Past Perfect Continuous Tense

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Past Perfect Continuous Tense is used to indicate an ongoing past action that continued at some point in the past.

Ways to form the Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Affirmative Sentence

The formula for Past Perfect Continuous Tense Affirmative Sentence is as such:

Subject + had been + Verb ('ing' form) + Object (optional) + since / for + the time duration

Example:

I had been working in bank since January.
He had been watching a movie for two hours.

Negative Sentence

The formula for Past Perfect Continuous Tense Negative Sentence is as such:

Subject + had + not + been + Verb ('ing' form) + Object (optional) + since / for + the time duration

Example:

You had not been studying hard for an exam since November.
She had not been listening to music for two hours.

Interrogative Sentence

The formula for Past Perfect Continuous Tense Interrogative Sentence is as such:

Had + Subject + been + Verb ('ing' form) + Object (optional) + since / for + the time duration

Example:

Had I been working hard for a job interview since Friday?
Had she been listening to music for the last 2 hours?

Negative Interrogative Sentence

The formula for Past Perfect Continuous Tense Negative Interrogative Sentence is as such:

Had + Subject + not + been + Verb ('ing' form) + Object (optional) + since / for + the time duration

Example:

Had John not been watching a movie for 2 hours?
Had we not been working hard for an exam since Monday?

Uses of Past Perfect Continuous Tense

The Past Perfect Continuous Tense is mainly used as:

1. To talk about a past action that continued up to some point of time in the past

For example

When I was in Delhi, I had been studying hard for the exam for the 10 days.
When we meet, she had been trying hard for civil services for 2 years.

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