Past perfect

continuous
He had been living there
• The past perfect continuous is formed using had + been + present
participle. Questions are indicated by inverting the subject and had.
Negatives are made with not

• Statement: You had been waiting there for more than two hours
when she finally arrived.
• Question: Had you been waiting there for more than two hours
when she finally arrived?
• Negative: You had not been waiting there for more than two hours
when she finally arrived.
Past Perfect Continuous Uses
USE 1 Duration Before Something in the Past
past perfect continuous duration
We use the past perfect continuous to show that something started in the past and continued up until
another time in the past. "For five minutes" and "for two weeks" are both durations which can be used
with the past perfect continuous. Notice that this is related to the present perfect continuous;
however, the duration does not continue until now, it stops before something else in the past.
Examples:
They had been talking for over an hour before Tony arrived.
She had been working at that company for three years when it went out of business.
How long had you been waiting to get on the bus?
Mike wanted to sit down because he had been standing all day at work.
James had been teaching at the university for more than a year before he left for Asia.
A: How long had you been studying Turkish before you moved to Ankara?
B: I had not been studying Turkish very long.
USE 2 Cause of Something in the
past
Using the past perfect continuous before another action in the past is a
good way to show cause and effect.
Examples:
Jason was tired because he had been jogging.
Sam gained weight because he had been overeating.
Betty failed the final test because she had not been attending class.
Past Continuous vs. Past Perfect Continuous
If you do not include a duration such as "for five minutes," "for two weeks" or
"since Friday," many English speakers choose to use the past continuous rather
than the past perfect continuous. Be careful because this can change the meaning
of the sentence. Past continuous emphasizes interrupted actions, whereas past
perfect continuous emphasizes a duration of time before something in the past.
Study the examples below to understand the difference.
Examples:
He was tired because he was exercising so hard.
This sentence emphasizes that he was tired because he was exercising at that
exact moment.
He was tired because he had been exercising so hard.
This sentence emphasizes that he was tired because he had been exercising over
a period of time. It is possible that he was still exercising at that moment OR that
he had just finished.
REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs /
Mixed Verbs
It is important to remember that Non-continuous verbs cannot be used
in any continuous tenses. Also, certain non-continuous meanings for
mixed verbs cannot be used in continuous tenses. Instead of using past
perfect continuous with these verbs, you must use past perfect.
Examples:
The motorcycle had been belonging to George for years before Tina
bought it. Not Correct
The motorcycle had belonged to George for years before Tina bought
it. Correct
Adverb placement
The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as:
always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.

Examples:

You had only been waiting there for a few minutes when she arrived.
Had you only been waiting there for a few minutes when she
arrived?
Active/passive
Examples:

Chef Jones had been preparing the restaurant's fantastic dinners for
two years before he moved to Paris. Active
The restaurant's fantastic dinners had been being prepared by Chef
Jones for two years before he moved to Paris. Passive

NOTE: Passive forms of the past perfect continuous are not common.
I'm sorry I left without you last night, but I told you to meet me early because
the show started at 8:00. I (try) to get tickets for that play for months, and I
didn't want to miss it. By the time I finally left the coffee shop where we were
supposed to meet, I (have) five cups of coffee and I (wait) over an hour. I had to
leave because I (arrange) to meet Kathy in front of the theater.

When I arrived at the theater, Kathy (pick, already) up the tickets and she was
waiting for us near the entrance. She was really angry because she (wait) for
more than half an hour. She said she (give, almost) up and (go) into the theater
without us.

Kathy told me you (be) late several times in the past and that she would not
make plans with you again in the future. She mentioned that she (miss) several
movies because of your late arrivals. I think you owe her an apology. And in the
future, I suggest you be on time!
I'm sorry I left without you last night, but I told you to meet me early because the
show started at 8:00. I (try) had been trying to get tickets for that play for months,
and I didn't want to miss it. By the time I finally left the coffee shop where we were
supposed to meet, I (have) had had five cups of coffee and I (wait) had been
waiting over an hour. I had to leave because I (arrange) had arranged to meet Kathy
in front of the theater.

When I arrived at the theater, Kathy (pick, already) had already picked up the
tickets and she was waiting for us near the entrance. She was really angry because
she (wait) had been waiting for more than half an hour. She said she (give, almost)
had almost given up and (go) gone into the theater without us.

Kathy told me you (be)had been late several times in the past and that she would
not make plans with you again in the future. She mentioned that she (miss) had
missed several movies because of your late arrivals. I think you owe her an apology.
And in the future, I suggest you be on time!