by Teng Sam An
Form
- Positive: Subject + had + been + verb-ing
- Negative: Subject + had not + been + verb-ing
- Question: Had + subject + been + verb-ing?
Usage
Past perfect continuous is used to show/talk about:
a. A past action that had continued to a certain point in the past and was still happening at that time (or duration of a past action up to a certain point in the past)
For examples,
- I had been running for an hour when it started raining.
- When I saw him I knew that he had been training.
- For how many hours had Thona been painting the house when the ladder fell?
- How long had the player been playing before he scored?
b. Action that had just stopped or finished before a past action
For examples,
- Before the budget cuts, the students had been participating in many extracurricular activities.
- His hands were dirty because he had been fixing the car.
- At that time your father was very tired. What had he been doing?
