Definition:
The Past Perfect Continuous shows an ongoing action that started before another past action and continued up to that point (or had recent effects).
Formation:
| Type | Affirmative | Interrogative | Negative |
| All Verbs | Subject + had been + verb-ing | Had + Subject + been + verb-ing? | Subject + had not (hadn’t) been + verb-ing |
Example:
| Subject | Affirmative | Interrogative | Negative |
| I | I had been waiting. | Had I been waiting? | I hadn’t been waiting. |
| She | She had been studying. | Had she been studying? | She hadn’t been studying. |
| They | They had been playing. | Had they been playing? | They hadn’t been playing. |
Uses:
| Use | Example |
| Duration before another past action | She had been working for 5 hours when I called. |
| Cause of a past result (visible effect) | He was tired because he had been running. |
| Ongoing action up to a past time | By 6 PM, it had been raining all day. |
| With “for” / “since” | They had been living in London since 2010. |
