100+ Easily Remembered Past Perfect Continuous Examples

Formula – Examples of the past perfect continuous

The formula for the past perfect continuous is divided into four forms: affirmative, negative, interrogative, and question form containing the question word.

Affirmative Formula

• They have been watching cricket since morning.
• She had been reading a novel for a couple of months.
• He had been traveling to Paris for many years.
• It had been raining very hard for two hours before it stopped.
• They had been working very hard before we came.
• We had been playing video games for five hours.
• She had been cooking food for two years.
• They have been watching movies since morning.
• John had been losing weight before he had an accident.
• I have been reading books for five months.
• We had been running along the street for about 60 minutes when a motorbike suddenly stopped right in front of us.
• Yesterday, my brother said he had been quitting smoking for three months.
• Someone had been painting the room because the smell of the paint was very strong when I entered the room.
• They had been talking on the mobile phone when the rain poured down.
• The woman had been paying for her new car in cash.
• I had been having lunch by the time the others came into the restaurant.
• It had been raining for three days before the storm came yesterday.
• Mary had been walking three miles a day before she broke her leg.
• She had been making soup, so it was still hot and steamy when the visitors came in.
• Sam gained weight because he had been overeating.

Negative formula

1. My father hadn’t been doing anything when my mother came home.
2. They hadn’t been talking to each other when we saw them.
3. We hadn’t been provided with free clothes for many years.
4. I hadn’t been feeling well, so I sent him away.
5. Simon hadn’t been expecting a positive answer when he got the job.
6. The hikers hadn’t been walking long before they got lost.
7. He hasn’t been laughing loudly since he was little.
8. Carry hasn’t been running a ten-kilometer race since he was young.
9. He hasn’t been calling your clients for two years.
10. I hadn’t been working at a young age.
11. Henry failed the final test because she hadn’t been attending class.
12. I hadn’t been sleeping because of the final essay.
13. My mother hadn’t been going to work for two days because she was very ill.
14. The teacher hadn’t been reprimanding him when he didn’t turn in his homework on time.
15. Tom hadn’t been picking up his brother after school.

Interrogative formula (Yes/No question)

1. Were they waiting for me when you met them?
2. Did she watch TV for 4 hours before going to dinner?
3. Was he drinking when you found him?
4. Did the manager complain about Jim before she fired him?
5. Didn’t the snow fall for hours before then?
6. Do they play sports before I get home?
7. Did you go somewhere before coming home?
8. Has she loved our children since birth?
9. Have you been renting a podcast for three weeks?
10. Have they been using an iPhone for two years?
11. Did she read a novel in a few months?
12. Haven’t we been given free clothes for years?
13. Have you been surfing the internet for an hour?
14. Has Temple been open in the morning for decades?
15. Have you studied English for two years?

Question formula with WH question words

30+ examples of past perfect continuous usage

The past perfect continuous is used in various scenarios, each with its specific usage. Here are three instances of the past perfect continuous:

1. Used to describe an action that happened continuously before another action in the past

• They had been playing football on that field before it started to rain.
• Yesterday, when I got up, it was snowing. It had been snowing for three hours.
• He and his wife had been talking for about two hours before the policemen arrived.
• Hannah had been running five kilometers a day before she got sick.
• The couple had been quarreling for 1 hour before their daughter came back home.
• The student had been waiting in the meeting room for almost an hour before he was punished.
• I had been waiting for 20 minutes when I realized that I was in the wrong restaurant.
• We had been shopping in that shop before we came home.
• I had been helping him do the task before I started the program.
• The lyricist had been writing realistic songs since the beginning of his career.

Used to describe an action that was happening continuously before a specific time in the past

1. His son had been driving for five hours before 9 p.m. last night.
2. I had been thinking about that before you mentioned it.
3. I had been practicing for five months and was ready for the championship.
4. Willis had been studying hard and felt good about the Spanish test he was about to take.
5. Anna and Mark had been falling in love for 5 years and were preparing for a wedding.
6. She had been walking for 2 hours before 11 p.m. last night.
7. My younger brother had been crying for almost 1 hour before lunchtime.
8. By the time the factory closed down, Sarad had been working there for five years.
9. The orchestra had been playing for about ten minutes when a man in the audience started shouting.
10. I had been walking along the road for about ten minutes when a car suddenly stopped just behind me.

Used to emphasize actions completed in the past

1. James gained three kilograms because he was overeating.
2. Barry didn’t pass the exam because he wasn’t paying attention to what the teacher said.
3. Betty failed the final test because she didn’t attend class.
4. Yesterday morning, he was exhausted from working on his report all night.
5. By the time Sam found an umbrella, it had been raining for ten minutes.
6. The client had been waiting for an hour by the time Catherine got to the office.
7. By the time we arrived at the party, they had already eaten all the food.
8. By the time we got home, darkness had fallen.
9. Someone had been painting the room because the smell of the paint was very strong when I entered the room.
10. We had been running along the street for about 40 minutes when a car suddenly stopped right in front of us.

For example, the past perfect continuous with a special structure

The past perfect continuous can be used in type 3 conditional sentences to express unreal conditions in the past.

• If we had been working successfully together, we would have succeeded.
• She would have been more confident if she had prepared better.
• If you had gone home earlier, you might have attended that festival last Sunday.
• If I had not worked the whole week, I would have traveled with them.
• If it hadn’t rained all week, I would have finished the laundry.
• If I hadn’t left yesterday, I would have met my grandmother.
• If he hadn’t eaten all day yesterday, he must have had a stomach ache.
• If I didn’t get the job done, I was reprimanded by my boss.
• If she hadn’t given birth soon, we would have traveled a lot together.
• If he didn’t cheat, his family would surely be happy.

Above is an article about an example of the past perfect continuous. Hopefully, it has provided readers with useful knowledge about basic English grammar.