Unit 16: Past perfect continuous (I had been doing)

English Grammar in Use With Answers » Unit 16: Past perfect continuous (I had been doing)

Study this example situation:

Yesterday morning I got up and looked out of the window.
The sun was shining, but the ground was very wet.

It had been raining.

It was not raining when I looked out of the window; the sun was shining. But it had been raining before.

Had been -ing is the past perfect continuous:

I/we/you/they
he/she/it

had

(= I'd etc.)
(= he'd etc.)

been

doing
working
playing etc.

Some more examples:

When the boys came into the house, their clothes were dirty, their hair was untidy and one of them had a black eye. They'd been fighting.
I was very tired when I got home. I'd been working hard all day.
When I went to Madrid a few years ago, I stayed with a friend of mine. She hadn't been living there very long, but she knew the city very well.

You can say that something had been happening for a period of time before something else happened:

We'd been playing tennis for about half an hour when it started to rain heavily.
Paul went to the doctor last Friday. He hadn't been feeling well for some time.

Compare have been -ing (present perfect continuous) and had been -ing (past perfect continuous):

Present perfect continuous	Past perfect continuous
- I hope the bus comes soon. I've been waiting for 20 minutes. (before now)	- At last the bus came. I'd been waiting for 20 minutes. (before the bus came)
- James is out of breath. He has been running.	- James was out of breath. He had been running.

Compare was -ing (past continuous) and had been -ing:

It wasn't raining when we went out. The sun was shining. But it had been raining, so the ground was wet.
Katherine was sitting in an armchair resting. She was tired because she'd been working very hard.

Some verbs (for example, know and like) are not normally used in the continuous:

We were good friends. We had known each other for years. (not had been knowing)
I was surprised when Lisa cut her hair. She'd had long hair since I first met her. (not she'd been having)

For a list of these verbs, see Unit 4A. For have, see Unit 17.

16.1 Read the situations and make sentences from the words in brackets.

I was very tired when I arrived home.
(I / work / hard all day) .
The two boys came into the house. They had a football and they were both very tired.
(they / play / football) __________ .
I was disappointed when I had to cancel my holiday.
(I / look / forward to it) __________ .
Ann woke up in the middle of the night. She was frightened and didn't know where she was.
(she / dream) __________ .
When I got home, Mark was sitting in front of the TV. He had just turned it off.
(he / watch / a film) __________ .

16.2 Read the situations and complete the sentences.

We played tennis yesterday. Half an hour after we began playing, it started t o rain.
We ⁽¹⁾ when ⁽²⁾ .
I had arranged to meet Tom in a restaurant. I arrived and waited for him. After 20 minutes I realised that I was in the wrong restaurant.
I ⁽³⁾ __________ for 20 minutes when I ⁽⁴⁾ __________ the wrong restaurant.
Sarah got a job in factory. Five years later the factory closed down.
At the time the factory ⁽⁵⁾ __________, Sarah ⁽⁶⁾ __________ there for five years.
I went to a concert last week. The orchestra began playing. After about ten minutes a man in the audience suddenly started shouting.
The orchestra ⁽⁷⁾ __________ when ⁽⁸⁾ __________ .
I began walking along the road. I ⁽⁹⁾ __________ when ⁽¹⁰⁾ __________ .

16.3 Put the verb into the most suitable form, past continuous (I was doing), past perfect (I had done) or past perfect continuous (I had been doing).

It was very noisy next door. Our neighbours ⁽¹⁾ (have) a party.
We were good friends. ⁽²⁾ (we / know) each other for years.
John and I went for a walk. I had difficulty keeping up with him because ⁽³⁾ __________ (he / walk) so fast.
Sue was sitting on the ground. She was out of breath. ⁽⁴⁾ __________ (she / run).
When I arrived, everybody was sitting round the table with their mouths full ⁽⁵⁾ __________ (they / eat).
When I arrived, everybody was sitting round the table and talking. Their mouths were empty, but their stomachs were full. ⁽⁶⁾ __________ (they / eat).
James was on his hands and knees on the floor. ⁽⁷⁾ __________ (he / look) for his contact lens.
When I arrived, Kate ⁽⁸⁾ __________ (wait) for me. She was annoyed because I was late and ⁽⁹⁾ __________ (she / wait) for a long time.
I was sad when I sold my car. ⁽¹⁰⁾ __________ (I / have) it for a very long time.
We were extremely tired at the end of the journey. ⁽¹¹⁾ __________ (we / travel) for more than 24 hours.

Answer Key

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