Past Perfect Continuous Tense| Definition, rules, Formula, Examples
Past Perfect Continuous Tense is used to show such actions of the past that had been started in the past time and still going on during the past period. So, the verb of the Past Perfect Continuous Tense indicates a long-going action of the past. For example:
- I had been speaking.
- You had been speaking.
- He had been speaking.
- We had been speaking.
- They had been speaking.
- It had been raining since midnight.
Helping Verb of Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Past Perfect Continuous Tense uses “had been” as a helping verb to express the actions of the past time that would be going on during the past period. To show the continuity of the past time action, 1st form of the Verb with the addition of “ing” is used with Past Perfect Continuous Tense. “Had been” can be used in Past Perfect Continuous Tense with all number nouns, and the following pronouns:
- I
- We
- You
- They
- He
- She
- It
Sentences Structure of Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Assertive, Negative, Interrogative, and Negative-Interrogative Sentences of Past Perfect Tense use “had been” as a helping verb with 1st form of the verb and the addition of “ing” to it. Following are the main Sentence Structure for Assertive, Negative, Interrogative, and Negative-Interrogative Sentences of Past Perfect Tense.
Assertive Sentence Structure of Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Assertive or Declarative Sentences of Past Perfect Continuous Tense use “had been” as a helping verb to express the progressing actions of the past time. 1st form of the Verb with the addition of “ing” can be used with “had been”. Thus, Assertive Sentences of Past Perfect Continuous Tense follow the following Sentence Structure:
Subject+had+been+1st form of Verb+ing+Object+since/for+Remaining Words.
Examples of Assertive Sentences of Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Following are some examples of Past Perfect Continuous Tense sentences with Sentence Structure:
I+Had has been
- I had been making this picture for a month.
- I had been planting trees since 2000.
- I had been waiting for you since noon.
- I had been solving the puzzles.
- I had been winning prizes.
- I had been ringing the bell for a long.
- I had been breaking the plates.
- I had been getting up at 5’O clock in the morning.
- I had been taking my medicines.
- I had been breaking the jugs.
We+Had Been
- We had been playing the match since 10’O clock.
- We had been swimming since 3’O clock.
- We had been swimming for three hours.
- We had been accepting their invitation.
- We had been taking the exams.
- We had been sewing the clothes for a long.
- We had been throwing the garbage for 3 hours.
- We had been punishing them for their mischief.
- We had been rejecting his offers.
- We had been lighting the lamp.
You+Had Been
- You had been preparing for the examination since October.
- You had been preparing the speech since Tuesday.
- You had been preparing the speech for five days.
- You had been writing an essay for three days.
- You had been dealing with sugar since March.
- You had been accepting my applications.
- You had been taking the exams.
- You had been standing first in your class.
- You had been preparing the dinner for a long.
- You had been drinking the water from this well.
They+Had Been
- People had been waiting for your return home for four years.
- They had been living in this house since 1996.
- The people had been extinguishing the fire for two hours.
- The dogs had been barking since evening.
- Jackals had been howling for twenty-five minutes.
- The students had been making a noise for fifteen minutes.
- The girls had been singing songs since 5’O clock.
- The children had been making paper boats for half an hour.
- They had been winning the cricket matches.
- They had been offering their prayers at the time.
He+Had Been
- He had been writing the letter for an hour.
- The boy had been suffering from a fever since Monday.
- John had been planting trees for three months.
- The cock had been crowing since morning.
- The cobbler had been making shoes since Tuesday.
- He had been giving alms for two days.
- The watchmaker had been repairing my watch since 11’O clock.
- He had been abusing them for a long.
- He had been doing his homework.
- Aslam had been obeying his teachers.
She+Had Been
- The girl had been reading this book for ten days.
- She had been learning this poem by heart.
- Marry had been going for a morning walk to lose weight.
- The mother had been preparing the dinner.
- She had been paying back his money.
- She had been going to Karachi to meet her aunt.
- She had been respecting her elders.
- She had been polishing their shoes.
- She had been reaching here at 6’O clock.
- She had been serving them for a long.
It+Had Been
- It had been raining since morning.
- It had been raining for two days.
- It had been drizzling for an hour.
- The hen had been lying the eggs.
- The fox had been eating the grapes.
Negative Sentence Structure of Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Negative Sentences of Past Perfect Continuous Tense use “not” after the “had”, but before the “been”, to show the negativity of the sentences. Thus, Negative Sentences of Past Perfect Continuous Tense follow the following Sentence Structure with all types of nouns and pronouns.
Subject+ had+ not+ been+ 1st form of Verb+ ing+ Object+ since/for+ Remaining Words.
Examples of Negative Sentences of Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Following are some examples of Negative Sentences of Past Perfect Continuous Tense having the following sentence structure:
I+Had+Not+Been
- I had not been sleeping since noon.
- I had not been taking exercise since 1985.
- I had not been working in this office since May.
- I had not been abusing them for 3 hours.
- I had not been eating apples.
- I had not been throwing the ball.
- I had not been making a noise.
- I had not been doing my homework myself.
- I had not been obeying my teachers.
- I had not been learning this poem by heart.
We+Had+Not+Been
- We had not been considering this application for one week.
- We had not been going for a morning walk.
- We had not been preparing the dinner.
- We had not been standing in the first row during the School assembly.
- We had not been paying back your money.
- We had not been winning the first prize.
- We had not been going to Karachi.
- We had not been disrespecting them.
- We had not been polishing our shoes.
- We had not been telling the lie.
You+Had+Not+Been
- You had not been reading the newspaper since October.
- Your brother had not been doing his homework for many days.
- You had not been taking your medicines.
- You had not been taking exercise for two weeks.
- You had not been sewing their clothes since Thursday.
- You had not been giving anything to your mother for four months.
- You had not been mowing grass since morning.
- You had not been traveling for a long.
- You had not been writing any letter to your father for many months.
- You had not been sharpening the knife for five minutes.
They+Had+Not+Been
- The goats had not been grazing in the fields since morning.
- The students had not been attending school for the last several days.
- The friends had not been talking for twenty minutes.
- People had not been raising slogans for two hours.
- The laborers had not been digging a well since the 6th of October.
- The girls had not been washing clothes since morning.
- The players had not been making preparations to play a match for several days.
- Some people had not been enjoying the exhibition since evening.
- The girls had not been making garlands since 7’O clock.
- The draftsmen had not been drawing the map of the building for two weeks.
He+Had+Not+Been
- The farmer had not been working in the fields since yesterday.
- The postman had not been bringing letters since Sunday.
- The child had not been drinking milk since 7’O clock.
- The fishermen had not been fishing since Monday.
- My brother had not been taking the examination since the 11th.
- The boatman had not been rowing the boat for three hours.
- Salim had not been counting the books for fifteen minutes.
- John had not been doing his work for three days.
- The poor woodcutter had not been cutting trees for one month.
- The boy had not been wasting time since 2’O clock.
She+Had+Not+Been
- The maid-servant had not been cleaning since morning.
- Marry had not been having a meal for five days.
- The girl had not been insisting on getting a toy for two hours.
- She had not been breaking the pots.
- She had not been standing first in her class.
- She had not been watching the television since last night.
- She had not been punishing her students.
- She had not been offering her prayers on time.
- She had not been obeying her parents.
- She had not been taking her medicines.
It+Had+Not+Been
- The train had not been arriving late for fifteen days.
- The lion had not been roaring in the zoo since evening.
- The parrot had not been talking for four days.
- It had not been raining in the desert for two years.
- The hen had not been laying eggs since Friday.
- The fox had not been eating grapes.
Interrogative Sentence Structure of Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Interrogative Sentences of Past Perfect Continuous Tense having the Word of Question take “had” after them, and “been” after the subject of the sentence. So, Interrogative Sentences with Word of Question follow the following sentence structure:
Word of Question+ had+ Subject+ been+ 1st form of Verb+ ing+ Object+ for/since+ Remaining Words
Interrogative Sentences of Past Perfect Continuous Tense without Word of Question, take “had” at the start of the sentence and “been” after the subject of the sentence. Thus, Interrogative Sentences of Past Perfect Continuous Tense without Word of Question follow the following Sentence Structure:
Had+ Subject+ been+ 1st form of Verb+ ing+ Object+ for/since+ Remaining Words+?
Examples of Interrogative Sentences of Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Following are some examples of Interrogative Sentences of Past Perfect Continuous Tense.
Word of Question+had+been+?
Interrogative Sentences of Past Perfect Continuous Tense with Word of Question have the following sentence structure:
- Why had the girl been weeping since 1’O clock?
- Since when had he been staying with you?
- Where had you been wandering for two hours?
- Since when had the student been copying?
- Why had the people been clapping for five minutes?
- Why had your friend been cheating on you for a week?
- Where had they been burying the treasure since 1981?
- Since when had your brother been hosting?
- For how many days had the laborers been digging a well?
- How had the driver been driving a car for three days?
- How long had he been selling fruit?
- Since when had he been selling fruit?
- Who had been throwing stones at your house since Wednesday?
Interrogative Sentences of Past Perfect Continuous Tense Without Word of Question
Interrogative Sentences of Past Perfect Continuous Tense without Word of Question take “had” at the start of the sentence and “been” after the subject of the Sentence. So, Interrogative Sentences of Past Perfect Continuous Tense without Word of Question follow the following sentence structure:
Had+I+Been+?
- Had I been reaching there at 6’O clock?
- Had I been fulfilling the jug with water?
- Had I been listening to your stories?
- Had I been waiting for them?
- Had I been plucking the flowers from your garden?
- Had I been discussing this issue with you?
- Had I been deceiving you?
- Had I been participating in every meeting?
- Had I been ringing the bell on time?
- Had I been always winning the tennis match?
Had+We+Been+?
- Had we been collecting the funds?
- Had we been working on our homework?
- Had we been jumping since morning?
- Had we been watching the hockey match for an hour?
- Had we been doing nothing for the last two months?
- Had we been helping the poor?
- Had we been unlocking the lock since evening?
- Had we been offering our prayers on time?
- Had we been combing their hair since evening?
- Had we been getting up early in the morning?
Had+You+Been+?
- Had you been living in this house since July?
- Had your friend been boasting for many hours?
- Had you been applying for this post since March?
- Had you been enjoying snowfall for two days?
- Had your brother been advising you for two weeks?
- Had you been buying tickets for the show for 5 hours?
- Had you been playing since morning?
- Had you been killing snakes for a long?
- Had you been playing football for two hours?
- Had you been going to this market for shopping for a long?
Had+They+Been+?
- Had the mountaineers been climbing K-2 since May?
- Had the hounds been chasing the rabbit since 6’O clock?
- Had the children been playing for one hour?
- Had the players been playing for forty minutes?
- Had they been reading this book already?
- Had they been serving us for long?
- Had they been teaching here for several years?
- Had they been opening the door?
- Had they been beating them for their mischiefs?
- Had they been trying to solve the puzzle?
Had+He+Been+?
- Had this postman been bringing letters since 1983?
- Had his brother been doing a job in this office for five months?
- Had he been standing along the roadside since 9’O clock?
- Had Henry been making runs for three hours?
- Had John been winning the Squash matches since 1980?
- Had he been smelling flowers for ten minutes?
- Had he been playing for three hours?
- Had he been milking the cow for fifteen minutes?
- Had he been pouring in since 11’O clock?
- Had he been waiting for the postman for long?
- Had he been sitting here since sunset?
Had+She+Been+?
- Had she been catching fish for two hours?
- Had she been hearing the chirping of birds since early morning?
- Had she been quarreling with her siblings for an hour?
- Had she been working in his office since 5 p.m.?
- Had she been thinking over the matter for long?
- Had she been preparing for the examination for many months?
- Had she been playing with her dolls since morning?
- Had she been riding this horse since his return?
- Had she been polishing these chairs for two days?
- Had she been reading that book since sunset?
Had+It+Been+?
- Had the moon been shining since evening?
- Had the dog been biting you for five minutes?
- Had the snake been running after him?
- Had it been drizzling since last night?
- Had snow been falling since midnight?
- Had the hen been sick for more than 5 hours?
Negative-Interrogative Sentence Structure of Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Negative-Interrogative Sentences of Past Perfect Continuous Tense with Word of Question take “had” after them, and “not been” after the subject of the sentence. So, Negative-Interrogative Sentences of Past Perfect Continuous Tense with Word of Question follow the following sentence structure:
Negative-Interrogative Sentences of Past Perfect Continuous Tense without Word of Question take “had” at the start of the sentence, and “not been” after the subject of the sentence. So, Negative-Interrogative Sentences of Past Perfect Continuous Tense without Word of Question, follow the following Sentence Structure:
Had+ Subject+ not+ been+ 1st form of Verb+ ing+ Object+ for/since+ Remaining Words+?
Word of Question+Had+Not+Been+?
Negative-Interrogative Sentences of Past Perfect Continuous Tense with Word of Question follow the following Sentence Structure:
- Why had the girl not been weeping since 1’O clock?
- Since when had he not been staying with you?
- Where had you not been wandering for two hours?
- Since when had the student not been copying?
- Why had the people not been clapping for five minutes?
- Why had your friend not been cheating on you for a week?
- Where had they not been burying the treasure since 1981?
- Since when had your brother not been hosting?
- For how many days had the laborers not been digging a well?
- How had the driver not been driving a car for three days?
- How long had he not been selling fruit?
- Since when had he not been selling fruit?
- Who had not been throwing stones at your house since Wednesday?
Negative-Interrogative Sentences of Past Perfect Continuous Tense Without Word of Question
Negative-Interrogative Sentences of Past Perfect Continuous Tense without Word of Question take “had” at the start of the sentence and “not been” after the subject of the sentence with Sentence Structure:
Had+I+Not+Been+?
- Had I not been reaching there at 6’O clock?
- Had I not been fulfilling the jug with water?
- Had I not been listening to your stories?
- Had I not been waiting for them?
- Had I not been plucking the flowers from your garden?
- Had I not been discussing this issue with you?
- Had I not been deceiving you?
- Had I not been participating in every meeting?
- Had I not been ringing the bell on time?
- Had I not been always winning the tennis match?
Had+We+Not+Been+?
- Had we not been collecting the funds?
- Had we not been working on our homework?
- Had we not been jumping since morning?
- Had we not been watching the hockey match for an hour?
- Had we not been doing anything for the last two months?
- Had we not been helping the poor?
- Had we not been unlocking the lock since evening?
- Had we not been offering our prayers on time?
- Had we not been combing their hair since evening?
- Had we not been getting up early in the morning?
Had+You+Not+Been+?
- Had you not been living in this house since July?
- Had your friend not been boasting for many hours?
- Had you not been applying for this post since March?
- Had you not been enjoying snowfall for two days?
- Had your brother not been advising you for two weeks?
- Had you not been buying tickets for the show for 5 hours?
- Had you not been playing since morning?
- Had you not been killing the snakes for a long?
- Had you not been playing football for two hours?
- Had you not been going to this market for shopping for a long?
Had+They+Not+Been+?
- Had the mountaineers not been climbing K-2 since May?
- Had the hounds not been chasing the rabbit since 6’O clock?
- Had the children not been playing for one hour?
- Had the players not been playing for forty minutes?
- Had they not been reading this book already?
- Had they not been serving us for long?
- Had they not been teaching here for several years?
- Had they not been opening the door?
- Had they not been beating them for their mischiefs?
- Had they not been trying to solve the puzzles?
Had+He+Not+Been+?
- Had this postman not been bringing letters since 1983?
- Had his brother not been doing a job in this office for five months?
- Had he not been standing along the roadside since 9’O clock?
- Had Henry not been making runs for three hours?
- Had John not been winning the Squash matches since 1980?
- Had he not been smelling flowers for ten minutes?
- Had he not been playing for three hours?
- Had he not been milking the cow for fifteen minutes?
- Had he not been pouring in since 11’O clock?
- Had he not been waiting for the postman for long?
- Had he not been sitting here since sunset?
Had+She+Not+Been+?
- Had she not been catching fish for two hours?
- Had she not been hearing the chirping of birds since early morning?
- Had she not been quarreling with her siblings for an hour?
- Had she not been working in his office since 5 p.m.?
- Had she not been thinking over the matter for long?
- Had she not been preparing for the examination for many months?
- Had she not been playing with her dolls since morning?
- Had she not been riding this horse since his return?
- Had she not been polishing these chairs for two days?
- Had she not been reading that book since sunset?
Had+It+Not+Been+?
- Had the moon not been shining since evening?
- Had the dog not been biting you for five minutes?
- Had the snake not been running after him?
- Had it not been drizzling since last night?
- Had snow not been falling since midnight?
- Had the hen not been sick for more than 5 hours?
