Learn past perfect continuous tense with definitions, formulas, rules, exercises, structures, and examples of negative, interrogative, and interro-negative.
Table of Contents
Past Perfect Continuous Tense Definition
The Past Perfect Continuous Tense is used to describe an action that started in the past, continued for a period of time, and was completed before another past action or time.
Past =the period of time was occurring/happening
Perfect = complete
Continuous =going on
Tense = time/verb
Past Perfect Continuous Tense = any complete action was in the process completed in the past
Structure of Past Perfect Continuous Tense
S+had+been+1V + ing+ O.
They had been doing duty.
Examples of Past Perfect Continuous Tense for Affirmative Sentences
had been =for every type of subject
| S | had | been | 1V+ing | O |
| Ahmad | had | been | do-ing | job. |
Ahmad had been doing a job.
| S | had | been | 1V+ing | O |
| He | had | been | do-ing | hard work. |
He had been doing hard work.
Here is a table with 20 examples of the Past Perfect Continuous Tense:
| No. | Affirmative Sentence (Past Perfect Continuous) |
|---|---|
| 1 | She had been studying for her exams all morning. |
| 2 | They had been playing football in the park. |
| 3 | He had been working on his project for three hours. |
| 4 | I had been learning Spanish for a few months. |
| 5 | The baby had been crying for a long time. |
| 6 | We had been waiting for the bus for twenty minutes. |
| 7 | The teacher had been explaining the lesson patiently. |
| 8 | John had been fixing his car for two days. |
| 9 | The chef had been cooking delicious meals. |
| 10 | The kids had been watching cartoons all evening. |
| 11 | She had been practicing the piano for hours. |
| 12 | The workers had been repairing the road all day. |
| 13 | My mother had been knitting a sweater for me. |
| 14 | The students had been discussing the topic in groups. |
| 15 | The dog had been barking at strangers. |
| 16 | He had been jogging in the park every morning. |
| 17 | I had been decorating my house for the festival. |
| 18 | They had been travelling across different countries. |
| 19 | They had been traveling across different countries. |
| 20 | The author had been writing a new novel for months. |
They had been doing duty.
Negative Sentence of Past Perfect Continuous Tense
To make a sentence negative, place “ not” right after “had”. Let us formulate it.
S+had +not+been+4V+O
| S | had | not | been | 1V+ing | O |
| We | had | not | been | go-ing | school |
We had not been going school.
| S | had | not | been | 1V+ing | O |
| She | had | not | been | cook-ing | food |
She had not been cooking food.
Here is a table with 20 important negative sentences in the Past Perfect Continuous Tense:
| No. | Negative Sentence (Past Perfect Continuous) |
|---|---|
| 1 | She had not been studying for the test. |
| 2 | They had not been working on the project. |
| 3 | He had not been exercising regularly. |
| 4 | I had not been reading that book lately. |
| 5 | We had not been waiting for too long. |
| 6 | The baby had not been crying this morning. |
| 7 | You had not been following the instructions. |
| 8 | The teacher had not been explaining the topic well. |
| 9 | She had not been practicing the piano. |
| 10 | He had not been attending his online classes. |
| 11 | They had not been traveling much this year. |
| 12 | I had not been feeling well for a while. |
| 13 | The dog had not been barking at night. |
| 14 | She had not been cooking dinner lately. |
| 15 | We had not been discussing the new plan. |
| 16 | He had not been calling his friends often. |
| 17 | The company had not been hiring new employees. |
| 18 | You had not been preparing for the meeting. |
| 19 | I had not been sleeping well these days. |
| 20 | They had not been cleaning the house properly. |
Interrogative Sentences of Past Perfect Continuous Tense
To make a sentence interrogative, place “had ” right before the subject or at the start of the sentence. Let us formulate it.
Had + S +been +1V+ing + O + ?
| Had | S | been | 1V+ing | O? |
| Had | Ahmad | been | do-ing | teaching job? |
Had Ahmad been doing teaching job?
| Had | S | been | 1V+ing | O? |
| Had | you | been | take-ing | fever medicine? |
Had you been taking fever medicine?
Here’s a table with 20 interrogative sentences in the Past Perfect Continuous Tense:
| No. | Interrogative Sentence (Past Perfect Continuous) |
|---|---|
| 1 | Had you been studying for the exam? |
| 2 | Had she been working on her project all day? |
| 3 | Had they been playing football in the park? |
| 4 | Had he been practicing the guitar recently? |
| 5 | Had we been waiting here for too long? |
| 6 | Had it been raining heavily? |
| 7 | Had you been feeling well lately? |
| 8 | Had the dog been barking all night? |
| 9 | Had the kids been watching TV for hours? |
| 10 | Had the baby been crying a lot? |
| 11 | Had you been learning Spanish? |
| 12 | Had she been cooking dinner? |
| 13 | Had they been discussing the issue seriously? |
| 14 | Had he been reading that book? |
| 15 | Had you been exercising daily? |
| 16 | Had the workers been fixing the road? |
| 17 | Had the teacher been explaining the topic clearly? |
| 18 | Had we been talking too loudly? |
| 19 | Had they been planning their trip? |
| 20 | Had she been designing new clothes? |
Interro-Negative Sentences of Past Perfect Continuous Tense
To make a sentence interro-negative, add “ Had “ right before the subject of a negative sentence and put a sign of interrogation at the end. Let us formulate it.
(General Sentence)(Step 1)
S+had+been+1V+ing+O
(Negative Sentence)(Step 2)
S+had+not+been+1V+ing+O
(General Sentence)(Step 3)
Had+S+not+been+1V+O?
| Had | S | not | been | 1V+ing | O? |
| Had | he | not | been | go-ing | school? |
Had he not been going school?
| Had | S | not | been | 1V+ing | O? |
| Had | you | not | been | take-ing | fever medicine? |
Had you not been taking fever medicine?
Here is a table with 20 examples of interro-negative sentences in the Past Perfect Continuous Tense.
| No. | Interro-Negative Sentence (Past Perfect Continuous) |
|---|---|
| 1 | Had you not been studying for the exam? |
| 2 | Had they not been playing football since morning? |
| 3 | Had we not been waiting for the bus? |
| 4 | Had you not been learning English recently? |
| 5 | Had the children not been making noise? |
| 6 | Had the workers not been repairing the road? |
| 7 | Had she not been reading that novel? |
| 8 | Had he not been working on his project? |
| 9 | Had you not been exercising daily? |
| 10 | Had they not been traveling around the country? |
| 11 | Had the teacher not been explaining the topic? |
| 12 | Had we not been discussing this matter? |
| 13 | Had you not been watching the news? |
| 14 | Had your brother not been attending classes? |
| 15 | Had the students not been preparing for the test? |
| 16 | Had the birds not been chirping all day? |
| 17 | Had the baby not been crying for hours? |
| 18 | Had she not been cooking dinner for the family? |
| 19 | Had they not been waiting outside? |
| 20 | Had you not been writing your assignment? |
Structure of Past Perfect Continuous Tense with Time Frame
S+had+been+1V+ ing + O + since/for + time
He had been reading a book since morning.
We had been working for one year.
| S | had | been | 1V-ing | O | since/for | time |
For=how long
For Example:
for two years, one month, half an hour
Since morning, last Summer, night, June.
He had been reading a book since morning.
| S | had | been | 1V-ing | O | since/for | time |
| We | had | been | do-ing | work | for | one year |
We had been doing work for one year.
Negative Sentence for Time Frame
To make a sentence negative, place “ not” right after had. Let us formulate it.
S+had+been+not+4V+O+since/for+…..
| S | had | not | been | 1V-ing | O | since/for | time |
| We | had | not | been | play-ing | cricket | for | four years |
We had not been playing cricket for four years.
| S | had | not | been | 1V-ing | O | since/for | time |
| We | had | not | been | gossip-ing | – | for | four an hour |
We had not been playing cricket for four years.
| Sajid | had | not | go-ing | school | since | Wednesday |
Sajid had not been going school since Wednesday.
Interrogative Sentence for Time Frame
To make a sentence interrogative, place“had“ right before the subject or at the start of the sentence. Let us formulate it.
Had+S+been+4V+O+since/for+…… ?
| Had | he | been | reading | a book | since | morning? |
Had he been reading a book since morning?
| Had | we | been | do-ing | work | for | one year? |
Had we been doing work for one year?
| Had | S | been | 1V-ing | O | since/for | time? |
| Had | Ali | been | do-ing | a job | for | two years? |
Had Ali been doing a job for two years?
Interro-Negative Sentences for Time Frame
To make a sentence interro-negative, add “had“ right before the subject of a negative sentence and put sign of interrogation at the end. Let us formulate it.
S+had+been+not+1Ving+O+since/for+time(Simple Sentence)
S+had+been+not+1Ving+O+since/for+time (Negative)
Had+S+not+been+1Ving+O+since/for+time (Interro-negative)
| Had | Sajid | not | go-ing | school | since | Wednesday? |
Had Sajid not been going school since Wednesday?
| Had | we | not | do-ing | hard work | since | morning? |
Had we not been doing hard work since morning?