Past Perfect Continuous

We use the past perfect progressive to talk about actions or situations which had continued up to the past moment that we are thinking about, or shortly before it.

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Sarah Robinson was well-known among her friends for being extremely well-mannered. When the telephone rang at half past three one morning, she spoke calmly into the receiver, even though she was really tired. On the other end of the line was an angry male voice. He complained that her dog had been barking all night and that it had been keeping him and his wife awake. Sarah thanked the caller for telling her and politely asked him for his name and number before hanging up. The next morning at precisely half past three, Sarah called her neighbour back.

   ‘Good morning, Mr Grant. I just called to let you know that I don't have a dog.’ 

1. Use the Past Perfect Continuous to talk about an action that was in progress before a specific time in the past. It emphasizes the continuation of an action not the end result.

• It was 2:00 p.m. The runners had been running since 10:45 a.m.
• I finally saw Tom at 8 o'clock. I had been waiting for almost two hours.
• One runner fainted. She hadn't been drinking enough water.

 2. The Past Perfect Continuous always shows the relationship with another past event.

• She had been practising for three years when she entered the race. (Practising continued up to her entering the race)
• Use the Past Perfect Continuous for the earlier action. (had been practising)
• Use the past simple for the later. (entered)

3. We often use the Past Perfect Continuous to draw conclusions about past events based on evidence.

• She was out of breath. It was clear that she had been running.
• The streets were wet. It had been raining all night.

4. How long?

• We’d been walking since sunrise, and we were hungry, (NOT We were walking since sunrise ...)
• When she arrived, she had been travelling for twenty hours, (NOT ... she was travelling...)

5. Be careful with WHEN! In these sentences with when, notice the difference in meaning between the past continuous and the past perfect continuous.

• When the race started, it was raining and the streets were wet. (It was still raining during the race)
• When the race started, it had been raining and the streets were wet. (It wasn't raining during the race. It had already stopped.)

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