2.6: Past Perfect Progressive (Continuous) Tense
- Page ID
- 273700
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Form of the Past Perfect Progressive (Continuous)
The Past Perfect Continuous is formed by had + been + -ing form.
Past Perfect Progressive (Continuous): Positive and Negative
|
I / You She / He / It We / You / They |
'd (had) hadn't |
been working. |
Past Perfect Progressive: Questions
| Had |
I /You She / He / It We / You / They |
been swimming? |
Use of the Past Perfect Progressive (Continuous)
The Past Perfect Progressive is used to talk about continuous or repeated actions that began and finished in the past before another action in the past.
- Susan was very tired. She had been running.
- I was angry. I had been waiting for two hours.
- He said he wasn't tired because he hadn't been working that day.
- Jason was tired because he had been jogging.
- The students had been meeting after class every week before they took the final exam.
- How long had you been studying Spanish before you moved to Madrid?
Chart and explanation from We Love Teaching English
Reading Exercises
Read the following sentences. What are the verbs? What tense is used for each verb?
- They had already packed a survival kit when the earthquake hit
- When the wildfires swept across California, many people hadn't been ready
In each sentence, which event happened first? Which event happened second? How is the past perfect formed?
Answers
- In the first sentence, the verbs are "had," "packed," and "hit," they had packed first and the earthquake hit second
- In the second sentence, the verbs are "swept" and "hadn't been," the wildfires swept second and people hadn't been ready first
- The past perfect is formed with "had" + past participle
What are the verbs in these sentences? Do the sentences have the same meaning, or different?
- They were packing a survival kit when the earthquake hit
- They had packed a survival kit when the earthquake hit
In which sentence are they ready for the earthquake? In which sentence are they not yet ready? How is past perfect progressive formed (this is used in the first sentence)?
Answers
- In the first sentence, the verbs are "were packing" and "hit," they are not yet ready in this sentence
- In the second sentence, the verbs are "had packed" and "hit," they are ready for the earthquake in this sentence
- The past perfect continuous is formed with "had" + "been" + verb + -ing
Exercise 1: Past Perfect Progressive-Affirmative Form
Fill in the missing words using affirmative past perfect progressive and the verb in brackets. Spelling and punctuation count!
1. I ________________________ all day so I didn't want to go out. (work)
2. Luis________________________ for 10 hours when I woke him up. (sleep)
3. Dimitri and Athena ________________________ in Beijing for 3 years when he lost his job. (live)
4. We felt a bit ill because we ________________________ all day. (eat)
5. It ________________________ , so the road was covered in water. (rain)
6. It________________________ for 3 days when we were finally able to leave our home. (snow)
Exercise 2: Past Perfect Progressive-Negative Form
Fill in the missing words using the negative form of Past Perfect Progressive and the verb in brackets. Use the contraction when possible. Spelling and punctuation count!
1. I________________________ there long when Minh quit. (work)
2. Even though Janine ________________________ anything, she was still too tired to go out. (do)
3. Hussein was in trouble with the teacher because he ________________________ to his classes. (go)
4. Linh________________________ long when there was a knock at the door. (sleep)
5. Pham didn't feel healthy because he ________________________ to the gym. (go)
Exercise 3: Past Perfect Progressive-Interrogative (Question) Form
Fill in the missing words by forming the interrogative form of Past Perfect Progressive using the verb and subject in brackets.
1. When you got sick, ________________________ enough? (you/eat)
2. There was water everywhere inside. What ________________________ ? (the children/do)
3. ________________________ (he/use) his cell phone when the professor told him to pay attention?
4. How long ________________________ in Brazil when she found that job? (Julia/live)
5. How long ________________________ when the bus finally arrived? (we/wait)
Activity source: “Past Perfect Continuous Form Practice – Affirmative”, by Sari Martin, licensed under CC BY-NC SA 4.0.