Past perfect continuous tense

The past perfect continuous tense (also known as the past perfect progressive tense) is used to look back from a point in the past and describe an action or activity that had been in progress before that point. It often emphasises duration or explains the cause of a past situation or result. The activity may have continued up to the later past point or stopped shortly before it.

How to form the past perfect continuous

The past perfect continuous is formed with had + been + the -ing form (present participle) of the main verb. Had is the same for every subject.

Contractions with the past perfect continuous

The past perfect continuous is often contracted in positive sentences as follows:

• I + had = I’d been + ing
• You + had = You’d been + ing
• He + had = He’d been + ing
• She + had = She’d been + ing
• It + had = It’d (pronounced /ɪtəd/) been + ing
• We + had = We’d been + ing
• They + had = They’d been + ing

In negative sentences, the subject and had can be contracted as above before not, or had and not can be contracted to become hadn’t which is a little more common. For example: He hadn’t been running.

When to use the past perfect continuous

We use the past perfect continuous when we look back from a past point and focus on an earlier activity that had been in progress, its duration, or its effect on a later past situation.

Actions that were in progress before another time in the past

We use the past perfect continuous for an action or activity that had been in progress before a later point in the past. The later point may be stated with another past event or a past time expression, or it may already be clear from the context. The activity can be continuous or repeated over a period. This differs from the past continuous, which focuses on an action in progress at a particular past time rather than on the period leading up to it.

For example:

• The children had been playing outside when it started to rain.
• Maya had been working in the kitchen before the guests arrived.
• By the time the police arrived, the neighbours had been arguing in the street for some time.

The cause of something in the past

We can use the past perfect continuous to explain the cause of a past situation or event:

• She was upset because she had been arguing with her boyfriend.
• Fiona felt sick because she had been eating so much chocolate.
• Stanley was fired because he had been arriving late every day.
• Her eyes were red because she had been crying.

A noticeable result in the past

We can also use the past perfect continuous when the result of an earlier activity was still noticeable at a later point in the past. The activity may already have stopped, but its effects could still be seen, heard, smelled or felt:

• The room smelled of alcohol. Somebody had been drinking the night before.
• He had been gardening, so his hands were dirty.
• The car was covered in mud. She had been off-roading in the countryside.
• The house was in disarray. The kids had been playing all day.

For, since, all and how long with the past perfect continuous

The past perfect continuous often emphasises how long an activity had been happening before a later point in the past. Use for with a period of time, since with a starting point, all with a whole period, and how long to ask about duration.

• I had been waiting for two hours when the doctor eventually saw me.
• They had been living together for five years before they split up.

• I’d been thinking about what you said since the last time we spoke.
• Jamie had been working for the government since 1989 when he decided to retire.

• Rachel hadn’t been feeling well all week, so she went to the doctor.
• They’d been stealing cars all year before the police caught them.

• How long had you been waiting before the doors opened?
• How long had he been working for the company?

Past perfect vs past perfect continuous

Both the past perfect and past perfect continuous describe something that happened before another point in the past. The difference is usually what we choose to focus on. The past perfect commonly focuses on a completed action, result or quantity, while the past perfect continuous commonly focuses on an activity, process or duration.

The past perfect continuous does not necessarily mean that the activity was still happening at the later past point. The activity may have stopped shortly beforehand, particularly when its effects were still noticeable: The ground was wet because it had been raining.

Common mistakes with the past perfect continuous

Common mistakes with the past perfect continuous often involve using it where the past perfect is more appropriate, particularly with stative verbs, completed actions, completed quantities and single completed events.

Using the past perfect continuous with stative verbs

Many stative verbs are not normally used in continuous forms when they describe states. In these cases, use the past perfect rather than the past perfect continuous.

• ❌ I had been knowing him for five years before he became famous.
• ✅ I had known him for five years before he became famous.

• ❌ We had been having that car for seven months before we sold it.
• ✅ We had had that car for seven months before we sold it.

Using the past perfect continuous for completed actions

Do not use the past perfect continuous to express that an action was completed before another point in the past. Use the past perfect instead. The past perfect continuous can describe the activity or process, but it does not itself tell us that the action was completed.

• ❌ By the time the meeting started, Nina had been finishing the report.
• ✅ By the time the meeting started, Nina had finished the report.

• ❌ Before the inspection, Paul had been cleaning the entire kitchen.
• ✅ Before the inspection, Paul had cleaned the entire kitchen.

Using the past perfect continuous with quantities

Do not normally use the past perfect continuous when the focus is on a completed quantity or number of times something happened. Use the past perfect for completed amounts and the past perfect continuous when the focus is on the duration or activity itself.

• ❌ By Friday, Sofia had been sending eight applications.
• ✅ By Friday, Sofia had sent eight applications.

• ❌ Before our last trip, we had been visiting France six times.
• ✅ Before our last trip, we had visited France six times.

Using the past perfect continuous for completed events that caused a past result

When a past result was caused by a single completed event, use the past perfect rather than the past perfect continuous. The continuous form is more appropriate when the cause was an activity or process happening over a period.

• ❌ I was late because I had been missing the bus.
• ✅ I was late because I had missed the bus.

• ❌ The alarm went off because someone had been opening the door.
• ✅ The alarm went off because someone had opened the door.

Free past perfect continuous worksheets