the verbs in the proper tense.
Gary: Jean, I'm surprised to see you.
Jean: Well, I think you owe me an explanation.
Gary: Me? What about you? I (see) you in the cafe last night. We (arrange) to meet at the cinema, if you remember.
Jean: So why you (not to come) into the cafe if you saw me?
Gary: I (be) too angry and cold. I (wait) outside the cinema for three-quarters of an hour.
Jean: But why? You (not to get) my note?
Gary: What note?
Jean: The note I (leave) here yesterday afternoon. When I (go) past the cinema yesterday lunchtime I (notice) that they (change) the film. So I (put) a note under your door to tell you.
Gary: I (not to find) any note.
Jean: It must be here. Let me look. Yes, oh dear. I'm afraid it (slip) under the mat.
Gary: Oh. I'm sorry I was angry. It's just that, well, while I (wait), I was worried about what (happen) to you. And then, I (see) you in the cafe. You (laugh) with your friends and I (realize) that you (sit) there quite comfortably with them all evening. I (just lose) my temper.
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Jean: Never mind. Lets forget it. Where shall we go now?
8. Put in the correct form of the verbs.
1. Tom could hear shouts from the flat next door. His neighbours (argue) again.
2. Emma went into the sitting-room. It was empty, but the television was still on. Someone (watch) it.
3. I (play) tennis, so I had a shower. I was annoyed because I (not win) a single game.
4. The walkers finally arrived at their destination. They (walk) all day, and they certainly needed a rest. They (walk) thirty miles.
5. When I saw Nick last week, he said he (stop) smoking. But when I saw him two days later, he (smoke) a cigarette. He looked rather ashamed.
6. I had to go and see the dentist. One of my teeth (ache) for weeks.
7. When Melanie arrived at David's place, he (lie) on the sofa reading a detective novel. He (buy) it at ihe
second-hand bookshop, and he (read) it for most of the afternoon.
9. Put in the Past Perfect, the Past Perfect Continuous or the Past Indefinite.
Cooking the Books?
Old Mr Williams was very concerned. He and his wife were pensioners and he (spend) the whole morning looking for their pension books. He (look) everywhere, but he (not be able) to find them. Meanwhile, his wife (be) busy. She (cook) all morning. She (prepare) a delicious meal. She (make) soup, followed by a lovely pie, which she (bake) in the oven. Mr Williams (always enjoy) his food, but he clearly wasn't enjoying his lunch. "What's the matter, Tom?" his wife asked. Mr Williams (have to) confess that he (lost) their pension books. "I know", Mrs Williams (say), with a twinkle in her eye. "I've got them". "You've got them?" "Yes - and guess where I (find) them!" Mr Williams suddenly remembered. "In the oven! I (put) them there for safe-keeping". He (smile) with relief as she (fish) them out of her apron pocket!
10. Supply the proper tense form.
