English — Past perfect continuous
The past perfect continuous shows an activity that was in progress up to a point in the past, often stressing its duration: She had been running before she collapsed.
How it works
Form it with had been + the -ing form of the verb, the same for every subject. It names an activity that continued right up to a moment or another event in the past, and it often explains a result: I had been waiting for an hour when the bus finally came; They were tired because they had been working all day.
Examples
| Form / example | Use |
|---|---|
| She had been running before she collapsed. | Activity in progress up to a past point |
| I had been waiting for an hour when the bus came. | Duration before another past event (with for) |
| They were wet because it had been raining. | Explaining a past result or evidence |
| Had you been working there long before you quit? | Question form (Had + subject + been + -ing) |
| She hadn't been sleeping well before the exam. | Negative form (hadn't been + -ing) |
| We had been driving since dawn. | Length of time up to that point (with since) |
Good to know
Stative verbs (know, be, believe, own) normally avoid the continuous, so use the past perfect simple instead: say She had known him for years, not She had been knowing him. Also don't confuse it with the past perfect simple: had been reading stresses the ongoing activity, while had read points to the finished result.