What is Past Perfect Continuous Tense, rules and Examples

Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Past Perfect continuous Tense is made up of three main parts auxiliary verb had , auxiliary verb been and 1st form of base verb+ ing.

Past Perfect continuous Tense= Subject +had (Helping Verb) + been (Auxiliary verb) + 1st Verb+ing+ Object.

Had –> (He, She, It, any Name, Singular noun, I, We, They, You, Plural Noun)

Examples of Past Perfect continuous Tense according to structure

Positive Sentence

In positive sentences, we simply make the sentences according to Past Perfect continuous Tense rules.

For Example

• We had been walking for two days.
• Steve had been doing this job since 4 o’clock.
• I had been playing for three hours.
• Shreya had been feeling little stressed.
• She had been teaching me the lesson since morning.

Negative Sentences in the Past Perfect Continuous Tense

When we make negative sentences, we normally use not after auxiliary verbs has/have.

Negative Past Perfect Continuous Tense = Subject +had (Helping Verb) + not+ been (Auxiliary verb) + 1stVerb+ ing+ Object.

For example

• I had been not attending my class since Monday.
• Bob had not been practicing his dance.
• He had not been using too much computer lately.
• Sam had not been feeling bored when they left him.

Yes/No Questions in the Past Perfect Continuous Tense

When you make any question that can be answered as yes or no, then you should start it with auxiliary verb followed by the subject, been and 1st form+ ing.

Yes/No Sentences = had + Subject + been + 1st Verb+ ing+ Object?

For example

• Had you been watching that serial since morning?
• Had Leena been washed her clothes for four hours?
• Had you been solving all the questions since 3 p.m.?
• Had Steve been reading that book for 3 hours?

Wh- Questions in the Past Perfect Continuous Tense

When you make any question that starts with wh word, then you should start it from wh word  and then add auxiliary verb, after that subject followed by been and 1st form+ ing..

Wh words are when, why, who, where, whom, how, what, how much, how many.

WH Sentences = Wh word + had + Subject +been+1st Verb+ ing+ Object?

For example

• Which technology had she been working, at that time?
• Where had you been visiting since afternoon?
• Why had she been sending me these gifts?
• What had you been doing with that book?

Tag Questions in the Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Tag questions are those questions which are answered at the end of the sentence. They can be simply made by adding auxiliary verbs.

For examples

• I had been visiting the market, had you not been?
• She had been working, had she not been?

You can also use tag questions in positive sentences

• She had not been reading news paper, had she been?
• Those girls had not been playing basketball, had they been?

Rules of Past Perfect Continuous Tense

• Action started in past and still ongoing in past
• Since when and for how long
• Cause and effect
• Since and for

Action started in past and still ongoing in past

Any action which was started in the past and still in progress, then for this kind of sentences we use past perfect continuous tense.

For example

• He had been working for two hours when I came here.
• Why had she been wasting my time since morning when I got up?
• What had you been thinking about me since 3 p.m.?

Since when and for how long

When we have “since when” and “for how long” words in the begging of the sentences then past perfect continuous tense is used.

For example

• Since when had she been living in that house?
• For how long had you been waiting for her?
• Since when had you been staying in hotel room?

Cause and Effect

To express cause and effect of any action in the sentences we use past perfect continuous tense is used.

For example

• She put on weight because she had been eating too much junk food.
• I took that shot because I had been continuously looking at Tiger.

Since and for

When we have “Since” and “For” words in the sentences then past perfect continuous tense is used.

For example

• It had been raining for five days.
• I had been sleeping since 7 O’clock.
• Steve had been climbing up this tree for over 3 hours.

More Examples to unfold some other aspects of Past Perfect Continuous Tense

• Why had you not been doing anything for 3 months?
• I had not been working with this company since June 2003.
• For how long had you been wasting your time just like this?
• Since when had she been teaching him?

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