Past Perfect Continuous - usage, formation, examples.

This lecture is on the past perfect continuous tense

the past perfect continuous corresponds to the present perfect continuous but refers to a point of time in the past

the past perfect continuous is also known as the past perfect progressive

and with this tense The process is more important than the results of the process

past perfect continuous is used for something that started in the past and continued up to another time in the past.

or something that finished just before another thing in the past and for a reported speech

past perfect continuous is formed as follows.

In the positive case: subject + had been + verb + ing, I had been eating ice cream

as a negative: subject + had not been + verb and ing, we hadn’t been eating ice cream

as a question: had + subject being + verb + ing, Had she been eating ice cream

and as a negative question: hadn’t + subject + been + verb and ing, Hasn’t he been eating ice cream.

Here are some examples of something that started in the past and continued up to another time in the past.

He had been having a lunch time sleep, when his boss walked in

I had been working as a software developer, before switching to sales.

or something that finished just before another point in time.

It had been snowing and the roads were slippery

I hadn’t been sleeping very well, that’s why I was so tired

and we say that the effects he seen here it had been snowing now it stopped snowing but the roads are still slippery.

Or I hadn’t been sleeping very well.

Well maybe I’m sleeping better now but I’m explaining why I was tired in the past.

In reported speech we dropped back a tense when we report what somebody has said.

So for example if somebody said: I have been working all weekend, when we report it we would say, She said she had been working all weekend

or if somebody says we have been talking for over an hour, reported they would say: they said they had been talking for over an hour.