Past Perfect Continuous Tense in English
Past Perfect Continuous Tense indicates a past action which started in the past and continued to happen after another action and time in the past. Namely, Past Perfect Continuous Tense tell us “how long the action had continued”. ” the duration of the action” is emphasized more in this tense.
POSITIVE FORM (+) :
Subject + HAD BEEN + Ving
NEGATIVE FORM (-) :
Subject + HAD + NOT + BEEN ( HADN’T BEEN ) + Ving
QUESTION FORM (?) :
HAD+ Subject + BEEN + Ving
NEGATIVE QUESTION FORM (?) :
HAD + NOT + Subject + BEEN + Ving
SHORT ANSWER FORMS ( + / – ) :
YES / NO + Subject + had / had not ( hadn’t )
| POSITIVE(+) | NEGATIVE(-) | POSITIVE QUESTION (?) | NEGATIVE QUESTION (?) |
|---|---|---|---|
| He had been studying | He had not (hadn’t) been studying | Had he been studying | Hadn’t he been studying |
| She had been studying | She had not (hadn’t) been studying | Had she been studying | Hadn’t she been studying |
| It had been studying | It had not (hadn’t) been studying | Had it been studying | Hadn’t it been studying |
| I had been studying | I had not (hadn’t) been studying | Had I been studying | Hadn’t I been studying |
| You had been studying | You had not (hadn’t) been studying | Had you been studying | Hadn’t you been studying |
| We had been studying | We had not (hadn’t) been studying | Had we been studying | Hadn’t we been studying |
| They had been studying | They had not (hadn’t) been studying | Had they been studying | Hadn’t they been studying |
