Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Past perfect continuous tense expresses an action that was started in past time and was continued until a certain period in the past. To show the time duration, 'since/for' is used. 'Since' is used to show the point of time, while 'For' is used to express the period of time. The structure of the sentence is:

Subject + had + been + since/for + V4 (ing form of verb) + other words

Examples:

• I had been driving since five o'clock in the morning.
• He had been touring India for two weeks.
• They had been learning English for six months.
• Ravi had been applying for the jobs for three months.
• The painter had been painting the wall for the last four days.

Note: Past perfect continuous tense also expresses an action or state that was continued for a long time in the past.

Examples: he had been writing. They had been playing. He had been a teacher. She had been ill.

Structure of past perfect continuous tense in all forms of sentences

1. Affirmative sentence: In the affirmative sentence of past perfect continuous tense, 'had been' is used, and followed by V4 ( ing form of the verb). 'Since' and 'for' are used to show the point of time and the period of time respectively. The structure of the sentence is:

Subject + had been + V4 + other words

Examples:

• I had been baking the cake.
• We had been baking the cake.
• You had been baking the cake.
• He/she had been baking the cake.
• They had been baking the cake.
• John had been baking the cake.
• Girls had been baking the cake.
• The bell had been ringing for a long time.
• Ajay had been writing a novel for two months.
• Sumant had been teaching since October.

2. Negative sentence: In the negative sentence of past perfect continuous tense, 'not' is used between 'had' and 'been'. The structure of the sentence is

Subject + had not been + V4 + other words

Examples:

• I had not been baking the cake.
• We had not been baking the cake.
• You had not been baking the cake.
• He/she had not been baking the cake.
• They had not been baking the cake.
• John had not been baking the cake.
• Girls had not been baking the cake.
• The bell had not been ringing for a long time.
• Ajay had not been writing a novel for two months.
• Sumant had not been teaching since October.

3. Interrogative sentence: In the interrogative sentence of past perfect continuous tense, 'had' is used before the subject, and 'been' is used after the subject. The structure of the sentence is:

Had + subject + been + V4 + other words

Examples:

• Had I been baking the cake?
• Had we been baking the cake?
• Had you been baking the cake?
• Had he/she been baking the cake?
• Had they been baking the cake?
• Had john been baking the cake?
• Had girls been baking the cake?
• Had the bell been ringing for a long time?
• Had Ajay been writing a novel for two months?
• Had Mr. Sumant been teaching since October 2020?

4. Negative interrogative sentence: In the negative interrogative sentence of past perfect continuous tense, 'not' is used after the subject. The structure of the sentence is:

Had + subject + not been + V4 + other words

Examples:

• Had I not been baking the cake?
• Had we not been baking the cake?
• Had you not been baking the cake?
• Had he/she not been baking the cake?
• Had they not been baking the cake?
• Had girls not been baking the cake?
• Had the bell not been ringing for a long time?
• Had Ajay not been writing a novel for two months?
• Had Mr. Sumant not been teaching since October 2020?

Uses of past perfect continuous tense

• It is used to describe the action that began in the past and continued up to a certain time in the past or stopped just before it.
  Examples: The child had been crying for twenty minutes when the mother came to him. Until she reached the fifth (5^th) class, Rani had been studying in a village school.
• It is also used to describe a repeated action in the past.
  Examples: John had been trying to call Ajay all day yesterday.

Note: This kind of sentence is also described in the past perfect tense.

Example: Yesterday, John had tried to call Ajay many times.

• When direct speech is in the present perfect tense, past perfect tense is used in indirect speech.
  Examples:
  Direct speech: Rohan said, "I have been living here for six months."
  Indirect speech: Rohan said that he had been living here for six months.