Past Perfect Continuous

Past perfect continuous tense, which is also referred to as a past perfect progressive tense, is one of the types of verb tenses. It is used to indicate one action that initiated in the past, which continued for a particular time in the past itself and has no effect in the present. It is used to express a continuous event in the past. The sentences in this tense are formed by using words like “had been + The present participle”.

This tense is different from the present perfect continuous tense. In the present perfect continuous tense, the action that initiated in the past will continue to the present. On the other hand, the past perfect continuous tense indicates an action that was initiated in the past and continued in the past itself and has no bearing in the present.

Past perfect continuous tense structure

The structure of forming a past perfect continuous tense sentence is not so challenging if you know how to use it correctly. The past perfect continuous tense structure is as follows:

Subject + had + been + Base form (ing) + object + time reference 

In the structure of past perfect continuous tense, the first auxiliary verb is “had”. The second auxiliary verb, “be” which is converted into its past participle form, “been”. And finally, the main verb ends with “+ing”.

For Example:

• I had been working.

• You had been playing basketball.

• We had been expecting her.

• It had been working nicely. 

Past perfect continuous tense sentences

The past perfect continuous tense structure will change as per the information conveyed and types of statements used. Usually, there are three possibilities of making a statement: positive statements, negative statements, and question statements. As per the statement made, the structure of all the tenses will vary. 

Positive Statements

When a positive statement is to be made by using past perfect continuous tense, the structure remains the same as the main tense, which is:

Subject + had + been + main verb (present participle) (+ing) + object + time reference 

For example:

• I had been playing basketball for four hours. 

• He had been eating since afternoon. 

• She had been studying since evening. 

• I had been eating since afternoon. 

• They had been working here for many years. 

• I had been travelling. 

Negative Statements

Negative statements are usually made when a person includes no or not in the sentence. Whenever such statements are made, usually, “not” is added next to the auxiliary verb. The structure of past perfect continuous tense for negative statements is:

Subject + had + not + been + main verb (present participle) (+ing) + object + time reference 

For example:

• I had not been playing basketball for four hours.

• He had not been eating since afternoon.

• She had not been studying since evening.

• I had not been eating since afternoon.

• They had not been working here for many years. 

• I had not been travelling.

Question Sentences

A question mark is supposed to be added at the end whenever a person asks questions. In the past perfect continuous tense, question sentences included an auxiliary verb “had” at the beginning of the question. The structure for writing question sentences in past perfect continuous tense is:

Had + Subject + Been + main verb (present participle) (+ing) + object + time reference 

For example:

• Had he been eating since afternoon?

• Had she been studying since evening?

• Had they been working here for many years?

• Had I been travelling?

• Had we been smoking for one year?

Contractions in case of Past perfect continuous tense

It is quite common that we contract the first auxiliary verb with the subject whenever we speak in Past perfect continuous tense. For example, in positive statements, the contractions between  subject and the auxiliary verb in the following manner:

• “I had been” is contracted to “I’d been”

• “You had been” is contracted to “you’d been”

• “He had been” is contracted to “he’d been”

• “She had been” is contracted to “she’d been”

• “It had been” is contracted to “it’d been”

• “We had been” is contracted to “we’d been”

• “They had been” is contracted to “they’d been”

In negative statements the contraction happens like:

• “I had not been” is contracted to “I hadn’t been”

• “You had not been” is contracted to “you hadn’t been”

• “He had not been” is contracted to “he hadn’t been”

• “She had not been” is contracted to “she hadn’t been”

• “It had not been” is contracted to “it hadn’t been”

• “We had not been” is contracted to “we hadn’t been”

• “They had not been” is contracted to “they hadn’t been”

  Conclusion 

  Past perfect continuous tense is usually spoken or written when we refer to a particular action that happened in the past for some time. We use this type of tense many times in a day without even realising it. It can be used to formulate affirmative, negative and interrogative statements. Every type of statement has a different structure for this particular tense.